The Rt Revd Andrew Watson, Bishop of Guildford has urged individuals and churches across Surrey and Hampshire to make this year’s Lent Appeal a bumper year for giving.
The Bishop of Guildford’s Communities Fund (BGCF) provides grants to local projects run by parishes or church-linked organisations, which help people facing financial hardship and other vulnerabilities including loneliness, mental ill-health and disability.
Bishop Andrew said: “Last year we raised £28,000 through special services, through the Lent Appeal, and through a sponsored abseil event where I overcame my rather feeble head for heights and jumped off the Guilford Cathedral tower.
“This year, we would love to raise much more. It would be great if every church could make a special collection this Lent, and if individuals felt moved to join in and support this vital work as well.”
The annual appeal is launched on the first day of Lent (Ash Wednesday) which for Christians, is a period of reflection, prayer, self-discipline and generosity, marking the 40 days and 40 nights that Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness.
Last year, the Fund raised £28,000, which enabled 10 grants to support community projects that are providing meals for vulnerable families, hosting cafes for those who are isolated, as well as funding youth and community work across Surrey and Hampshire.
One of those projects which received a grant last year is St Paul’s Church Addlestone, to support its successful weekly after-school clubs offering a variety of activities for children who might otherwise return to empty homes. Cove Parish was also supported with a grant to launch a second community café at Christ Church, after seeing the positive impact that their original Footprints café at St Johns has made to their homeless and socially-isolated neighbours.
Speaking about the young people they support through the grant-funded project, Rita Nakalawa, the youth and children’s worker at St Paul’s Church, Addlestone said: “Many young people are isolated and some lack a sense of belonging, but we’ve seen new friendships being formed in the youth café, and so many are now exploring faith too.”
Under their Small Grants Scheme, the Fund has helped St Mark’s Church Bordon start a new children’s choir to aid mental health and supported Holy Trinity Aldershot’s weekly brunch club for the homeless.
The charity is hoping to raise a record amount this year as the local need continues to grow. In 2025, over 21,000 children in Surrey were living in poverty, up on the previous year, and in some wards, almost a third of under-16s are living in poverty.
Among other age groups, as of May 2025, there were 14,615 Surrey residents (aged 65 and over) on Pension Credit which has also been used as a measure of 'pensioners in poverty'.
According to extensive research by the National Churches Trust, churches now contribute over £55 billion of social and economic value to the UK each year.