An Angus church has delivered more than 300 food parcels to families to keep the local community thriving during the coronavirus pandemic.
Rev Dr Karen Fenwick, of Lowson Memorial Church in Forfar, worked with local businesses following an increasing demand for support.
The church was forced to close to the public and had to cancel breakfast clubs and pensioner’s lunch groups which helped the local community.
But Dr Fenwick, alongside her husband Graham, son Jonathan and a group of dedicated volunteers, decided to take the church to the community by preparing boxes of food to help people who are struggling.
The local minister has thanked local businesses – Saddlers Bakery, Cashleys at the Cross, Strathmore Foods and Richardson’s Newsagents – who stepped in to support the scheme.
Supermarkets such as Aldi and Tesco have also donated to the food drive.
She said: “After lockdown, we decided that if people couldn’t come to us, we take food to them.
“We have had a remarkable response from local businesses and volunteers who have helped by giving us food – it has truly been a community effort and we can’t thank them enough as it wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
“In the first week alone, we took out 120 parcels but that seems to be growing – now we are up to beyond the 300 mark.”
The congregation’s spirit has also been kept high as Dr Fenwick has set up an online session for churchgoers to enjoy worship in the comfort of their own home.
Livestreams run from the church’s YouTube channel, with daily services running this week to mark holy week.
Children have been attending Sunday school virtually and helped decorate the church for Psalm Sunday.
Dr Fenwick added: “I have been amazed at the amount of people coming to watch the online services.
“We have always enjoyed a good crowd at Lowson’s with about 200 people coming on a Sunday – but now we are getting about 800 views.
“We’ve had a fantastic response from people saying it has cheered them up.
“For Psalm Sunday, the Sunday school children drew around their hands and coloured it green and I collected them and stuck them up in the church to make a palm tree.
“I used this at the start of the service to show that people are still part of something even if they can’t get here.”
