The Benefice Group for World Mission meets to discuss and pray for the needs of our many mission contacts in the UK and abroad. We also respond to emergencies around the world and recommend appropriate action to our Rector and the three PCCs of the benefice. Our support is through prayer and, where appropriate, donations of money and goods.
Support for overseas mission:
All three churches have had close links with All Nations Christian College going back many years, and through that association they are on-going supporters of several former students, mainly working abroad, for example:
Catherine McGoldrick grew up locally. With her husband Stephen she trained at All Nations, and they are now serving with Worldwide Evangelisation for Christ (WEC International) in Burundi with their adopted sons, Asher & Jacques. St Mary’s is one of their supporting churches and there are envelopes available in St Mary's for donations to the McGoldricks.
Andrew and Samara Ellis with their children Ceanna, Asher and Toby were placed at All Saints and St Catherine’s by All Nations College some years ago. The benefice now supports their work in Harare, Zimbabwe, leading the River of Life church as well as Youth discipleship and Church leader development. See https://www.riveroflifechurch.co.zw/ for more information on the River of Life church.
David & Marlene Fry were placed at St Mary’s by All Nations. David is the leader of MediaWorks, a Christian media mission which is part of OM (Operation Mobilisation) in Austria. Marlene teaches German at The Oasis, a Christian support ministry for refugees near the largest refugee centre in the country.
Fred and Regina Jupe were placed at St Mary’s by All Nations. After many years working in Central Asia, they now disciple refugees in Germany and support church planting teams in Central Asia.
John & Gillian Robinson lived in Puckeridge whilst attending a short refresher course at All Nations. They work for Crosslinks in Bangkok where they set up the Place of Grace to support the local community in a variety of ways. More information can be found at https://www.placeofgracebkk.com
Other Mission Partners:
Kisiizi Hospital Uganda. Dr Ian Spillman who, with his wife Hanna, was at one time placed at St Mary’s by All Nations, was until his retirement in 2022 Medical Superintendent at Kisiizi Hospital, Uganda. For several years the proceeds of Lent Appeals at Standon have been sent to Kisiizi. Knitted vests, blankets, toys & other clothing for babies, made by many people in the Benefice including the Knit & Natter group, are regularly sent to Kisiizi.
Holy Land Institute for the Deaf (HLID) Jordan. In May 2022 a group of church members, under the leadership of John and Basma Chitham visited HLID during their pilgrimage to Jordan. We were all enormously impressed and touched by the care and compassion given to the disabled children at the school. HLID is a Christian (Anglican) foundation running since 1964, and receiving financial, prayer and volunteering support from a number of countries. We resolved to explore how we as a Benefice could also play a part in supporting HLID.
Samaritan’s Purse - each Christmas a large number of shoe boxes packed with children's gifts are sent to needy areas abroad through Samaritan’s Purse. More information can be found at https://www.samaritans-purse.org.uk/
The Bible Society - St Mary’s has given support to their work in the past. More information can be found at https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/
Leprosy Mission- for many years St Mary’s has given support to their work. More information can be found at https://www.leprosymission.org.uk/
Tearfund - the churches of the benefice channel some of their giving through Tearfund, often through special appeals. Nine out of ten Christian teenagers in the UK are concerned about the climate crisis. Tearfund are challenging churches to put our faith into action to tackle poverty and injustice. See https://www.tearfund.org/get-involved/take-action and https://www.tearfund.org/stories/2021/10/the-churchs-role-in-climate-action
Emergency appeals - the congregations are keen to respond to individual emergencies as they arise. St Mary’s maintains a Tithe Fund, consisting of 10% of any bequests to the church, which may be used to supplement what is given by individual donors. Each of the churches aims to give a tenth of its income to charity.
Annual Appeals - our Benefice has two regular Appeals for Mission each year; at Harvest our Appeal is usually for overseas Mission Partners, and at Advent, our Appeal supports local Home Mission. In 2022 our Harvest Appeal was in support of the Ellis and McGoldrick families in Zimbabwe and Burundi respectively.
Support for Local Home Mission - Within the last few years at Advent, we have supported The Living Room, Future Living, Emmaus, Herts Young Homeless, and the Buntingford Food Bank. Boxes of Hope containing food and household essentials, were also distributed to local families experiencing hardship as a result of Covid.