IN THE week of the Commonwealth Day service in Westminster, it seems fitting that the Church Times Train-A-Priest (TAP) Fund, after supporting English ordinands for 60 years, should look beyond these shores to a continent where those training for the priesthood have practically no backing at all.

Over the past three years, the TAP Africa appeal has been able to fund a small number of ordinands in the poorest countries in Africa, working with our partner CAPA, the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa, a co-ordinating body that operates in 25 coun­tries and 13 Provinces.

Your donations this Lent could turn that small number into a larger one. True to the history of the TAP Fund, not a single penny is used for the administration of the fund, so that donors can be sure that everything they give will go directly to ordinands, to help them in their training and to support their families.

Donations can be made quickly and securely online at: churchtimes.co.uk/train-a-priest-fund