Churches across the north-east have carried out almost 80,000 acts of kindness since the start of lockdown.
In a new report requested by the Scottish Government and produced by the Evangelical Alliance and Serve Scotland it was shown more than 210,000 supportive acts had been performed nationwide.
Volunteers from churches in Aberdeen such as Seaton Community Church were praised in the papers entitled Stories of Hope.
It was estimated that more than 10,000 people have been helped across the Granite City alone.
From handing out essentials to providing emotional support, churches have been able to aid their local communities even as coronavirus has had its own impact on religious organisations.
Seaton Community Church has helped an estimated 5,700 people since March.
That includes delivering packed lunches to children in the local area, and putting on virtual play sessions for those stuck at home.
And members have been working on a new community church building – with many of them taking part while on furlough from work.
Pastor Barry Douglas said: “From our previous work, we understood the realities of food poverty and, more specifically, child food poverty.
“When this long furlough period came in we knew we could and had to do more, after all we are a local church dedicated to serving our local community, we wanted to reach out and help practically.
“It has been incredible to see the number of volunteers helping out from churches alone, it has been phenomenal.
“You hear such negative reports regarding the church being in decline but in this pandemic I feel that the church has really risen and reached out to communities.”
The community group has been delivering more than 300 meals each week with the help of funding from the Lord Provost’s charitable trust and other bodies.
Mother-of-four Marie Edwards and her partner Michael Murphy faced financial struggles as his wages were cut by 20% after being put on furlough.
Marie Edwards, Lyla, Leah and Michael MurphyThe pair were relieved by both the financial and emotional support on offer, as the closure of schools left the family without free meals.
Packed lunches for the children three days a week from community group were just the helping hand the young family needed.
The 27-year-old mum added: “We didn’t realise that they would be offering help initially, my eldest daughter Leah had just wanted to get involved with some of the playgroups and coffee mornings.
“After getting in touch with them it has just grown from there, Kirsty the family worker for the church gave me a message and said they would be providing packed lunches for the children.
“Then we started getting involved in virtual play groups after school and Barry made an effort to deliver food parcels and gifts for the children, such as crafting equipment, to keep them going.
“Any time we had needed them we only needed to call, home schooling has been difficult, so even just a chat about our days and weeks was such a bonus just having someone to speak to.”
The Murphy family’s story is just one of nearly 220,000 across the country detailed in the Stories of Hope report.
