Our Mission Statement

1. To worship and glorify God in Jesus Christ and be a focus for prayer and intercession in the world.

2. To welcome diversity and work towards growth in the church fellowship for all ages.

3. To encourage a thinking community where questions can be asked and to help people learn from the Bible and value the sacrements.

4. To embrace the Commandments and to love God and to love one another and to serve the local community.

The St Paul's Refugee Fund

The fund supports refugees and asylum seekers, and we have an ongoing involvement with a group housed in a hostel for women and children in Hounslow who are waiting for a decision from the Home Office about whether they can stay in the UK or whether they will be sent back to the country they travelled from. While they are waiting, they are given accommodation but do not have access to benefits, or the right to work and receive a weekly subsistence allowance paid in the form of credit on a payment card that can be used at some, but not all, shops. We give a small amount of money every week to each adult in the hostel and have found that just that small amount of extra cash has come to be a meaningful way to support the ladies. As well as the money, a weekly drop-off has built a strong bond between our support fund and the women. They have told us repeatedly over the last year how much they value the fact that we are thinking of them and supporting them on a weekly basis. Some money has also gone on preparing and planting a small vegetable garden, and improving the play space for the children as well as funding a Christmas party at the hostel. The fund also donates money and supplies to an excellent charity based in Hammersmith, called West London Welcome, and to Refugees Welcome Hounslow. You can find out more about the work of the St Paul's Refugee Fund by dowloading a talk by Rachel Tanner from January 2021, which is below. 

If you would like to donate, the details are also below. Please use the reference REFUGEE FUND. 

The St Paul's Food Bank

St Paul's supports a food bank, which is run by St Paul's Church in Brentford. There is a collection box at the back of our church for donations, which will be taken every week to Brentford to be distributed to those who need them. The items they would like are below. If you would like more information, then please talk to Shelagh Allsop 07710 385839 shelagh.allsop@gmail.com

ITEMS REQUIRED

Milk (UHT/powdered); Soup; Jars of pesto sauce, Pasta and rice, Tinned fruit, Tinned puddings (sponges, custard, rice pudding, angel delight); Cereal and porridge; Biscuits and chocolate; Tinned tomatoes; Fruit juice (long life); Tea, Coffee and Sugar; Baby formula milk; Baby wipes & Nappies; Toileteries(shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, sanitary products); Washing powder; Toilet rolls.

At present we cannot accept donations in church because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Please see below for other ways you can support local food banks.

• The foodbank our contributions go to is Hounslow Community Foodbox and you can contact them directly at  www.hounslowfoodbox.org.uk or contact their treasurer Philip Jones, treasurer@hounslowfoodbox.org or 07743 547262
• City Harvest is a food bank that collects and distributes surplus food to Londoners in need. Donations are through their website: www.cityharvest.org.uk
• The Open Kitchen is a restaurant in Hounslow run by the charity Muslim Hands. It offers free hot meals to anyone who needs them. Donations are through their website: https://muslimhands.org.uk/appeals/the-open-kitchen  
• West London Welcome are an excellent and very active group that are a lifeline to asylum seekers and refugees, providing food and other necessities in this time of exceptional hardship. Donations at their website: https://westlondonwelcome.com/
• It is also possible to donate to food banks through Ocado and the Co-Op.

Refugees Welcome Hounslow

St Paul's is very pleased to support Refugees Welcome Hounslow, which was set up by a group of volunteers in 2017 . They wanted to help welcome Syrian families into our community, who have had to flee their homes and who found themselves as refugees. Since then they have helped settle ten households into our borough, in partnership with Hounslow Council. They have enriched our community and we have made twenty-four new Syrian friends. They have made a short film about their experiences, which you can view here. Thanks to Rasha, Khales, Sanaa and Yanal for sharing their stories. If you would like to join the team at Refugees Welcome Hounslow then the contacts here at St Paul's are Shelagh shelagh.allsop@gmail.com or Rachel racheljtanner@gmail.com. 

One of our Syrian friends, Ghaith Qabbani, has made a radio documentary about the group and the Syrian refugee experience. You can listen to See You Soon Syria, Hello London Mixdown here 

Safeguarding at St Paul's

Keeping everyone in our parish safe and well is extremely important to us. If you are worried about something, it can really help to talk about it, either here at church or there are phone lines you can call free of charge. Volunteers with queries, issues or concerns should discuss these with the Safeguarding Officer, Shelagh Allsop.

