International Committee
The committee meets about 6 times during the year.
Mission Statement
Believing in God's power to redeem the whole of creation and accepting Christ's command to love our neighbours as ourselves, the International Committee on behalf of St. Mark's seeks:
- to build bridges between people of whatever race, colour, nation or creed and with the worldwide church - bridges of prayer, of listening and learning, of sharing and of caring, of welcome and of friendship.
- to stand for justice, peace and the integrity of the environment.
In particular the International Committee sets out:
- to welcome, to care for and to learn from those coming to St. Mark's from other nations.
- to inform and help members of St. Mark's to participate in development education.
- to relate to the worldwide Church through our liturgy and prayers and to sustain links with CMS (Church Mission Society) and USPG (United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel).
- to work with and through Christian Aid, the official development agency of the Church in the UK and Ireland, in fulfilling their intent that `All shall be included in the feast of life'.
- to recommend allocation of international donations by the parish and to raise money by special appeals. In 2007 St Marks allocated over £15,000 to organisations including Christian Aid, Oxfam, World Development Movement
- to encourage members of St. Mark's to participate in campaigns which promote justice, peace and the integrity of the environment.
- to encourage interchange of people between St. Mark's and communities across the world, using resources such as the Mainland Bursary.
The Committee oversees the International Fellowship, which meets on the first Friday of each month in the church lounge.
Our Links Across the World
The Zua Foundation in Bogota, Colombia
For a number of years St Marks has supported the work of the Zua Foundation in Bogota. This charity was the inspiration of Moises Pedraza, a university professor who came with his family to Sheffield for three years and worshipped with us. On returning to Bogota the Pedrazas set up Zua. Today Zua offers educational help and social support to scores of children and families in the slum areas of Bogota and have also developed a community in the countryside.
We have set up a charity called SuCCoL ( supporting Children in Columbia) in order to financially support this work. If you would like more details as to how you can help financially please contact the treasurer Robin Saunders - email r.saunders@sheffield.ac.uk