What is mission? The Archbishop of Canterbury calls it
“finding out what God is doing and joining in”. It is a
state of mind through which we find ourselves looking outwards to the
world, sensing God’s presence there yet seeing the potential for what
might be
Our objective in St Mary’s is to have a clear and vigorous programme
for mission in our community and overseas, to which the congregation is
committed.
We have adopted two major projects to which we believe we can make a
significant difference and which in turn will shape us as a church for
a long time into the future
One is the Under Tree Schools charity,
committed to building a school for girls in Malek, South Sudan, and
developing a relationship with its community. We have been very
fortunate to have had Joseph and Karin Ayok-Loewenberg with us for a number
of years. The charity is Joseph’s vision to educate women in his home
area and thus help the development of the new country after civil war.
We are able to generate a substantial contribution towards the work of
the charity in financial and management terms, and are benefiting from
the closer knowledge it brings us of African issues. Click here for the UTS October 2011 newsletter. And for photos of the school click here
In North Barnes we support the Castelnau
Centre Project, which is working with all age groups on the
Castelnau Estate, including families who have fewer opportunities than
most Londoners. We contribute some funding but also our time
We also have strong links with Richmond Welcare, FiSH, Barnes Green Day Centre and West London Churches Homeless Concern
Through our diocesan Fairer Shares contribution we support the work of the Church of England in providing parish priests in the inner city
For more information on the work of our Faith in Action Group contact the Church Office
Useful links: