Thanks to the generous giving of church members in Peasedown St John, Wellow, Foxcote and Shoscombe, the three ‘St J’s Group’ parishes have given away over £9,000 this year to local, national and international causes.
St John’s Church in Peasedown has adopted the biblical principle of giving away the first 10% of their income each year in a bid to practice what they preach. This year over £7,000 was set aside for the church’s Tithing Committee to make decisions about where the money should go. In the past 12 months the committee has received applications for funding and financial assistance from a range of organisations.
Church Leader, Revd Matthew Street said: “This year we have been able to support international projects such as Flame International and The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem – which many Christians believe to be the burial place of Jesus Christ prior to his resurrection. The oversees projects we support often have a personal link for our church so we can receive regular feedback on how our donations are being spent.
“We are also extremely pleased to be supporting local initiatives such as the Timsbury-based charity Bibles for Children and theFilling Station – an initiative which takes the Christian message to people in a more relaxed and informal manner.”
St Julian’s Church in Wellow has donated £1,000, which was split between The Filling Station and the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, the united parish of St Julian’s Shoscombe and St James’ Foxcote gave £350 to Water Aid which works around the world to ensure people have access to clean water.
Revd Street added: “All of my churches feel extremely blessed to be in a position to donate this money each year.
“As we move more into a culture of collaborative working, and building a ‘Big Society’, the church can play an increasingly key role in supporting projects which in the past would have received their support from elsewhere.”
On Sunday 14th October, the St J’s Group will celebrate Mission Sunday with services in all the churches that will include presentations from groups that have benefitted from funding. Anyone is welcome to go along to find out more:
10.00am, St James’, Foxcote
10.30am, St John’s Church, Peasedown
11.15am, St Julian’s Church, Wellow
4.30pm, Peasedown Youth Hub, Peasedown
For more information about Mission and Outreach giving in the St J’s Group contact the benefice administrator Hywel Carr on 07881 921018 or email [email protected]
Alternatively, visit the website for the St J’s Group, www.stjsgroup.com, which includes details of future events, the church’s work in the community, activities going on during the week and live recordings of Sunday sermons.
