Supporting OthersSUPPORTING OTHERS St. Paul's looks outwards... As part of the life of St. Paul’s we undertake the Biblical principal of tithing which is giving one tenth of your income to God. Each year 10% of the church income is passed on to others, either within the Christian community or elsewhere. The congregation are asked to submit nominations for organisations or projects that would be suitable and these are discussed and prayerfully selected. With the income from 2009 we have been able to help support the following during 2010.
CLEM In July 1995, a group of very poor Methodist women decided that they needed to do more than talk about improving the condition of their lives. They enjoyed their weekly women's fellowship meeting, but there was an unfulfilled desire. Simply praying for change would not make change a reality. They began to dream of making the impossible possible - to find a physical "space" in which they, together with other women friends and neighbours from their barrios (the urban suburbs in Montero) could explore practical ways to challenge and transform the fiercely machista norms and mores that dominated and controlled their lives in Bolivia. In response to information about Empowerment Grants for Women from the Women's Network of the Methodist Church, CLEM received a one-off donation of £2,500, a huge sum in light of the available earning power of a poor unskilled woman (less than £1 a day if she is lucky). They contacted a builder, who refurbished a dilapidated hut leant to the group by the local Methodist Church and created their precious "Woman's space". They began to run a photocopying service. By 1997, CLEM had begun to catch the Spirit of Change and produced some of the first shoulder bags from Bolivian aguayo cloth to sell in Britain. The Methodist Women's Network acted as a network through which some of these goods could be distributed. Now, a Medical Centre is built on land that CLEM has bought. Other grants have come in and are helping the women of CLEM to achieve their dreams. The women of CLEM are still producing and selling their goods made from aguayo cloth. These range from £2 to £40. Specialist items are also made to order. Michele and Hannah from St. Paul’s have not only been involved in selling the wonderful goods that these ladies craft and have both been to Bolivia to meet them in and assist with the work and mission there.
CMJ (The Church’s Ministry among Jewish people)
Barnabas Fund
CFI – Christian Friends Of Israel
Wheels for the World is the flagship programme of “Through the Roof”, which restores and distributes previously used wheelchairs or other mobility aids to hundreds of people in Africa and eastern Europe - allowing them a freedom of movement they could only dream about and demonstrating the love of God in a practical way. Sue Pimentel from St. Paul’s has travelled with the charity to Albania , Jordan, Ukraine, Tanzania and Kenya. |
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