“Christmas Bowl was always prominent in church throughout Advent when I was growing up”: Archbishop Jeremy Greaves
National
Church communities have been uniting through the annual Christmas Bowl appeal for 75 years, giving hope to families who are displaced
Church communities have been uniting through the annual Christmas Bowl appeal for 75 years, giving hope to families who are displaced.
In 1949 Christmas Bowl appeal was born when The Rev’d Frank Byatt laid a bowl of remembrance on the Christmas dinner table asking his family to “share your good dinner with hungry children in other lands”.
The Christmas Bowl legacy runs deep — in families, across generations, cultures, denominations and nations — countless lives have been changed and bridges of solidarity built.
The Most Rev’d Jeremy Greaves recalls first learning about the benefits of the Christmas Bowl as a child.
“I was quite young when I was first aware of Christmas Bowl — probably 10 or 12,” Archbishop Jeremy said.
“Christmas Bowl was always prominent in church throughout Advent when I was growing up, with posters and fliers and also with a large bowl that was very visible in the sanctuary.
“Our family used to gather a small collection for Christmas Bowl as part of our Advent devotions.
“We would always have an Advent wreath on the dining room table and would take turns lighting the candles each week — the Christmas Bowl money was part of this.
“I remember one year when the Christmas Bowl promoted a project that traded weapons for farming implements, which at the time struck me as a really good thing to support.”
Christmas Bowl is the annual Advent appeal of Act for Peace, the international humanitarian agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia, which the Anglican Church is a member of.
Queensland residents, Clive and Gail Ayre, have been supporting the Christmas Bowl for decades.
Clive started as a young Methodist minister in 1961 and began promoting the Christmas Bowl in his local community when he was 21.
Clive and Gail believe the appeal plays an important role in building bridges.
“It means the opportunity to extend not only a helping hand, but a hand of friendship,” Clive said.
“It’s about breaking down walls…and building bridges of understanding between people, between ethnic groups, between faiths.
“I think that the world would be a much better place if we could find areas of agreement or commonality rather than looking for differences.
“[Christmas Bowl] is an important part of this whole effort to care, to reach out, to bring people together and to make sure that people don’t suffer unnecessarily.”
Across oceans, families like Clive and Gail’s have been providing much-needed support for families displaced by conflict and disaster.
Families like Jane’s* in Zimbabwe.
When Cyclone Idai hit in 2019, Jane lost everything.
“The cyclone started around 8pm when I was asleep with the children in the house,” Jane said.
“I woke up to find the house shaking and about to collapse. I was taken up with the water. I fractured my skull and hurt my leg.”
Jane lost her three children in the cyclone.
She then spent two years living in a tent after the disaster and was one of 700 displaced families who required relocation.
After two years sheltering in a tent, Jane now has a house.
After the death of her three children in the cyclone, Jane gave birth to her son.
Thanks to Christmas Bowl supporters, Act for Peace’s partner the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) improves services like electricity, water, schools, health clinics and sanitation and hygiene for relocated families.
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches works in Jane’s community to improve their wellbeing, safety and dignity, and have been able to install a piped water scheme.
Before the scheme, women like Jane had to walk for kilometres daily, sometimes in the dark, which made it even harder for them to take care of their families.
Jane can now access water near her home and is an active member of her community, helping displaced families to feel safe.
Please join in praying and acting for peace as Act for Peace celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Christmas Bowl.
Editor’s note: Priests and parish councils can register their parish’s participation in the Christmas Bowl appeal and access resources and order (optional) envelopes by registering on the Act for Peace website. Individual community members may donate to the Christmas Bowl appeal via the Act for Peace website.
Jump to next article
