On Thursday 13th March 2025, the Mamma Margherita Fellowship hosted three outreach members of Samaritans, who explained the origin of this organisation and work they do.
Samaritans was started in 1953 by Chad Varah, an Anglican priest in London who had been deeply affected by the death by suicide of a 14-year-old girl some years before, at whose funeral he officiated. Currently there are 23,000 Samaritans in the UK at more than 200 branches.
The talk was very interesting, and the team answered many questions from the audience. The talk was concluded with a poignant poem written by a Samaritan after their interaction with a caller. You can read the poem here.
After tea and cakes, we held the raffle, distributed birthday cards. Notices were announced regarding the trip in the summer to Runnymede, Lenten lunches on Fridays between 1.00 and 2.00pm, and the topic for next month which is ‘Cyber Bobby’.
Eileen O’Connell provided the thought for today, reminding us that this year is a Jubilee year and it’s subject: Hope.
Next month’s meeting is on April 10th at 2.00pm in the Church Hall.
Photos © Ron Cooper
