St Mary's Church has a policy of giving at least 10% of its annual ordinary income. (should we include a list of what is included in ordinary income?) This income is currently allocated in equal amounts to twelve charities nominated by the Charities Subcommittee and approved by the PCC. The list of charities is reviewed annually and anyone is free to suggest a charity that we might donate to. We promote one of the charities each month in a visual display on the church noticeboard and on this website and occasionally have representatives visit us to tell us more about the work of their charity.

UK Christian	UK non-Christian	Overseas Christian	Overseas non-Christian
Church Army Christians Against Poverty Salvation Army	Church Urban Fund Livability Childline	Dioceses of Mt Kilimanjaro Jerusalem YMCA Christian Solidarity Worldwide	Sightsavers International Mission Aviation Fellowship Disasters Emergency Committee

The Salvation Army is one of the largest, most diverse providers of social services in the UK after the Government. Founded in East London in 1865, we are now working in 117 countries worldwide. Its message is based on the Bible; its motivation is the love of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. Its mission is to proclaim his gospel, to persuade people of all ages to become his disciples and to engage in a programme of practical concern for the needs of humanity. Its ministry is offered to all persons, regardless of race, creed, colour or gender.

• Worldwide there are over 1.6million members, with programmes including homeless centres, drug rehabilitation centres, schools, hospitals and medical centres, as well as nearly 16,000 church and community centres.
• The Salvation Army also supports the work of the emergency services by providing refreshments, shelter and counselling at major incidents.

So please pray for:

• For all Salvation Army officers, especially those working in the most challenging and dangerous situations.
• For all the homeless, destitute and desperate, that they may find the help they need.
• That all who witness the work of the Salvation Army may see the love of Christ revealed.

“We know the simplest ideas can have the most life-changing effect, so we work closely with some of the world’s poorest people using simple technology to fight poverty & transform lives for the better.” Practical Action's approach is unique, focusing on four key areas

• We help reduce the vulnerability of poor people affected by natural disasters, conflict and environmental degradation.
• We help poor people to make a better living – by enabling producers to improve their production, processing and marketing.
• We help poor communities gain access to basic services – water, sanitation, housing and electricity.
• We help poor communities respond to the challenges of new technologies, helping them to access effective technologies that can change lives forever

So please pray for:

• The work of Practical Action, and for those who design life-saving tools
• All those who live in poverty, with seemingly no way out
• Ourselves, as we seek ways to enable everyone to flourish

“Christian Solidarity Worldwide is a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.

CSW exists to redress the injustice faced by those who are persecuted or discriminated against on religious grounds and to stand in solidarity with those who are persecuted for their faith.
The primary work of CSW is advocacy, which is used to influence the legislation, policies, attitudes and behaviours that reinforce religious discrimination and persecution. Through this, the aim is to bring about lasting cultural, social and political change.

• Prisoners of conscience, and all who face hardship because of their faith.
• Researchers and advocates who try to bring the light of truth and justice.
• Change in the most oppressive political regimes.

“Livability is about creating choices for disabled people rather than making choices for them. We believe that everyone should have the freedom to live their lives and use their abilities.”

With the emphasis on choice, independence and control, Livability offers

• residential care services & supported living
• lifestyle choices projects
• accessible holiday accommodation
• a school and further education colleges.

Together with Livability housing they work with over 8,500 disabled people and their families each year, throughout the UK, and run two colleges and an education centre, catering for young people with profound and multiple learning difficulties, with residential facilities available on-site. They also provide community organisations with the resources, advice and confidence to impact their neighbourhoods. Livability is a charity with the Christian ethos at its heart, serving those of all faiths and none.

So please pray for:

• That people with disabilities will be enabled to fulfil their potential and have their gifts recognised and valued
• For the work of Livability in enabling this to happen

Based in Bury St Edmunds, the Tansanian Church Partnership Association seeks to do God's work by providing resources for practical and spiritual care.

TCPA's activities include:

• providing people and buildings for education at all levels
• expansion of worship in the cathedral and curches which thet have built throughout east Tanzania
• training ministers and providing bibles
• working closely with farmers and providing livestock
• providing medical services in their own purpose-built clinic and resourcing travelling nurses to visit remote villages

So please pray for:

• The people of Tanzania, and the work of the Churches there
• The humanitarian and spiritual ministry of TCPA

Church Urban Fund was set up by the Church of England 20 years ago as an expression of its mission to serve the poorest within our society.

Church Urban Fund is a not for profit organisation supporting social action in the most deprived areas of England. Through their work they support local organisations dealing with the day-to-day effects of poverty where they live. These organisations aim to make a real difference in the lives of those around them.

They work with the top 10% of the poorest communities in England. They use the Church of England's diocesan structure to ensure local knowledge informs their support. It also enables them to have good regional coverage. They support projects in both urban and rural areas

Key areas of their work involve partnering with other organisations to tackle the roots of poverty, advocating on behalf of faith communities and their work at the grassroots, the giving of grants, developing of research and the championing of causes related to poverty.

So please pray for:

• All those who take action on poverty in the UK, through the CUF or other organisations.
• Those who make policy on social welfare issues, that they would consider the needs of the most vulnerable.
• All those in this country who are living in deprivation and without hope for a more prosperous future
• All those who have been adversely affected by the current economic crisis

The Church Army is about sharing faith through words and action to transform lives by making Jesus famous. Their focus is on the 7 out of 10 people who have little or no meaningful contact with church.

What the Church Army says about its aims and values:

Listening to God: We take the time to be open to God, willing to listen and open to change.

