This is a text-only version of an article first published on Wednesday, 21 August 2013. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
THE diocesan rural officer the Revd Canon Glyn Evans has been appointed Honorary Chaplain to the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (R. A. B. I ) following a recommendation by Bishop Colin.
"R. A. B. I 's head office is based in Oxford and I have been a supporter of their work.
I was honoured to be asked," said Glyn, (pictured right) whose role will be to provide pastoral support for staff, lead R. A. B. I services, and attend occasional grants meetings. Founded over 150 years ago the R. A. B. I.
is a grant-making charity which helps farming people in financial difficulty.
Support is confidential and includes one-off or regular payments, funding for essential household items, disability equipment, relief farm staff, home-help and care costs.
Its Gateway project can provide training opportunities to allow people to develop skills they can use to get off-farm work to supplement their income. "Many churches already support R. A. B. I especially at harvest festivals" Glyn said; "they also rely on local people including churches to bring R. A. B. I's work to the attention of those who need their support. "This year has been a difficult time for farming because of the extreme weather which has affected both arable and livestock farmers.
In the first six months of this year R. A. B. I made grants totalling £1. 2 million, a 25% rise on the same period last year. Glyn combines his role as diocesan rural officer with that of being a regional director with the Farming Community Network.
"FCN and R. A. B. I work in complementary ways to support farmers" said Glyn " and this fits well with my role in the diocese". To find out how R. A. B. I can help you or someone you know call the Freephone helpline on 0300 303 73 73.