Drumbeg charity ‘soup-porters’ return to kitchen to raise funds

Members of St Patrick’s Church of Ireland in the village welcomed 32 people to their church hall on Friday 1 October when they raised more than £200 for international aid agency, Christian Aid Ireland.

The fundraising lunches are organised by a 12-strong team of parishioners who take turns to make the soup and run the event, supported by the rector, the Reverend Willie Nixon. There are usually four soup varieties on offer, changing from month to month.

October’s event was organised by Jacqui Bloomer, Rosemary Bunting, Cynthia Dorman, Joan Maguire, Ann McNally and Hazel O’Hara. The soups on offer were lentil, mushroom, vegetable and leek and potato.

Simple church hall lunches, consisting of home-made soup served with bread and cheese have been a mainstay of Christian Aid’s church-based fundraising for more than fifty years and had been interrupted only by the covid pandemic. The Drumbeg lunch is held from 12.15 on the first Friday of every month.

To comply with public health advice, the Drumbeg volunteers have introduced table service rather than serving from a hatch as in the past. Diners wear a mask until they are seated at a table.

Christian Aid Ireland’s Senior Church and Community Officer Helen Newell attended the Drumbeg lunch to thank the organisers and diners for their support.

She said: “We are grateful to Reverend Nixon and all the organisers for their hard work, and to everyone who attended to support the event. The Drumbeg lunch comes at a time when Christian Aid Ireland is helping people on the frontline of the global hunger crisis – hunger that is made worse by conflict and climate change.”

The next Drumbeg soup lunch will be held on Friday 5 November from 12.15 and everyone is welcome.

To help Christian Aid Ireland reach more people affected by hunger, please visit caid.ie/Hunger or telephone 028 9064 8133 to make a donation.