CARSTAIRS - Council has been updated on the activities of the Church Link community support organization made up of local pastors and church leaders.
The Town of Carstairs provided the group $10,000 in 2022 to support its activities.
“We think it is a very good investment,” mayor Lance Colby told the Albertan. “I think they serve a great benefit to the community supporting people in need. Council supports Church Link.”
The group is made up of representatives from Rock Community Church, Carstairs Bancroft United Church, Carstairs Catholic Church (St. Agnes Parish), Bethel Evangelical Missionary Church, West Zion Mennonite Church, and Carstairs Church of God.
During a recent council meeting, Church Link officials presented a report to the town on some of the group's activities in 2022, including church services for the residents of Chinook Winds seniors lodge, community church services during Beef & Barley Days, summer day camps and soccer camps for children.
Of the $10,772 provided by the Town of Carstairs in 2022, activities specifically supported included $1,000 for summer camp day, $3,000 for Christmas grocery hampers for local residents, and $5,600 benevolent care/financial support for residents - support that included groceries, fuel, counselling fees, one-month rent payment, funeral service expenses, child’s care seat for a single mom, vehicle repair bill, and financial gift after a house fire.
In operation for the better part of a decade, Church Link has set guidelines to follow in making decisions on the use of funds, with all Church Link churches having input. The group often works in collaboration with Carstairs FCSS and the Town of Carstairs.
“We try to help people get through a difficult situation in the short-term, and redirect them to other community support resources if their need is more significant and long-term,” Church Link officials said in the report.
“Many of these needs come to us as referrals from Carstairs FCSS, Town of Carstairs office, local schools, and from people who phone or come to our churches in distress. We try to offer holistic care to everyone, so our assistance includes financial help, but also a personal visit, spiritual guidance, referrals to other community resources, encouragement, and a desire to ‘love our neighbour’ especially those in desperate situations.”
Church Link has requested $10,000 in funding from the Town of Carstairs. That request has been forwarded to budget deliberations, says chief administrative officer Rick Blair.
Mayor Colby says he expects the 2023 funding request to be granted.
