The Walk of Witness, organised by Christians Together in Dover, took place from Dover Town Hall, through the town centre, to Dover Castle on Good Friday.

 

In the afternoon we welcomed a number of families and children to Good Friday activities The Beacon. There were crafts, songs, the Easter story and an Easter egg hunt, as well as refreshmements. 

 

Ths Easter Sunrise Service took place outside the church of St Mary-in-Castro at Dover Castle at 6.15am on Easter Sunday - we had to remember to put our clocks go forward first!

 

 

We were pleased to support the Great British Clean by encouraging people to clean up Dover.

 

Litter pickers were busy during the two weeks taking part in the event.

 

Volunteers from the Beacon were among those who took part in a successful litterpick along London Road, organised by the London Road Community Forum.

 

They collected 21 bags of rubbish! Thank you to everyone who came along, and please help keep our streets FREE of litter! A week later, another volunteer collected more empty cans, sweet papers, an empty plastic sack and other items from outside our church.

 

During the week, someone dumped a bag full of soil outside our church in Bartholomew Street, and a few days later more items were dumped from the back of a car. The district council was notified and investigated both incidents.

 

Find out how you can help make a difference to your part of the community, at any time, by visiting keepbritaintidy.org 

 

 

Action for Children 

 

We have always been enthusiastic supporters of Action for Children and now, more than ever, the charity needs our support. So please visit their website by clicking here and seeing what you can do to help Action for Children look after some of the most vulnerable children in our country. There is a booklet with a service outline, a prayer bookmark and a link to a video about Lyle, one of the children their work has helped to support. If you need help at this crucial and difficult time, click here. Resources include the chance to chat one-to-one with someone online. You can also read their latest newsletter here and you can donate by clicking here.

 

Together 4 DOVER

The Beacon was one of the organisations which came together to provide support for people who were in isolation and had no family or neighbours to help them during the covid 19 pandemic.

 

Together4DOVER (Covid 19 Support) was established by a core team of representatives from various local groups and organisations and operated under the umbrella of Dover Big Local.

 

They recruited a number of volunteers to do essential shopping and picking up prescriptions from local pharmacies, working with other support organisations, and referring residents to additional help where needed.

 

Working in conjunction with Dover District Council, they set up a single helpline phone number which people could ring if they needed help, but had no-one else to support them. As well as covering the whole of Dover – from Aycliffe to Buckland Estate and St Radigund's to Maxton – the organisation also covered surrounding villages. 

As our Deacon Michelle explains: "T4D provided support for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Some had lost their jobs, some struggled financially and some struggled for food. We were able to give away free food from local supermarkets which would otherwise have been thrown away. We also arranged hot meals to be delivered which were cooked by staff at the Dover Marina Hotel for free.

 

"It has been such a joy to work alongside others who wanted to work together for the sake of those people most in need within the Dover area. 

 

"We arranged for clothes washing for people without washing machines or who could not get to a launderette, and we refered people for counselling who may have been suffering from stress, anxiety or loss during this difficult time.

 

"The support was temporary to help people until they could get back onto their feet. Some people were out of work for the first time; some had their own business but had lost most or all of their clients during the lockdown. Some people had no family or friends to do their weekly shopping. People are extremely grateful for the service we provided.

 

"God has brought people together and made this happen."

 

 

FOODBANK

 

Dover Foodbank has now reopened its sessions here at The Beacon Church.

 

It is operating on Tuesdays from 4 to 6pm. You need a voucher to attend.

 

THE CHURCH / HALL is in Bartholomew Street, a turning off Beaconsfield Road (CT16 2LH)

 

FOOTPRINTS @ THE BEACON is in London Road, in the lay-by near the junction with Beaconsfield Road (CT17 0SS)
 

Looking back ...