There is no shame if at some point in our lives we might struggle. The words of a local church pastor, John Shades, who sees the highs and lows of life every day in Enniskillen. John and his team at the Lakes Vineyard Church attempt to respond to people’s difficulties by offering them support in their time of need.

The Lakes Vineyard Church established its Inside-Out food store last Spring and since then, they have provided food hampers to more than 500 families. The food is all donated and volunteers help to pack and prepare it ready for delivery to the needy families.

There’s no big agenda here to convert people but rather to promote community support. This is what we’ve learned over generations when friends and neighbours have been there for those going through tough times.

Now in the 21st century when consumerism can trap us all into a false sense of security, we don’t expect to find people struggling to pay for their food or other essentials in life.

People might be having difficulties with their household budgets. We all know how costly everything is, especially paying for food, clothes and providing sufficient heat on meagre incomes.

If we think this is bad now, then we have been warned about the implications of welfare reforms in the months and years to come.

But it’s not just that it is happening in a few isolated cases. Pastor John Shades is taken aback by the amount of poverty in our community as indicated by the number of families they have helped over the past year and even if there is a notion the church food store might be helping those dealing with problems such as alcoholism or drug addiction, he says they have to think of everyone connected, especially any children.

This is very much a case of the church going to the people rather than the other way round. Perhaps acts like these might instill community values in us all, to encourage us to talk to each other and show support for each other, no matter who we are or what we do.