A priest has been dubbed “Reverend Candles” by parishioners after he collected hundreds of used candles in order that they may very well be melted down, reshaped and despatched to Ukraine.
The Reverend Will Lyon Tupman, 29, based mostly at St Mary's Church in Sawston, Cambridge, began accumulating candles in 2022 after listening to about an attraction for spare components.
When he noticed previous candles in his sacristy, he mentioned he had a “mild bulb” second.
The candles had been taken to a charity, which melted them all the way down to create new ones.
“I heard a couple of marketing campaign via a contact on the Sandy Rotary Membership in Bedfordshire, which collected previous candles that had been taken to the Swindon Humanitarian Help Partnership. They had been used to provide new ones despatched to Ukraine,” mentioned Lyon Tupman.
“Church buildings use loads of candles, and I observed a field filled with used ones in my sacristy. It was my mild bulb second. I appealed to the church buildings and the clergy, and everybody was on board.”
He described the initiative as a “win-win” scenario.
“The church buildings have a spring clear and recycle their previous candles. It was so encouraging to see the spirit of generosity.”
He mentioned the necessity for candlelight in Ukraine was “big”, as “as much as 40%” of the nation's electrical energy provide had been broken for the reason that begin of the large-scale invasion of Russia.
“I’ve collected hundreds of used candles from nation church buildings within the Cambridge and St Neots space, in addition to Bedfordshire,” mentioned Lyon Tupman.
He additionally traveled throughout the Essex border to Saffron Walden to gather candles.
“I am going out and do a weekly assortment, when I’ve a full automotive, I take them to the rotary membership, the place [rotary member] Dudley Smith hauls a couple of ton and a half of them to the Swindon charity.”
Mr Smith mentioned volunteers from the Wiltshire charity melted down some candles to create new ones, and people who had been nonetheless intact had been “shipped by lorry to Ukraine and thru a community of charities scattered across the nation”.
Thanking Mr. Lyon Tupman for his collections, Mr. Smith wrote: “Those who your congregation has collected ought to hold folks heat in Ukraine for Valentine's Day.
“As I discovered after I visited Ukraine final March, [the candles] They’re very talked-about with the general public.”
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