Mission

We play a role in the community we serve and we want to be increasingly outward looking. We want to be a centre for learning, both for the Christian faith and beyond. We remain committed to helping towards a more caring and just society, both locally and further afield.

Kagera

Our diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich has close ties with churches across the world, but most especially with the Diocese of Kagera in West Tanzania.

Kagera is a beautiful and inaccessible region in the northwest part of Tanzania in one of the poorest areas of the country. Most of its two million people live on less than a pound a day. In recent years rains have become unpredictable, leading to crop failures and food shortages. In the midst of this poverty, the church here is growing rapidly, and since the formation of Kagera Diocese in 1985.

Bishop Darlington of Kagera writes “Both Dioceses have been enjoying this partnership with a lot of experiences through friendship, understanding, praying, learning and sharing. Kagera Diocese is grateful to be in partnership with our brothers and sisters in the Diocese of St. Edmundsbury & Ipswich. We hope that God will continue to make our people from both dioceses to enjoy and celebrate all blessings that come as the result of us being together in the mission of God.”

The beautiful angels on the picture on the right, were made by members of the Kagera community and joined our nativity scene during Christmas 2021.

You can find out more about Kagera here.

Hope into Action

St Edmundsbury Cathedral is proud to be a Church Partner of Hope into Action, a registered national charity founded in 2010 whose unique purpose is to enable churches to house the homeless. To find out how you can support the Cathedral’s Grace House Project in Bury St Edmunds, please contact Kate Vernon.

For more, check out hopeintoaction.org.uk

Charitable Giving

We’re committed to regular missionary giving to support local charities in the work they do in our community. Regularly, we invite local, Suffolk based charities to apply for a small amount of money to help with their mission.

A set of objectives and selection criteria in line with the Cathedral’s mission to be a beacon of faith, hope and love in Suffolk help us to decide the beneficiaries of this giving. The simple criteria is charities that:

• work to support those people most in need in our local community
• have a clear vision for what they want to achieve
• are able to demonstrate that their work has a positive impact
• believe that our donations will make a difference
• are willing to develop an ongoing relationship with the Cathedral

Applications for Charitable Giving are not currently open, but check back on this page for updates.

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