In a year that has seen a rise in the cost of living and inflation, the continued humbling generosity of the Church has meant that St Mungo’s has again been able to be a blessing in the area of mission both in the UK and around the world as mission partners and projects continue to recover from the impact of the pandemic. This has enabled us to continue our vision of being a missional church, making an impact in both mission and mercy, and continuing to positively impact this significant area of ministry in our church.
St Mungo’s continues to give between 15% and 20% of all our income to Mission work. The majority of this is distributed to our 8 main mission partners [reminder of these are listed below and further information for each one can be found here], who received a total of £110,400 in 2021/22. We also gave gifts in response to several emergency situations:
· £7,000 to Tearfund’s Afghanistan appeal in December and May.
· £10,000 to OM’s Ukraine appeal in March and May.
· £2,000 to SU Scotland’s Holiday Sponsorship appeal.
· £2,000 to Tearfund’s Ethiopia Crisis appeal.
· £2,000 to the Pentland Ukrainian Support Group.
· £2,500 each to OM and Tearfund’s Pakistan Flooding appeals.
Year-end gifts were also distributed to Open Doors and International Justice Mission, each receiving £1,000 for their work in support of the persecuted church and ending human trafficking and slavery, respectively.
In total we gave almost £177,000 to support UK and World Mission, plus our Christmas Gift of £27,320, which last year was split between CMS towards a solar powered borehole and Starfish Asia for the renovation of one of their schools. Both projects hugely benefitted from these generous funds and each project has made a considerable difference to their communities.
This week, at the start of our new financial year, the Vestry approved gifts for the coming year of £13,800 for each of our main mission partners; £5,000 to Bethany’s Welcome Centre; £6,000 to Starfish Asia; £6,000 to Holy Trinity Church, Wester Hailes in support of their Counselling Manager costs and the running of the Food Bank and £5,000 to Just Earth. We will also continue to support Gavin & Heather Falconer in Ecuador serving with Reach Beyond , Deborah Mitchell on her SU Gap Year at Lendrick Muir and Tod & Andrea Chapin in their ministry to leaders in ministry and their spouses in Scotland. Our support of smaller donations to several other mission organisations also continues.
Local mission ministries remain close to our heart and we love to hear stories from members of our congregation, who take up opportunities to volunteer and support those who are serving our local communities, offering a lifeline to those in need. If you would like to get involved, please get in touch and I can point you in the right direction.
Our main Mission Partners:
Bethany Christian Trust
Challenge Ministries Swaziland
Comfort International
Holy Trinity Church, Wester Hailes
Operation Mobilisation [Steve Packwood]
Scripture Union Scotland
Tearfund
Wycliffe Bible Translators [David & Evelyn]
Please continue to pray for our main mission partners and projects, that they would continue to make a difference in the areas and communities they serve, continuing to bring hope, light and transformation to a world in need as poverty, conflict and turmoil remain.
Galatians 6:2 [Amplified Bible]
Carry one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfil the requirements of the law of Christ [that is, the law of Christian love].
Wendy Brown