06.03.2015
Churches Called to Action as fleshandblood Campaign Launches in Dublin
The ‘fleshandblood Ireland’ Campaign was launched by the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic Archbishops of Armagh, the Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke and the Most Revd Eamon Martin, in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, this afternoon, Friday 6 March. This afternoon’s launch marked the culmination of a week of activities which began in St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Armagh, on Monday when Archbishop Richard Clarke and Archbishop Eamon Martin performed the Northern Irish launch of the campaign.
The fleshandblood(fab) campaign aims to mobilise churches to increase the number of blood and organ donors throughout the island. It is the first cross border partnership between churches and health services and will see congregations and parishes being encouraged to see blood and organ donation as part of their giving. It also seeks to equip people as advocates for blood and organ donation, enabling them to raise awareness of the need for donors with their family, friends and community, potentially helping to save thousands of lives each year.
This afternoon’s launch was hosted by the Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Very Revd Victor Stacey, and featured a presentation on the purpose of the campaign and the need for more donors across Ireland. The presentation included speeches by Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop Richard Clarke, Matt Hollidge (director of fab) Colin White of the Irish Kidney Association, Stephen Cousins of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service and Colin Clare who has twice been an organ recipient.
Archbishop Clarke said that the importance of the fleshandblood campaign was that it allowed people to respond with gratitude for the gift of their own lives by enabling others to enjoy the gift of life. Bringing the launch to a close, Archbishop Eamon Martin lit a candle in memory of those who had donated their organs.
Matt Hollidge explained that churches could get involved by:
1. Registering as blood and organ donors and talking about it to family and loved ones.
2. Giving blood and encouraging others to do so.
3. Raising awareness within church communities and in the wider community.
Founded as a partnership between Kore and NHS Blood and Transplant in 2013, the fleshandblood campaign has already witnessed widespread support across churches, community groups and from government ministers in England, Wales and Scotland, with over 35,000 local church leaders having been resourced. The impact has been so great that other faith groups working on similar concepts are also being supported by the organisers of the campaign.
For more information about the campaign, its 3 calls to action for churches, free resources, and stories visit: www.fleshandblood.org or contact info@fleshandblood.org
Photo captions:
Top – the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd Eamon Martin; director of the fleshandblood campaign, Matt Hollidge; and the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke at the launch of the fleshandblood campaign in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.
Bottom – Mark Murphy of the Irish Kidney Association; Stephen Cousins of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service; the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd Eamon Martin; Colin White of the Irish Kidney Association; the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke; Paul McElkerney of the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service; Colin Clare, two time organ donor recipient; and the Dean of St Patrick’s Cathdral, Dublin, the Very Revd Victor Stacey.