St Margaret’s Community Church in Southsea, in the Diocese of Portsmouth, recently held their first ever Gift Day. This marked the next step on the road for this community-focused Church, known locally as St Mag’s.
In 2015, its existing congregation decided to stop meeting for worship, partly because major refurbishment of the church building would be so expensive.
In 2017, a small group from nearby St Jude’s Church started meeting for prayer and worship in the neighbouring church hall. Their vision to transform the building to be a hub for the local community attracted some funding and enabled them to move back into the church building in 2019.
Since then, the building has seen the addition of a café, community shop, foodbank (open throughout the pandemic) and a soft play area. It is also the venue for many church and community activities.
Assistant Curate, Rev Fran Carabott, who led the original church plant and now leads the congregation said:
“The main aim of our Gift Day was to raise enough money to employ a Youth Minister, and to enable us as a community to plan ahead. To set the scene with the congregation there was clear communication of the vision we have here at St Mag’s. I explained that if we consider St Mag’s as our home, whilst this is not the best timing to be asking the church family to give due the uncertainty of the economic climate, just like any home, there are costs involved. I was clear on what our running costs are. Most importantly, I asked the church family to trust in God.
"God blessed us! The early responses have shown seven new givers via PGS, eight regular givers have reviewed and increased their giving, and there was over £4000 in one-off donations. This all from our relatively small congregation. This will allow us to make firm plans for the years ahead, and by the employment of a part-time Youth Minister, impact the lives of children and young people in Southsea.”
You can read more about the work of St Mag’s here: www.stmagscc.uk.