Respect: We recognise that all people are created in the image of God and that all people are valued equally by God.

Professionalism: Striving for the highest standards in all that we do.

We are part of the Christian community, called to work with each other, with compatible agencies and with the wider church.

Words and Action: We are committed to sharing the Christian faith through words and action. The Church Army aims to be a leading organisation in the training, equipping and deploying of Evangelists, to develop appropriate and relevant forms of Christian community for pioneering situations.

So please pray for:

• The work of the Church Army in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed.
• All those who have yet to hear the gospel, or who do not yet have a relationship with God.

The Jerusalem International YMCA actively strives to foster interfaith, interracial and intergroup understanding and is committed to these goals in its day-to-day programs.

The diverse programs aim to bring together youth from the Israeli and Palestinian communities in Jerusalem in an attempt at creating open spaces of interaction, communication and bonding among the participants.

The Jerusalem International YMCA is known in the city of Jerusalem as a safe meeting place for Arabs and Jews to interact through sports and cultural events. The expansion of the teenage social and sports clubs into youth coexistence and leadership programs with skilled and experienced staff has grown out of a need to provide a response to the current situation in the city which makes it almost impossible for Jewish and Arab teenagers to mingle.

Almost a half-million people visit the YMCA annually. For its efforts in promoting peace, unity and the dignity of humankind, the Jerusalem International YMCA was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. So please pray for:

• The work of the Jerusalem YMCA in bringing together young people in difficult circumstances
• The political, military and paramilitary leaders in Israel and the occupied territories, that they may find ways to seek peace and reconciliation
• For young Israelis and Palestinians, who have grown up knowing nothing but violence, that they may grasp the vision for a peaceful and just solution, and fulfil that vision in their generation.

ChildLine, a project of the NSPCC, is the UK's free, 24-hour helpline for children in distress or danger. Trained volunteer counsellors comfort, advise and protect children and young people who may feel they have nowhere else to turn. Almost 1,400 volunteers provide a counselling service, supervised by a team of professional supervisors and managers. Every day our counsellors answer around 2,500 calls from children and young people looking for comfort, advice and protection.

What do children call about? Children call about a wide range of problems, but the most common problems are abuse (both sexual and physical), bullying, serious family tensions, worries about friends’ welfare and teenage pregnancy.

How does ChildLine help? Since it was launched in 1986, ChildLine has counselled well over 1,000,000 children, saving lives, finding refuges for children in danger on the streets, and giving hope to thousands of children who believed no one else cared for them.

ChildLine campaigns on behalf of children by relaying what they tell us to policy-makers who can help change children’s lives for the better. It also provides an outreach service to schools and youth groups So please pray for:

• those who answer calls to the helpline, that they would be given the wisdom they need to meet each child at their point of need
• all children who use the helpline, those who haven’t yet dared to do so, or haven’t yet had an opportunity to do so, who are in need, in trouble, or in danger
• those who administrate the helpline, and undertake fundraising, and for the work of the NSPCC in tackling child welfare and safety

For 50 years, Sightsavers has been working to combat blindness in developing countries, restoring sight through specialist treatment and eye care. They also support people who are irreversibly blind by providing education, counselling and training. They help the people who need it most - those living in poverty in some of the world's poorest countries

Facts about the work of Sightsavers International

Working with partners, in 2007 Sightsavers helped to:
- Treat over 23.2 million people for potentially blinding conditions
- Restore the sight of 244,909 people
- Carry out 244,909 cataract operations
- Train 5,038 primary eye care workers


It costs £72 for a training course enabling teachers to teach low vision pupils in an integrated classroom

It costs just 5p to protect someone from river blindness for a year

The inward turning of the eyelids caused by Trachoma – which would eventually and painfully lead to blindness – can be rectified by an operation that takes only 20 minutes

In places where AIDS is very widespread, orphaned children are often cared for by their grandparents – blindness caused by cataracts would prevent a grandparent taking on this vital role.

So please pray for:

• All those who work for Sightsavers, whether as fundraisers here or in the medical and support teams in the developing world
• All those affected by sight problems, especially in parts of the world where medical care is unavailable or prohibitively expensive – and for their families and communities

Christians Against Poverty is a national debt counselling charity with a network of 82 centres based in local churches across the UK. CAP offers hope and a solution to anyone in debt through its unique, in-depth service.

John Kirkby founded CAP in 1996 in response to the tremendous poverty he saw in his home city of Bradford. As a Christian, he believed God was calling him to use the skills gained through 17 years experience in the consumer finance industry to reach out to people suffering under the burden of debt.

He writes: “I am overwhelmed by what God has done. To see thousands of lives changed every year is truly wonderful. I do believe that God has given us a 21st Century answer to one of the most pressing social needs within society today. Jesus met people's needs with love, compassion and practical help. Our desire is to simply do the same and watch the miracles unfold”

CAP works with families to get their debt under control, work out their spending budgets, and negotiate with their creditors the terms for manageable repayment. CAP aims to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in both word and deed, demonstrating the love of God and giving new hope to those in despair.

So please pray for:

• All clients of CAP
• All those facing debt this year, for whatever reason
• Those whose homes are at risk through repossession
• CAP debt counsellors in their work to support families in debt crisis
• All those most seriously affected by the current economic crisis
• The banking and financial services industries in their responsibility to advise with wisdom, and lend with realism

We come together in church to worship God, to hear His word and to share the Good news of Jesus, receiving forgiveness and renewal through His death and resurrection.

We are sent out from church to live as Christian disciples, showing love to others and living out our faith in all we think, say and do.

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