Tributes have poured in for the Sheffield-based Christian charity worker, Chris Marriott, 46, who was hit by a car while helping a stranger. The tragic circumstances of his death led to police praising him as a “Good Samaritan”. In a statement his family said, “Chris was also a man of faith who wanted others to also experience the joy he had found trusting in Jesus.” A man has since been charged with murder and over £50,000 has been raised for Chris’ family on a GoFundMe page. As well as being a member of City Church Sheffield and a volunteer for Jubilee+, the father of two was the IT manager for Community Money Advice (CMA). Their CEO, Heather Keates, pays tribute to him
I first met Chris when he was involved in running Community Money Advice’s (CMA) debt advice centre in Sheffield. I was struck by his compassion and determination to make a difference in the lives of those in his community who were struggling with debt.
It wasn’t about the mechanics of debt advice for Chris, it was about the whole person and he would go the extra mile in ensuring his clients had access to the best service possible based on their unique set of circumstances. We therefore jumped at the chance of having Chris come on board as one of our CMA Hub advisers in 2021 and very quickly realised that he brought a raft of skills, including significant IT expertise which we were able to utilise. Chris quickly became the go-to man for all things IT, and the role was formalised with Chris being asked him to head up the data security and IT department.
Our prayer meetings seem poorer for not having his wisdom and insight
I can testify to Chris’s tremendous patience as he never seemed frustrated when I rang him for the umpteenth time to try and get my laptop talking with my printer or sort crashing errors after a regular security update. I know that he was happy to travel and hand-hold people through the technicalities of getting Quickbooks up and running or sorting software glitches, despite us all working remotely.
Chris was tremendously proud of his family and last year he felt that it was right to step down from his role as a Hub adviser so that he could spend more time with his two boys. In our last conversation together, Chris was talking about how excited the boys were and the plans they had made as it was their birthdays just prior to Christmas.
Chris’s friendly personality and ability to include others and make them feel valued meant that Chris was known, respected and liked by the entire network. As Claire Daniels, our Hub Manager has said, “Whatever Chris had going on in his life he was always still so concerned about other people, how they were and how he could support them. He was always checking in to see how I was and offering virtual cups of tea to make things better! His ability to explain complicated things in understandable language and to put jumbled text into something that was clear and logical was unrivalled. I’m going to miss him as a colleague and I’m going to miss him as a friend. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to know him and his legacy is one of always choosing kindness.”
We will miss his laugh at our management team meetings and the prayer meetings seem poorer for not having his wisdom and insight. We will remember Chris’s drive to do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers and this will be the example for us as the CMA staff team to spur us on to continue to bring freedom from debt and hope for the future for this nation.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:9-10)
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