CHURCH Stretton is showing its community togetherness during difficult days.

From the middle of March, Church Stretton’s town mayor, councillor Bob Welch, has chaired a weekly phone conference to encourage and identify more collaborative working throughout the crisis.

The conferences bring together representatives from Shropshire Council, Church Stretton Town Council, the medical practice, Mayfair, Good Neighbours, the local Co-op, the local shopping service, St Laurence Church Food Bank, Rotary, Round Table, local pharmacies, the chamber of trade and the police.

Church Stretton’s Good Neighbour drivers have been delivering meals to self-isolating elderly residents, while the local community has generously supported Church Stretton’s Food Bank, which has been able to bulk-buy from the local Co-op.

The National Trust was unable to hold its Easter egg hunt in Cardingmill Valley, so donated the Easter eggs to the food bank, which gave them to the local women’s refuge and two local nursing homes, where they were much appreciated.

Mayfair Community Centre has provided the focal point for the community’s response, recruiting over 100 volunteers to help the local Co-op make 25 deliveries a day.

These volunteers have also assisted a consortium of local shops and a shopping service to expand their home deliveries to surrounding villages, making 35 deliveries a day.

The centre also identified 150 vulnerable residents and trained up volunteers to give phone support, especially for those totally reliant on a phone, to counter potential mental health problems.

Members of different denominations from Churches Together have joined each night for a shared act of prayer in their homes, offering Sunday services online, and an online night prayer with Stretton Taize each night at 8pm via www.strettontaize.org.uk.

“This typifies the sense of togetherness which is currently sustaining our community,” said councillor Bob Welch.