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.

Safeguarding at St Paul's

Our parish of St Paul's in Grove Park, Chiswick is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults from harm. We follow the House of Bishops guidance and policies and have our own Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO). The Diocese of London’s safeguarding pages contain links and information including contacts for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor who advises our PSO. If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm please contact the St Paul's PSO who is Shelagh Allsop. Her details are below. If you have immediate concerns about the safety of someone, please contact the police and your local authority’s children or adult social care services.

 In general terms, if you are worried about something, it can help a great deal to talk about it, either here at church or there are some phone lines listed below that you can call free of charge.

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

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

PHONE LINES AND WEBSITES

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 Helpline: 020 7932 1224

Diocesan Safeguarding Website: https://safeguarding.london.anglican.org/

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. 

On Wednesday 6 October, the One Hounslow Community Awards 2021 took place at Hounslow House. Nine winners were selected from over 220 nominations from across Hounslow’s communities. We are very proud of Rachel Tanner and Shelagh Allsop who collected the Community Heart Award for Refugees Welcome Hounslow. The award was given in the "Making Hounslow Stronger" category for "the outstanding contribution to their local community, supporting neighbours, creating community spirit and strength." 

Refugees Welcome Hounslow was set up by Rachel, Shelagh and other volunteers in 2017 to welcome Syrian families fleeing their homes as refugees, into our community. Since then, they have helped settle many households into our borough, who have enriched our communities.  One nominator said: “I can't describe the support they gave us since we got to Britain. They were our brothers, our friends and family in our new country. They stood with us in all the hard situations and were the support for us in everything. My tongue cannot describe their dedication to us.”

Refugees Welcome Hounslow was also the overall winner of the evening, taking home the One Hounslow Spirit Award. You can find put more about the One Hounslow Community Awards and all the other winners at https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/OneHounslow-Awards 

HELP FOR AFGHANISTAN AND REFUGEES

Jesus always directed his ministry towards the most marginalised, challenging us to overcome prejudice and self-interest in the way we respond to situations that we cannot ignore. Many of us are deeply concerned about the desperate plight of those fleeing from Afghanistan as well as those left behind. Here are some suggestions about how you can help.

• Donate to the Afghanistan Crisis Appeal, run by the British Red Cross or Medécins Sans Frontiers who continue to operate on the ground in Afghanistan. Your money will  provide food, clean water urgent medical care and cash-based assistance to those who have been displaced from their homes.

• UNICEF is shocked by the rapid escalation in violence and multiple violations against children’s rights in Afghanistan, and are there on the ground reaching vulnerable children and families with essential life-saving supplies. You can  donate now.  

• Donate to the Refugee Council who have been providing life-changing services to asylum seekers and refugees arriving the UK for 70 years. Their work includes Mental Health Support to heal the trauma of losing everything, Employment Assistance to restart lost careers and promote the skills that refugees bring, and English Language and Integration Classes to help people flourish in their new communities. 

• Refugees Welcome Hounslow was set up to support Hounslow Council with the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, initially focussing on Syrian refugees but which now includes Afghans and people from other parts of the world. If you would like to get involved with this group, then the contacts here at St Paul's are Rachel Tanner, Shelagh Allsop and Stephanie White
• West London Welcome are a larger refugee and migrant centre based in Hammersmith who support asylum seekers, including many Afghans.

• St Nicholas Church on Chiswick Mall runs a weekly meal scheme for asylum seekers and if you would like to volunteer with that, Cassandra Barker is your contact here.

• Refugees at Home is a UK charity which connects those with a spare room in their home to refugees and asylum seekers in need of somewhere to stay. Following the escalation in Afghanistan, they are only looking for hosting applications from those living in cities.

• If you are a landlord, consider the advantages of renting a property to Hounslow Borough Council to house people under the VPRS. Guaranteed rent payments, no voids, no need to use an agency and a steady reliable and house-proud tenant. Talk to Rachel Tanner or Shelagh Allsop to find out more.

• If you are a lawyer, the Afghan Community Association are crying out for immigration lawyers  who can give expert immigration pro bono law advice.

• Donate to our own weekly St Paul's food collection at the back of the church on Sundays, which we take to the food bank at St Paul’s Church in Bath Road Hounslow.  For more information about which foods are most required,  contact Shelagh Allsop on 07710 385839 or 020 8995 9390.

Stephanie White has become close friends with Maimuna Jawo, a woman from the Gambia who has been, in her own words “in the system” seeking UK asylum for the last 10 years. She was recently invited to speak at the opening of Refugee Week 2022 and Stephanie would like her words to reach as wide an audience as possible. Your can watch her very powerful and moving ten-minute speech on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VfSlaOMnRY 

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 

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