Mission to our Community
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
James, Chapter 2 verses 14-17
Christians are called to serve the communities they live in, and to care for our neighbour. Our neighbour can be geographically close to us, or someone on the other side of the world who is impacted by our actions.
Many members of our congregation choose to live out their faith through mission in one way or another, choosing as individuals how to express their faith through action. At different stages of our lives how we express that will no doubt change. It is for each individual to discern what they may be able to do as a form of mission activity.
Some of the activities our members are involved are given below, and the links provide more details.
Broomhill Day Centre:
This centre, which provides day care for older people, was founded by members of St James. It developed its services over time and is now situated beside Penicuik High School in their own property. The Day Centre is always looking for volunteers to help support at lunchtimes and with activities at other times of the day.
YMCA/YWCA:
The ‘Y’ provides services at the top of Queensway.
Food, Facts, Friends:
Based in the town centre precinct this facility offers a range of support for members of the community, including a food bank. You can donate food or volunteer to support their work.
Penicuik Storehouse:
Our local community-owned shop in the town centre has ranges of locally sourced food and goods, and ethically sourced items from further afield. It has a ‘refillery’ for clothing detergent and conditioner, and washing up liquid, to help reduce plastic use. You can volunteer to help out in the shop.
Penicuik Community Development Trust:
The PCDT runs a weekly cinema in the Town Hall on a Sunday evening and a social ‘Open House’ on a Saturday morning. Exhibitions are held during the Open House, many with a local interest. PCDT also runs a printing business and the Papermaking Museum along with an associated shop with stationery and arts materials available from it. You can become a member of PCDT for £2 p.a. to support its work.
Penicuik Community Arts Association:
Based at 4 West Street the PCAA runs a lovely café and a shop offering local artists work for sale. There are monthly exhibitions in the café, and concerts every month or so in the cosy upstairs venue. PCAA runs the yearly Penfest, normally held in the last week of September.
Penicuik for Africa:
The congregation has supported an Eye Hospital in Cape Coast, in Ghana, and would like to continue this link and provide cataract operation kits to help the hospital in its work.
Charity Shops:
Members of the congregation support local charity shops in the town centre. Support can be by offering items to them, or by volunteering in the shops.