This section contains information about how St Peter's supports mission work outside the parish. Also included are articles about the organisations that we support regularly.
Mission Policy
St Peter’s recognises that it is part of the world-wide church and that it has a responsibility to help with the work of the church in other, deprived, parts of the world. Hence it is the policy of St Peter’s to give regularly – prayer, money and manpower - to four Christian projects bringing relief to people in need – three of the projects being overseas and one in the UK (fairly close to Hersham).
The PCC budgets 12.5% of its income from members’ giving to go to these projects and to one-off appeals.
The job of the Mission Support Team is to select mission projects upon which St Peter’s will focus 90% of its giving. The Team maintains ongoing contact, being careful to make the relationships two-way. The Team holds regular prayer meetings reflecting the day to day needs of the projects. The Team also handles appeals that come in to the church during the year, organises special additional collections and publicises news of what is going on.
Youth With A Mission, Beira, Mozambique
Casa Re-om is one of the original links and remains important. Casa Re-om was founded by Pastor Bonga and two missionaries from YWAM to provide a safe place for street boys in Beira, the second largest city in Mozambique. Some years ago a new home was built in Inhamizua, a village 14 kms away from Beira and is now home to around 30 boys. Casa Reom Trust was founded by m2o church in Rugby and raises funds to improve the Inhamizua site: the building projects are still continuing. Jane West is a trustee of the Trust and is happy to answer any questions on its operations.
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF)
Mission Aviation Fellowship was chosen, approved by the PCC and appointed as a mission link in December 2019.
What does MAF do around the world? In a sentence MAF operates 135 light aircraft reaching 1,400 destinations in 26 countries. They have demonstrated a light aircraft in Vauxmead and at 2 local schools to illustrate and explain their work. Look at the MAF website for more information. We are being linked up with Papua New Guinea, one of MAF’s first ventures that quickly grew to become their largest operation. This will be a two-way connection, based on prayer and exchange of information. We think that it will be challenging as well as informing and hope that you will learn a lot about mission as well as praying for MAF as they will be praying for us.
The Peace & Hope Trust
The Peace and Hope Trust is a UK based charity with a Christian Ethos. The trust has been working amongst poor and marginalised communities in Nicaragua since it was founded in 1996 by Mike Cole.
Many volunteers, including several members of St Peter's, have been inspired to help a country that is regulalrly affected by natural disasters, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and landslides and remains one of the neediest in the Western Hemisphere. The Trust has built schools, provided school uniforms and other materials, and held dental clinics in the most remote communities. Its funds mostly come from churches and from a single shop in Ross-on-Wye.
In recent years, intensified political pressure on western-sponsered NGO's in Nicaragua has sadly cut back their work, and the Peace and Hope Trust now works in the Phillipines and Romania too.
Hersham Youth Trust (HYT)
We have selected Hersham Youth Trust (HYT) to be our home link.
HYT operates a youth club in Arch Road and is in urgent need of our help, both financially and with volunteering.
Those who are interested in volunteering should speak first with a member of MST, or one of the volunteers from St Peter's, Margaret Hicks, Deborah Lock, David Lock, Martin Daniels, Des Humphrey.