Mission at St Mary Magdalene

St Mary Magdalene’s Church seeks to be a centre of Christian worship, teaching, spirituality, prayer and action located at the heart of the local community that is defined by the parish boundaries. We seek, through praise, preaching, and prayer, to share the faith with all whom we encounter. We want to speak of Christ to our community in a welcoming way that is also grounded in reality, encouraging, loving and valuable. We believe that all have a part to play in our common life, and seek through friendship, fellowship, care and prayer to minister the light and love of Christ to all. Through our links in the wider world we hope to take an active part in international affairs, especially where there is poverty, danger or injustice. We hope that the love and care found in our midst can attract and infect others, so that they may turn to Christ, and be joined in fellowship with him and his people.

Charitable Giving

Here at St Mary Magdalene Church we believe it is our Christian duty and privilege to serve those in need with pastoral care, charity, companionship, understanding and welcome and, of course, through prayer.

Many of those we serve live locally and are perhaps lonely, confused, sick, bereaved, are struggling to make ends meet, have lost their jobs or even their homes. We try to offer a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand, advice when we can or maybe just a cup of coffee and some company. We also have a prayer and care group who meet regularly to pray for anyone who needs our support, and a prayer board at the back of church for those seeking anonymous or private prayer.

We also believe firmly in charitable giving and, as Charities Champion, it is my role to ensure we maintain our giving and also support a wide rage of charities. Each year we carry out a house-to-house collection for Christian Aid; we have a Toy Service before Christmas to collect toys for local children; we choose a local charity or one relevant to someone in the congregation to support through our carol singing around the parish; we send regular donations to the Children’s Society; at Harvest we collect food for the local food bank, which we also support throughout the year; and there are always one-off events and special collections.

However, until two years ago the largest part of our charitable giving went to a small charity, Imagine, in Mozambique run by Joe and Lorraine Williams, two very dear friends. Unfortunately, after Joe’s death in 2009, Lorraine bravely stayed on for several years but finally decided at the end of 2015 that she needed to come home. Imagine carried out some amazing work and we were proud to support it. Some of us even travelled to Mozambique to see the work for ourselves. It was a wonderful relationship and we were very sorry to lose it.

Christian Aid Logo

Since then I have been looking to find something to replace it. I doubt we will ever have such a close relationship with a charity again but I believe I have found one that we can truly get behind and work hard to support. During Lent this year I am going to launch a dinner money scheme to raise money for Mary’s Meals, a charity that provides a meal a day for children at school in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean. They believe that by providing this meal children are more likely to go to school and that education is the best way out of poverty. If you would like to know more you can click on the image below to open Mary's Meals website.

At Mary’s Meals, we are focused on one goal – that every child receives a nutritious daily meal in a place of education.

By providing a daily meal in a place of learning, we meet the immediate needs of hungry children and encourage them to go to school to gain an education that can, in the future, be their ladder out of poverty.

It costs just £13.90 to feed a child for a whole school year, so even the smallest amounts can have a huge impact.

Mary's Meals

I am hopeful, because I already know how generous they are, that many in our church family will be willing to take Mary’s Meals to their hearts and that we will support it as best we are able.

Make us ever eager, Lord,
To share the good things that you give us.
Grant us such a measure of your Spirit
That we may find more joy in giving than in receiving.
Make us ready to give more cheerfully without grudging,
Secretly without praise
And in sincerity without looking for gratitude
For Jesus Christ’s sake
Amen
A prayer by John Hunter

Judy Smith
Charities Champion