Women for Mission News

BY FIONA MACASKILL

Summer has arrived very late ! It seems somewhat strange to be writing an article for the October Record when all the windows are open and the shorts and sandals are out for the first time since June. The exciting news of the month for the WFM though, is not the appearance of the sun but that the cookbooks are back in print. No sooner had the news hit the socials than the orders started to come in again. Great news for the Disaster and Relief fund but not so much for our postie who doesn’t seem to like the Click and Collect service the Royal Mail have helpfully provided over the last year. Please do continue to buy and gift the cookbook. It has really been a labour of love over many years. Remember if you have already bought one, to scan your QR code which will take you to the electronic version. Handy for when you are going on holiday! Please do share your pictures of what you have made and tag us in your posts. Maybe there is a brave soul out there who would like to do a Julie and Julia and cook their way through the entire book?!

Our project for this year, Breaking Barriers, is now well under way and we would love to hear about what you are doing to raise funds for the charities we are supporting. If you don’t know much about them then we would encourage you to look on our website to find out more, but here is a brief outline of each of them and what they hope to spend the money raised on.

INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION

International Justice Mission are a global movement of Christian lawyers, social workers, investigators and survivors working to end slavery and violence, until all are free. We believe the church has a unique role in catalysing justice across the world – in prayer, generosity and action.

Funds raised for IJM will fund two operations to bring people to safety and could help make freedom possible for children, women and men trapped in slavery and violence. The funds will also be used to bring a partner organisation into the movement which could scale the demand for justice where it is most needed, by training and equipping a grassroots partner NGO to combat slavery in their community.

RELEASE INTERNATIONAL

Release International is a Christian ministry called to love and serve persecuted Christians. 54% of Nigerians are Christians but, in recent years due to the rise of terrorist groups, persecution has intensified. In response, Release International’s partner the Stefanos Foundation run the Love in Action project. Over the course of a year, Love in Action provides essential food and hygiene items to around 1,000 families affected by the violence.

Funds raised for Release International will go towards the Love in Action project. As a result of this support displaced families have their immediate practical needs met.

This reduces the impact of the hardship and trauma they face. They are encouraged to persevere in faith and they know that they are not abandoned by their Christian brothers and sisters in the UK.

CHRISTIAN VALUES IN EDUCATION

The Christian Values in Education Project (CVE Scotland) was established in September 2014 with the vision of ‘Supporting school staff, chaplains and families to communicate the Christian faith so that children and young people can make informed choices about beliefs and values’.

Funds raised for CVE Scotland will go towards continuing to provide a course in School Chaplaincy as well as maintaining their website, which has a bank of resources for education staff. Additionally, CVE Scotland is partnering with the Free Church of Scotland to develop materials from a Christian perspective, suitable for the Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenting (RSHP) part of the Curriculum, to provide alternatives to current materials.

INTERNATIONAL MISSION TO JEWISH PEOPLE

International Mission to Jewish People is a UK based interdenominational evangelistic society committed to sharing the Good News of Jesus the Messiah with Jewish people. Previously known as CWI, the mission organisation IMJP now works in eleven countries including Australia, Brazil, France, Hungary, Israel, Ukraine, UK, the USA and the Netherlands.

Funds raised for IMJP will support the cost of evangelistic literature — which will be produced in several languages — required for the outreach ministries of the missionaries serving with International mission to Jewish people. •