Edinburgh City Mission
Edinburgh City Mission is a Christian charitable organisation whose aim is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in words and action, and engage in poverty relief among the inhabitants of Edinburgh and the surrounding area, particularly in deprived communities.
The Mission's flagship program is Basics Banks, a network of eight partner church-based food banks throughout Edinburgh and in Musselburgh. The Basics Banks provide resources for people who are struggling to afford basic necessities.
Edinburgh City Mission helped found the Care Van in association with Bethany Christian Trust in 1990 and continues to partner with Bethany in managing the Care Van and with forty Edinburgh churches who provide volunteer teams to run the van 363 evenings a year.
History
Edinburgh City Mission was founded on 1 March, 1832 by David Nasmith, six years after the founding of the first City Mission in the world, Glasgow City Mission.
The Mission has formerly been active in various forms of evangelism, including street evangelism, setting up special events, and was known for its work in the poorer, deprived areas of the city through Mission Halls and Drop-In Centres.
The Mission also used to run The Christian Heritage Centre and hosted Celtic Tours on the Royal Mile. The Christian Heritage Centre recently became an independent charity in its own right but still maintains close ties to the Mission.
In the last few years, Edinburgh City Mission has developed partnerships with churches across the city. They have recently developed new partnerships: running church-based CAP Life Skills courses and providing debt support in partnership with the Salvation Army.
In summer 2017, the trustees appointed Duncan Cuthill as its new CEO.