A KIND-HEARTED church congregation in Oldbury has clubbed together to bring festive joy to families living on the bread line.

Members of Kings Community Church filled and packaged more than 30 hampers of food and other essentials to deliver to people in the community.

The church runs Christians Against Poverty Debt Centre so members witness the hardship poor families endure in Oldbury.

Minister Matthew Nott said: “We know there is a serious, immediate need among some of the people in our care.

“It’s really tough living on a low income and many of the people we are working with have a list of other difficulties besides such as ill health, joblessness or grief.

"It is an absolute privilege to bring about a smile or two and lighten the load for them."

He added: “Christmas is about God’s gift of Jesus to all of us. He set the tone of outrageous generosity right at the start so giving is a great way for us to celebrate this special time of year.”

The hampers have been filled with donations from the church and local businesses and are one way the church is planning to bring Christmas cheer to the community.

Kings Community Church is also hosting several Christmas services including a carol service on Friday, December 23 at 7pm.

Oldbury Debt Centre, based at Kings Community Church offers people a free debt counselling service which, uniquely, is done through home visits making it ideal for people in poor health or mobility issues.

Oldbury CAP Debt Centre Manager Sarah Jordan said: “It’s a privilege to be able to say to people that however impossible their financial situation seems, we will be able to unravel the mess and help them to become debt free.

“If you know you are already in crisis, please get in touch via our website capuk.org or by calling our Freephone number 0800 328 0006.

"We’d love to visit you and see how we can help.”

Anyone wanting to donate to CAP’s hamper appeal can call capuk.org/christmas.