Last year, a church and school in Durham Diocese decided to build upon their excellent relationship by jointly participating in Stewardship’s 40 Acts Lent campaign.
With support from Diocesan Generous Giving Team, the congregation at St Mary’s Church, Easington Village, and the pupils, parents and staff of Easington Church of England Primary School came together at a special Ash Wednesday service to launch 40 Acts, and think about how the little things we do can make a big difference to the people around us.
First launched over a decade ago, 40 Acts grew into a movement inspiring more than 100,000 people to practise everyday generosity throughout Lent. After a five-year break, its revival in 2025 brought with it a renewed call to make generosity a daily habit one small act at a time; something already close to the hearts of those at Easington C of E School.
Mr Appleby, Head Teacher of Easington C of E School, explained, “The school and children fully embraced the 40 Acts Challenge. One of our school values is Thankfulness and this fitted perfectly. The children enjoyed completing different acts of generosity and seeing the amazing, positive impact this had.”
Essy in Year 4 added, “I loved taking part in the 40 Acts Lent Challenge. It made me feel thankful for everything I have.”
Revd Paul Child, who led the service and works in the Generous Giving Team said, “The link between St Mary’s and Easington C of E School has been nurtured by both parties for many years. For them to explore the loving generosity of God by participating in 40 Acts together underlines how connected and supportive the church and school are.”
Hazel Wilson from St Mary’s added, “It is a joy and pleasure to welcome our Church of England school pupils, staff and parents, to join our congregation on a Wednesday morning. The school attends two to three times a term. The pupils take a great part in the service, singing with the praise band, saying prayers and much more. The church is blessed to have strong links with the school, several of our PCC members help with reading and leading assemblies.”
Excitingly, the impact of 40 Acts continued past Lent and into the rest of the year.
Hazel continued, “Last year, our 40 Acts and generosity service, for Lent with Revd Paul proved a great success, both in church and school. The school continued their random acts of kindness throughout the year, presenting members of the congregation at church with gifts and also visiting people in the community taking a gift and card for special birthdays.”
Teaching Assistant, Mrs Kirkwood said, “40 Acts linked so well to the Random Acts of Kindness we do in school. It allowed the children to think of others and what they could do to help.”
Reflecting on what they had learned from the experience, Charlotte in Year 5 said, “The 40 Acts just made me feel thankful to the people who I take for granted every day. My family, teachers, school cooks. I appreciate them much more now.”
Finley, in Year 6, summed the challenge up. “Easter isn't just about eating chocolate. It is about being kind and generous to others.”
This year the Generous Giving Team are again encouraging churches, schools and anyone else who fancies it to take part in the 40 Acts campaign. Participants can choose to reveal a daily a reflection on generosity, a Bible verse, prayer points and some simple yet impactful acts to help live out our faith in fresh, generous ways. There are also sermon notes, all age worship ideas and wallcharts to pin on the fridge and encourage participants to Do Lent Generously.
For more information about how you can encourage your church or school to take part in the 40 Acts challenge, contact the Generous Giving Team at: giving@durham.anglican.org or visit stewardship.org.uk/40acts