The Parish of Green Street Green and Pratts Bottom

St Mary's and All Souls Global Vision

Five Talents: Update from Butere

Helen Coomber and myself were delighted to be invited to meet Cynthia atFive Talents HQ in November. Cynthia is the co-ordinator for groups in western Kenya and has Butere, who we have been supporting as a parish, in her patch and it was lovely to hear first hand how things are going in Butere. We found Cynthia to be enthusiastic and energetic, which no doubt makes a huge impact on the groups and their communities. There are now82 groups in Butere and the other two dioceses that make up the Western Community Development Trust which means there are 1500 people saving in these groups. As these 1500 people on average have 3 dependants, the number of people who directly benefit from the programme is around 5000.

As the groups start to establish themselves during the first year Cynthia makes monthly visits, which drop to quarterly visits from the second year onwards. The long term goal is that the groups become self-managing, although this has been slightly delayed for some groups due to disruption by the pandemic.

Successful businesses that group members have set up include, Winnie who has learned how to rear & care for chickens and is now selling them at a profit, another who makes and sells porridge as she needed money to pay for healthcare and yet another lady who was able to take a loan from the group to buy a sewing machine to keep her tailor business going during the pandemic; her success has meant she now has an apprentice.

Please continue to keep Five Talents and their work in your prayers, in particular praying:

- For financial breakthrough (people are reducing their savings due to the high cost of living) for normal levels of savings to be resumed.

- For the Lord’s help in stabilising the economy

- For an end to the war in Ukraine – Russian embargo of wheat imports means food and fuel shortages.

- For an end to drought. Climate change is having a negative impact in Kenya.

- Give thanks for a wonderful staff team and for the fellowship of the team and the groups.

Please speak to Helen or Karen if you would like more information about the programme.

Bromley Borough Foodbank Urgently Need These Items (click to follow)

Our current mission involvements:

       CHURCH ARMY

Specifically we support Capt Tim & Kathy Hyde and their work at the Southampton Centre of Mission.  

Tim Hyde and Ruth Hills are based at our centre of mission in Southampton. Church Army has had a very long association with Southampton, so it is appropriate that it was one of the first cities in the UK where Church Army developed a Centre of Mission. Changing to meet changing needs, its work now has the scope to encourage and enable evangelism across the city from a base on the east side. Tim is based in Sholing Parish where he works alongside St. Mary’s Church, Sholing. This includes running Impact youth group, including fun and games as well as the 'Deep Impact' sessions, which the young people have begun to lead themselves on an issue which is personal to them. They also take the young people on a summer youth camp each year. Tim and his wife Kathy are also involved in a number of community projects, including Repair Cafe, which offers free homemade cakes and a bike repair service and Monty's, which is somewhere for people to sit and chat. Ruth is based in the Bitterne Park area of Southampton, where regular outreach events include: Footsteps, a weekly tots group; Kids Rock, an after-school club in both the local infant and junior schools and EFC (Extreme Fun Club), an evening group for junior aged children. Ruth also leads Hope, which is a faith community in the area, which meets in people's homes and eats together and shares life together. You can read more about the latest news from Southampton Centre of Mission in their supporter newsletter .

  ICare

The ICARE centre is a small friendly day care centre that offers rehabilitation and support to those who have suffered a stroke and their carers. Many activities are encouraged at ICARE with special emphasis on:-

•Speech and Communication Skills 

•Practical activities and hobbies 

•Mobility Improvement Support 

•Relaxation Therapy

Pat Whibley and Sue Coveney are our church ambassadors for this charity 

      Bromley Welcare

At Welcare we work with children and families across South London and East Surrey. We help parents and carers use their strengths and skills to nurture happy and confident children.
Our services are tailored to the real needs of the communities in which we work. We provide practical help and support to families, empowering them to rebuild their lives and access opportunities to ensure their children have a happy, confident childhood and future.

We are proud of our Christian heritage and identity and derive our values from our Anglican origins.  We believe that the essence of these values is shared by those of other faiths and none.

More can be found at welcare.org

Sheila Brown is our church ambassador for this charity

Food Bank

We support Bromley Borough Foodbank, a project founded by local churches and community groups working together towards stopping hunger in our local area. It is part of a nationwide network of foodbanks supported by the Trussell Trust.

The Foodbank helps when there is a crisis which leaves people without money for food, for example

• When benefits are delayed
• When people are suddenly without work
• On a low income/sickness

Judith Simmonds is our church ambassador for this charity. Look out for new lists of needed items as this is regularly updated

 CHURCH OF PAKISTAN - DIOCESE OF RAIWIND 

Members 26000  Congregations 38  Departments 6  Schools 11

This is an evolving relationship building on the Dubai Conference in September 2017. 

 Rt Rev Azad Marshal Bishop of Raiwind

 OXTRAD -  Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue

Oxtrad seeks to enable Christian workers and pastors to engage with these challenges and to bring the Gospel to bear on the important questions they face. Heightening tensions between the West and Islamic countries in the Middle East, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, have impacted Christians and churches in the region. The Oxtrad vision arises from the growing challenge of international religious extremism, terrorism and ideological secularism faced today by Christian leaders and the churches they lead.

Oxtrad is a venture of faith and vocation. We depend on the prayer, support and generosity of Christians to make this vision a reality.Most of all, we seek to glorify God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in all we do for God’s Church and God’s world.  For more information visit Bishop Michael Nazirali's website

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali -  current President
of OXTRAD and former Bishop of Rochester

PARISH LINK WITH BUTERE DIOCESE, KENYA THROUGH FIVE TALENTS

Karen Harcombe and Helen Coomber are our ambassadors for this charity

Five Talents:
Enabling the enterprising poor to set up small businesses by providing business training alongside savings & microloan facilities. Five Talents UK provides savings schemes, small loans, and business training for those in need in rural East Africa. We make use of a modern, hybrid form of savings-based microfinance that relies on local partners, enterprising clients, and an innovative use of technology. We work through the Anglican Church, but welcome people of all faiths and none join our programmes and we never evangelise.