This December Christian World Service marks 75 years since the first Christmas Appeal for “the millions in the east and the west, who are hungry, cold, and homeless”.

These words from Archbishop West Watson from the then National Council of Churches have shaped work that started in Greece and moved from Palestine to the rest of the world. Your gifts have touched three generations of people, sharing food, warmth, shelter and justice.

The words of the appeal refer to words in Matthew 25: “When I was hungry”. Jesus was very clear about our responsibility to share food with those who had none. Living among very small peasant farmers, day labourers and fishing people, he would have felt the pressure of people who quite simply did not have enough to eat. Many of the stories we have in the Gospels have food associations and links. Praying the words “Give us our daily bread” come from a hungry place.

Finding a path out of hunger is no easy journey, but the work we do together with our local partners is giving more people the support they need to improve their livelihoods. Loving your neighbour as yourself demands this kind of action.

The promise of Christmas is that life can be better. Change comes not by force or through power but in the birth of a baby. Jesus was born at a time when life could be brutal in Galilee. His message of love in action spoke to people then as it does to us today. God is with us as we search for new ways of living that are sustainable and compassionate.

For 75 years, hunger has been on the Christmas Appeal agenda. Our partners are doing all they can to address the causes of hunger and challenge the ways that people are made hungry by injustice and conflict. Tea pickers on Sri Lanka’s plantations established in the colonial era have suffered decades of exploitation. In a few moments, one more family leaves their home and land in South Sudan in fear of the violence that is enveloping the village.

Your donations to the Christmas Appeal for people facing hunger and fear will give them food and a path to a better livelihood.

“ for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

Matthew 25:35-36

Please pray for our world, that all people everywhere will have what they need to sustain life.

Want to find out more?

CWS have a Christmas Appeal website full of information and resources you can share, including a range of prayers and activities that you can involve your entire Faith Community in. 

If you haven't received your envelopes or other resources, we've attached an order form below (better late than never!)