St Mary’s Mission Partners
At St Mary’s we support a number of individuals and projects looking to share the life-changing love of Jesus with others, both in the UK and abroad.
OPEN DOORS
St Mary’s partners with the charity Open Doors to support and serve persecuted Christians who are living out their faith in countries where to do so can be dangerous, illegal or life threatening. In over 50 countries, Open Doors is supplying Bibles, training church leaders, delivering Bible-based literacy programmes and supporting Christians who suffer for their faith. In the UK and Ireland Open Doors works to raise awareness of global persecution, mobilising prayer, support and action among Christians. Open Doors' core belief is that trust in God’s faithfulness is central to having the courage to persevere as a persecuted Christian – and it’s central to our work as we serve them. Open Doors provide some great resources which you can pick up from the back of church.
Latest news:
For the latest news visit https://www.opendoorsuk.org/news/stories
What can I pray for?
Pray for protection for Christians in India as anti-conversion laws become tougher.
You can also sign up online for their prayer diary and other updates here: http://opendoorsuk.org/pray/
FAITH INITIATIVES AT LONG LARTIN PRISON
This is an exciting opportunity to support Rev. Steven Newnes in his prison ministry at the local Long Lartin prison and to be able to provide some much-needed resources to the Christian outreach to prisoners. The hope is to see men with troubled pasts being transformed as they come to faith.
We've provided four new banners to Long Lartin prison. Chaplain Rev Steven Newnes expressed his thanks:
"These banners will certainly enhance our worshipping experience. I can only reiterate that our department is overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness and generosity."
As well as the banners, we've also provided over 60 study Bibles, and we've also supported the chaplaincy at Long Lartin in providing Christmas gifts of Scripture-based coasters for each of the men who came to Christmas day worship at the jail. These were gratefully received, as the Chaplains at Long Lartin have no budget from the Prison Service for these sorts of items.
What can I pray for?
Pray for those in prison, that they will come to know the living Christ who can comfort and heal them and bring them peace plus a new perspective on life.
INNOVISTA
Innovista works to identify and develop young leaders - in their twenties and thirties - to bring hope to their communities with the Christian faith. Leadership development involves a range of initiatives including training, coaching, mentoring and a wide range of service projects with a focus on areas that are under-resourced.
A thank you message:
"Dear James and everyone at St. Mary's. We are so thankful for you all and for the support you give each year for leaders living in hard-to-reach places. We hope that this update encourages you and demonstrates the difference that your support is having."
What can I pray for?
Take a look at the prayer diary www.innovista.org/pray
You can get to know more about Innovista by visiting https://innovista.org/
ROSSINGTONS
Africa Inland Mission (AIM) is a Christian mission sending agency with a heart for Africa’s peoples. Their desire is to see the worship of Jesus Christ spread across the continent of Africa – through individual lives fully committed to him, and collectively through Christ-centered church communities. With over 1000 African people groups who have yet to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, the task is far from finished.
Recent stories:
At the end of July the Rossington family will be returning to the UK. Bruce will continue working as a Translation Consultant and as the Chair of the AIM Board, focussing on unreached groups amongst the African diaspora in Europe and also supporting a group of colleagues to do similar work in Africa itself. Jan is hopeful that she'll be able to use her language skills and her teaching experience to work as an English language teacher with African and Middle Eastern people who’ve migrated to the UK.
What can I pray for?
Pray for the whole family as they make some big changes this year.
You can get to know more about AIM by visiting https://aimint.org/
GREAT LAKES OUTREACH
GLO works with visionary local leaders to transform Burundi through education, sport, business, healthcare and more, bringing hope to thousands of the most vulnerable. They identify, equip and empower the best local leaders for the transformation of the nation. GLO has identified a network of exceptional Christian leaders in Burundi now representing over ten projects, helping these partners to develop, enabling them to build their increasing self-sufficiency.
Founder Simon Guillebaud's reaction when he received our gift this year:
"Yeeeeehaaaaaah!!!
THANKS SO MUCH! that’s just wonderful. We’re on good form here in Bath and the troops in Burundi are firing on all cylinders!
Do pass on my thanks to all involved in the decision."
What can I pray for?
For protection and wisdom for Onesphore and Grace running the GLO Burundi office . For the whole network of leaders and partner projects working to transform the nation.
You can get to know more about GLO by visiting https://www.greatlakesoutreach.org/index.php
RAFIKI THABO
Rafiki Thabo supports individuals and their communities in Africa through education that embraces their differing abilities. Their vision is that young people, including those living with disabilities, will be empowered through education to enable them to reach their full potential and initiate positive change in their communities.
Recent stories:
Thanks to your support, Rafiki Thabo has been able to provide vital food support to more than 100 families of the scholars they support throughout the lockdown. This has been an absolute lifeline for those families who were already struggling to make ends meet before the pandemic.
What can I pray for?
Pray for upcoming fundraising events including "Rafiki Relay for Education – Cairo to Cape Town".
You can get to know more about Rafiki Thabo by visiting https://rafiki-foundation.org.uk/
So many people in our community feel the weight of debt, and we are passionate about helping to release anyone we can from a life sentence of debt and poverty. At St Mary's we are working with Christians Against Poverty to bring good news, hope and freedom. If you need support, we'd love to hear from you.
Everyone has questions about what life is all about. We believe that everyone should have a chance to share those questions, explore the Christian faith and give their point of view.
Alpha is a place where you can ask those questions in an honest, friendly and open environment. We'll be running a course again in the Autumn, but in the meantime, find out more here...