 |
|
|
The Trust was established in 1995, and
March 2000 marks the completion of the fourth year of
its work. The Trust seeks to share in and to support the
established church in the task of getting the Christian
message to those who otherwise would not come within the
sound of the Gospel. Through the cards, the Word can be
passed on to folk who are strangers to the love and
grace of God. They can also be an aid to meditation; an
encouragement to research the faith; a stimulus to
prayer; a word of comfort: the rebirth of a forgotten
commitment. Our web site, developed this year, received
the honour of being chosen as the Scottish Christian
Service site of the Year. From our knowledge of other
web sites with a Christian message to offer, we are in
no doubt that there is in society today a real spiritual
hunger, a searching for answers to life's fundamental questions. One source of evidence for this is the number of 'hits' recorded on these sites through the Internet - people looking for guidance and for solutions from sources only now becoming available. We are convinced the cards have a role to play in helping to meet these needs. During the year, we were sorry to lose Catriona Murray who had been carrying out much of the office work on a Therapeutic Earnings basis, but she will continue to support the Trust as a volunteer. We rejoice with her that she has found suitable employment, and wish her well in it. In her place we welcome Ruth Stalker, who has recently retired from a career in banking, and brings skills which will be of great benefit to our operation. Orders for cards have again shown an increase over the previous year, our largest being for 2000 cards from Servants Aloft Ministries. Although our plans for expansion of the Trust have not moved forward as we had hoped this past year, we are not discouraged. The greater awareness of the Trust we have achieved will help to establish our credentials, and will add impetus to future applications to grant-making trusts who we might approach. Meanwhile, we are grateful to the Minister and Office bearers of St George's West Church for making available a base from which to operate, and for their prayers and ongoing support for the whole venture. Alan L Mackinlay May 2000 |
|
 |