Gloucester Services will once more be ringing with the sound of festive tunes as part of a Christmas charity appeal.
International development charity Christian Aid has launched its Christmas Appeal and supporters are getting involved by taking part in carol concerts and holding collections during Advent services.
Gloucester Christian Aid Group and the Gloucester & District Christian Choir are taking part by carol singing at the M5 services.
They will be at Gloucester South, on Saturday, December 20, from noon-2pm, and North, on Monday, December 22, at the same times.
Choir leader Pamela Dewick said: “The choir has been singing carols and Christmas music at the M5 Services South for about ten years.
“We started doing it because we love singing but people were always looking for a donations bucket so we began to think about who we could raise money for. With so many people coming to the services from all over the country, we wanted it to be something further afield – and Christian Aid seemed the obvious choice, especially as we are a Christian choir.
“We have almost 50 choir members altogether with about 25 of us singing at these events – and this year we’ve been invited to the M5 Services North as well, which is very exciting.”
This year’s Christian Aid Christmas appeal is focusing on the plight of the millions of people forced to flee their homes because of conflict, and the charity is sharing stories from communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa.
Families, forced to flee the violence between multiple armed groups and government forces, now live in overcrowded, unsanitary, makeshift conditions with limited access to food, clean water and electricity.
Supporters like the Gloucester groups will be raising funds for the work of Christian Aid’s partners who provide cash assistance so people can buy essential supplies such as food, medicine or bedding; give people better access to clean water; and provide support for survivors of rape and gender-based violence.