The central objective of all our church activities, our mission, is for us to be more active as disciples of Christ in our community and in our daily working lives, spreading a Christian influence in our local community and beyond. We want to make our church a welcoming and relevant place to all people, regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities or economic circumstances. We want to take seriously our responsibilities to the whole Christian church, secular matters, the country and indeed with the world as a whole.
The giving of charity was one of the most important social functions of the church before the advent of the Welfare State. From the beginning, "Mission work was always strenuously exercised in the neighbourhood by St James’s...." Beyond the needs of the parish itself, St James’s contributed generously to the work of the church through the Home and Foreign Missions and other charities. Advent Sunday became its Mission Sunday, when this work was celebrated and collections taken to support it. St James's has undertaken various types of witness, mission and outreach through the years. Twenty-first century Britain is a very different place from Victorian Britain, but sadly the need to think of those less fortunate has not gone away and charitable giving is still at the heart of our parish outreach - an essential part of the good news our Christian faith encourages us to proclaim.
Mission statement
We are made in the image of God, and as such all people are of equal importance and significance. In God there is no distinction between male and female, Greek or Jew, bond or free – disabled or able. We all, irrespective of our status, have privileges and responsibilities in the practice and outworking of our faith. Just as there is a ‘bias to the poor’ so there is a biblical imperative to have a corporate responsibility to those on the margins of society and within the structures of our church. All people employed or accessing services offered by St James’s Church are treated equally.
Outreach involves extending ourselves, our talents, our resources, to help others. "Outreach ministry is the Church at work in God’s name, stretching out to meet needs in the wider community. Our daily lives are filled with outreach ministry ...... by serving the needs of others. ...... Christian outreach is provided by parishioners in our daily lives. Work, school, home and community commitments provide endless opportunities to meet the needs of others." The Diocese of London.
Our impact is also felt well beyond the church building itself, sometimes to those who may not normally look to the church for help. Through our outreach into the community, often in partnership with others, we are constantly seeking to meet the needs of the marginalised and vulnerable in our society, aiming to be the salt and light in our communities that Jesus challenges us to be.