Anglican church blesses St Giles Homes with Easter lunch

The residents of St Giles Homes for the Physically Disabled were treated to a special belated Easter lunch by the St Andrews Anglican Church based in Kensington on May 18.

The luncheon formed part of a biannual outreach effort conducted by St Andrews exclusively for the residents, nursing staff and employees of St Giles.

Social support coordinator at the home Dianne Hasapis said the affiliation with St Andrews has been a meaningful partnership for many years.

And while the home has recently experienced financial constraints owing to dwindling donations, Hasapis said hope remains nigh. The Department of Social Development has committed to providing some assistance, which according to Hasapis, will help in keeping the doors of the home open.

“We really hope that everyone involved will be happy after the partnership agreement has been entered into with the department.

“This will mean that our staff should be able to get increases as they have not been able to get a decent increase for quite a while – something which really worries us,” said Hasapis.

Resident at the home Thando Magagula was pleased with the church’s Easter lunch donation.

“This shows that the church is subscribing to its fundamental teachings of doing for those who cannot do for themselves. It means a lot to us as residents and we really appreciate that which has been given to us,” she said.

Reverend Barbara Schormann, who led the presentation of the lunch with prayer, said the experience of giving to the home is a humbling one.

“The residents sort of thank us for what we do, when in actual fact, we should be thanking them for giving us the opportunity to serve people.

“As part of the ongoing outreach, the collection conducting in November/December was enough not only for the Christmas lunch, but also for the Easter lunch this year,” said Schormann.