Reaching Out

Today, God's world and its needs are almost as near to us or as far away from us as we choose to make them.  St Margaret's is deliberately very much involved in the life of the wider world, as well as the life of the church in Scotswood.  Here we bring you news of ways in which we do this. 

Within Our Church Building

You may have already read our web pages about the ministry of 'time for you', a small Christian charity that provides a cafe, one-to-one listening and low cost complementary care in our Main Hall.  The cafe is primarily run by church volunteers as part of their personal ministry of outreach.  Anyone is welcome to make use of these services, irrespective of faith background and where they live - and many have done so and have found sanctuary in the peace and quietness that is provided.

In addition, we reach out and support the work of the world by welcoming as regular tenants of our Upper Room the Newcastle office staff of the national charity, the Alzheimer's Society.  And, downstairs, SureStart makes use of our Main Hall on Mondays and Wednesdays to offer a variety of children's activities.  Right now, the most popular of these is 'Music and Movement' for toddlers.  We also have our community room, the Elliott Room, which is available for community events of all shapes and sizes at a very reasonable charge - and is well used.

Within the Local Community

Slightly further afield, but still very much within the local community, St Margaret's members are also reaching out and making a difference in Christ's name - and have been doing so for some time.  For example, over at least the past 15 years, several members have worked with local groups to help tackle crime and disorder, they have helped with the setting up running of the Out-of-School Clubs and currently two church members are directors of Scotswood Area Strategy, a major voluntary sector organisation in Scotswood.  One of these two directors is also a volunteer at Scotswood Community Garden which has won awards for its focus on healthy living and education.  The other director is an Adult Education Tutor delivering training within the wider Scotswood/Benwell area, and runs an IT Drop-in in a Christian Project in Benwell.

The Vicar of St Margaret's, Chris Knights, also spends half of his time acting on behalf of the church in the process of regeneration that is taking place throughout Newcastle-upon-Tyne. This involves him attending and contributing to meetings of the local electoral Ward Committee, the Area Action Plan Strategic Steering Group that is responsible for the regeneration plans for Scotswood and the Strategic Board of the Newcastle Partnership that oversees attempts to improve Newcastle for all who live and work in it.

Global Outreach

Although St Margaret's is only a small church, based in an area of significant urban deprivation, this does not stop our 'reaching out' including some of our church members travelling to serve Christ in near and far-flung parts of the globe.  For twelve months, from January 2007, one of our younger members spent a year serving in the kitchens of the Iona Community off the west coast of Scotland.  For six months, from August 2007, one of our members worked in an Aids Orphanage in South Africa.  More recently, Dan Knights, whilst a student on his gap year, continued the good work of our church in global ministry by serving the Anglican Church in Mauritius for six months with the USPG Experience Exchange Programme.   Dan's focus was music and youth work and local healthcare projects.  Miriam Knights then spent a month in Kenya with CMS between sitting her 'A' levels and starting university in summer 2009.

As for those of us who remain here in the UK, well we have a vital ministry of prayer in support of all that has been mentioned here and, despite our own relative poverty, we pledge regular financial support to two medical projects in Malawi, South Africa.