News

From Bibles to Baby Supplies – Renewing our Commitment to Domestic Abuse Victims

Domestic Abuse (including the especially abhorrent sexual abuse and other abuse of children) has been a core mission concern for the United Church. The pictures at the left and below show some of the ways our John Gray Memorial Church expressed its care in this respect on Saturday 23rd November, as congregants came forward with gifts for women and children, who can sometimes lose everything when they have to flee an abusive relationship and women may even end up with no suitable clothing to get back to their jobs or with which to seek new employment. Our North Side Congregation, the William Pouchie Memorial United Church, has also since contributed to the Centre's monetary and other material needs. So a variety of items, including baby and child care necessities as well as clothing, including job attire for women, right up to Bibles, were caringly donated in the spirit of loving your neighbour. We expect other congregations and our Cayman Prep and High School will also once again join in this endeavour soon.
Our Church's overriding focus has been both to make such conduct totally unacceptable and not tolerated in our society, and, in the meantime, in helping victims of these appalling diseases experience the truth that Christ cares. On a consistent basis, our Counselling Centre and Congregational Pastors are probably the most involved in ministry for the victims. But we have also sought to provide material help, especially through the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, both at formation and special initiatives since, but also aimed to make this an ongoing mission. We recently sought to renew our efforts in this regard and help bring these opportunities back into the focus of our membership, as the Crisis Centre remains very busy, unfortunately, and is highly dependent on such support. The Centre not only cares for the victims sheltering there but endeavours to provide suppport when needed while families have found a place to live but are still getting back on their feet. Our congregants have helped well in the past and probably would like to continue to do so but newer needs have claimed our attention in recent times and we have to be careful that older missions, like this one, which are equally important, do not get forgotten in the clamour of the new. We certainly would like to help those who are suffering in this way feel the reassurance that God has indeed not forsaken them even though others on whom they depended have – and have often done them much worse than forsaken them. We feel that this is also only consistent with our declared aim and pursuit to be a Children Friendly Church, as that cannot be limited to those within our walls.
We are also seeking new ways in which we can help the Centre and other Government agencies and NGOs renew and expand efforts to help turn around the lives of everyone involved in domestic abuse, on both sides, and “stop the cycle” of such violence, as perpetrators have themselves often been victims also of such abuse, even indirectly (growing up in a setting where a parent was directly abused).

Posted by: Administrator Monday Nov 25, 2013 13:57
Categories: Encouragement, John Gray, relief, William Pouchie | Tags: adversity, children, helping others, John Gray, Justice, North Side, starting over, strengthening, Women