Broughshane clergyman's 72-hour fast to tackle hunger and extreme poverty

A retired County Antrim clergyman is preparing to begin a 72-hour fast to raise funds for an aid agency’s work with vulnerable communities around the world.

Rev Canon Stuart Lloyd will abstain from all food and drink, allowing himself only water, from 8pm on Wednesday 14 May until 8pm on Saturday 17 May in an effort to raise funds for the work of Christian Aid.

Canon Stuart’s fast will be sponsored by the parishioners of St Patrick's Church of Ireland in Broughshane, the church he joined after retiring as rector of Ballymena and Ballyclug where he served for 27 years.

During business hours on each of his three fast days, Canon Lloyd will sit in the mall outside McNeill’s grocery and hardware shops in Broughshane, collecting donations and raising awareness of the work of Christian Aid.

This will be the fourth year that Canon Lloyd has completed a 72-hour fast to mark Christian Aid Week. Christian Aid Week (11-17 May) began in the 1950s and is thought to be the UK and Ireland’s longest-running fundraising campaign. Each year, tens of thousands of people across the UK and Ireland get involved in raising funds to support the charity’s work to reach people living in poverty and crisis across the world.

Christian Aid Ireland Chief Executive Rosamond Bennett thanked Canon Lloyd for his fundraising: “We are very grateful to Canon Stuart for his incredible self-sacrifice and to everyone at St Patrick’s Broughshane and in the wider community who sponsor him each year.

“Around the world, climate change is bringing heatwaves, drought and flash flooding which destroy vital food crops, driving millions of people into hunger and poverty. But each year during Christian Aid Week, people like Canon Stuart raise the vital funds we need to help affected communities survive and thrive.”

Canon Lloyd is no stranger to charity fundraising. In 2021, he completed 50 ascents of Slemish mountain over seven days - equivalent to the height of Mount Everest - raising £15,000 for charitable projects in Nepal.

For more information or to donate, please visit caweek.ie