World Concern

St Thomas' has always had world mission at its heart. Numerous people from the church have been drawn to serve throughout the world, including at home, in various forms of Christian service. Indeed, at one point in its history, St Thomas' was the largest contributor of missionaries of any Scottish Episcopal congregation. To reflect the importance of this vision, in 1906 the church established a sub-group of the vestry to oversee world mission, and encouraged members of the church to give a portion of their giving to this group. This "committee" has had various names over the years, but since 1990 has been called "World Concern" and still manages an annual budget on behalf of the church.

World Concern has two aims;

1. to mobilise the congregation to enjoy God's mission to his world in all its variety and challenge and need

2. to maintain a fund (separate from the church's main funding arrangements) to support Christian people all round the world as they strive to build God's Kingdom.

World Concern focuses its support on people, rather than institutions or projects (though we recognise how important these can be).

You can find more information about our current world concern partners by clicking on the names to the right.