AT ST PAUL'S

Vicar: Michael Riley 

020 8994 4387 michaelc.riley@virgin.net 

Safeguarding Officer: Shelagh Allsop 
07710 385839 shelagh.allsop@gmail.com

Children's Champion: Bea Vickers
07766 491766 bea.vickers@btinternet.com

PHONE LINES

Childline: 0800 111

Samaritans: 116 123

Family Lives: (was Parentline Plus) 0808 800 222

Churches Child Protection Advisory Service Helpline: 0845 120 4550

Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor, Annette Gordon 020 7932 1224

The Microloan Foundation

St Paul's has a strong connection with the Microloan Foundation. This charity helps some of the poorest women in the world feed their families, send their children to school, and pay for life saving medicines. By providing small loans (average £72) and ongoing business training and support, they help women in rural Malawi and Zambia to set up their own self-sustainable businesses; enabling them to work themselves and their families out of poverty. You can read about its work on the notice boards at the back of the church. The Microloan Foundation (which was started by Peter Ryan at St Paul's in 2002) was recently visited by Christine Lagarde, the high-profile Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund who commented "I visited a group of women supported by the Microloan Foundation of Malawi and I was particularly inspired by their resilience and entrepreneurship." You can find out more at:  www.microloanfoundation.org.uk.

For several years, St Paul's has chosen to support Embrace the Middle East as its Christmas charity. This organisation aims to improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the region by partnering with local Christians who provide health, education and community development programmes.
Current projects include supporting Syrian regugees in Lebanon

and working with the next generation of Palestinian leaders
to promote reconciliation. In Egypt, the charity is

supporting housing projects and literacy programmes.

Our Beliefs

We believe in God who shows his love in Jesus Christ and gives us the Holy Spirit to help us care for people and grow in love and unity. We aim to deepen our faith in this God of love through worship and teaching, study and prayer.

The Prayer of St Richard of Chichester

If you have ever wondered where the words "May I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly and follow thee more nearly, day by day" came from - then wonder no more; they are from a prayer written by Richard of Chichester, a bishop in the 13th century.

Thanks be to you, our Lord Jesus Christ
for all the benefits you have given us
for all the pains and insults which you have bourne for us.
Most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may we know you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
and follow you more nearly,
day by day.
Amen

Capital Vision 2020

Capital Vision 2020, the Diocese of London's vision for the next seven years, emerged from conversations with nearly 2,000 people. It was adopted by synod in March 2013 and launched in front of 2,000 people at St Paul's Cathedral in June 2013. Capital Vision comprises three major themes, with 10 specific areas in which we plan to be more purposeful and imaginative. You can find out more about Capital Vision 2020 on www.london.anglican.org

CONFIDENT IN SPEAKING AND LIVING THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

COMPASSIONATE IN SERVING COMMUNITIES WITH THE LOVE OF GOD THE FATHER

CREATIVE IN REACHING NEW PEOPLE AND PLACES WITH THE GOOD NEWS IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT

THE CAPITAL VISION PRAYER

Generous God,
You have called us to be salt and light in this great city;
Guide us by your Holy Spirit to discern your will for your Church 
as we seek to follow your Son Jesus Christ in loving and serving our neighbours. 
Give us the wisdom and strength to fulfil the vision you put before us 
and help us to play our part in transforming our earthly city into a sign of the Heavenly Jerusalem 
where you live and reign, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God now and for ever. 
Amen

The Diocese of London

and The Church of England

If you would like to find out more about the work of the church in general, then you could have a look at the following websites:

www.london.anglican.org

www.churchofengland.org

Charity Support

St Paul's Church is registered with the Charities Commission and our charity number is 1154708. St Paul’s is proud of its association with many local charities and several members of the congregation have served on the fundraising committee for St Mary’s Convent Appeal, strengthening our links with their community life
and other churches in Chiswick.

Medecins Sans Frontieres

Mike Dixon, who composed some of the liturgy we sing at St Paul's, together with John Theakston, have been working on a project to raise awareness of those suffering from conflict around the world and in particular in Syria. They hope that their piece Lament for the Innocents will raise some money for Medecins sans Frontieres who provide incredibly practical help. The link below will take you to the song and film, where there is also a chance to donate via JustGiving.

LAMENT FOR THE INNOCENTS - a project by Mike Dixon and John Theakston