United Reformed Church staff give blood

The FleshandBlood campaign is asking churches to raise the profile of giving blood within their congregations.

Staff at the headquarters of the United Reformed Church in London donated their blood this week.

They were inspired to give blood as part of National Blood Week and the FleshandBlood campaign, which is supported by the URC.

The campaign, organised by NHS Blood and Transplant, is encouraging churches to see blood and organ donation as part of their giving.

The group from United Reformed Church House went to the West End Donor Centre near Oxford Circus.  Staff members making the visit included lapsed donors and first-time donors who admitted to being a little apprehensive about the process.

Several other staff members who were not able to make it on the day signed up to give at another date.

The two-year FleshandBlood campaign launched in February and is the first time the NHS has worked alongside the Church on a national initiative of this kind.

Gill Nichol, who organised the visit to West End Donor Centre said: "I'm delighted by the number of colleagues who've responded positively to my request that they consider giving blood.

"Seven thousand units of blood are needed every day, yet 96% of us rely on 4% to supply it. To meet this demand approximately 200,000 extra blood donors are needed every year and I hope that some URC staff who have signed up for the first time will become regular donors.

"Giving blood is both a simple and deeply profound for most people and I urge everyone to check out the flesh and blood website and consider whether they can do something amazing too."

For more information and/or to sign up as a donor, please visit http://fleshandblood.org/

News
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day

A major fire tore through one of Amsterdam’s best-known historic buildings in the early hours of New Year’s Day, seriously damaging the property and forcing people to leave nearby homes.

Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures
Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures

Rwandan President Paul Kagame defended the government's forced closure of Evangelical churches, accusing them of being a “den of bandits” led by deceptive relics of colonialism. 

We are the story still being written
We are the story still being written

The story of Christ continues in the lives of those who take up His calling.

Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas
Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas

International Christian Concern reported more than 80 incidents in India, some of them violent, over Christmas.