Co-ordinated this year by Deborah Graham (Secretary of St Helena’s Church, Larnaca and Chair of House of Laity of Diocesan Synod), a total of 83 personalised Christmas ‘stockings’ were filled to the brim with wrapped gifts, and distributed to every child at Kofinou First Reception Centre in Larnaca District.  This is one of the camps in Cyprus where newly arrived families seeking asylum are accommodated.

As in the past two years, the congregations of St Paul’s, Nicosia; St Barnabas, Limassol; Ayia Kyriaki, Paphos; and St Helena’s, Larnaca each filled the ‘stockings’, which were again beautifully made by members of the St John’s Deryneia Community Knit ‘N’ Natter Group.

Our grateful thanks go too, to Mike Bradshaw and colleagues from FLEET Cyprus, FML Ship Management Ltd, who joined us in this initiative via their connections with Mission to Seafarers, and provided personalised gifts for 26 of the children.

Thank you to everyone who joined across parishes to bring Christmas joy to these children and their families, who have so little.

The Reverend Anne Futcher, Diocesan Social Concern Officer