Mission

How does St Mary’s support mission work?

St Mary’s has a Mission Committee whose aim is to raise the profile of mission by expanding the Church’s support of mission, increasing the Church’s awareness of the needs of the world, developing links with a number of initiatives and committing to support these regularly.

What initiatives are supported by St Mary’s?

In 2008 The Mission Committee was allocated £8,200.00. This money was allocated in the following ways:

A cheque for £1,000 was presented to Tearfund. Tearfund’s ethos is to provide material and the spoken word to those most in need, through local churches. Partners of Tear Fund connect to needs of local people throughout the world.

We support World Vision through a link with a church in Cambodia and the project is in its closing phase. Reports are coming out this year when we will review whether we want to support another project.

£1,000 has been allocated to ToyBox. Money was also raised with a special Christmas appeal. This charity helps street children in Latin America to build a better life through partnerships with indigenous organisations.
£200.00 was allocated to the Haiti Appeal. Four hurricanes have ripped through Haiti and the UN estimates that as of 10 September 2008 more than 330 people have been killed and 800 000 were displaced.
£1,000 was allocated to Friends of Khasdobir. This is a locally run educational and welfare project based on a cluster of villages known as Khasdobir, on the edge of the town of Sylhet in Bangladesh.
£1,000 was allocated to Stop the Traffic. This is a global coalition working together to help stop the sale of people, to see the traffickers prosecuted and to protect the victims.
£1,000 was allocated to Work Aid. Work Aid’s Mission statement is “To assist vocational training projects and self-help groups in Africa by providing refurbished tools and equipment thus enabling disadvantaged people to acquire practical skills and knowledge so that they may at least earn a basic living and become more self sufficient”.
£500.00 was allocated to The Vineyard Church for the storehouse project. The storehouse provides clothing, food and furniture for the poor in our local area.
St. Mary’s became a link church with Church Mission Society (CMS) partners Susie and Andy Hart. The Harts run Neema Crafts in Tanzania. Julie Whitfield, Link Adviser, from CMS had written to say: “Supporting a Mission Partner is a great way to engage the whole church in an understanding of mission in the global church, and good links with that person can play a vital role in building up the faith and mission life of Christians locally.”
£1,500 was allocated to help with the building work at Neema Crafts.

How is support for Mission promoted at St Mary’s?

African child During 2008 St Mary’s invited guest speakers from The Bible Society, Tearfund, ToyBox and The Vineyard Centre, Storehouse. A bible translator from Word for World gave a presentation at The Christian Centre in April 2008. The profiles of organisations such as Africa Link and Mission Malawi have also been raised and collections for specific appeals have been made including the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

How can I become involved in this work?

If you would like to become involved in the Mission Committee or know more about any of the initiatives it supports please contact the Parish Office.