FEED THE MINDS is one of few Christian organisations which has been committed to Literacy, Literature and Libraries for over fifty years.
Originally the child of the major British Missionary Societies in the early days of post-war ecumenism when the churches were committed to working more closely together, its roots go far back into history and it went through several mutations before establishing itself as an independent Christian charity having lost nothing of its original ideals.
Its story has never been fully told and having given ten years to managing it at a formative time in its history (1982-92) it may be time to set down the record, with its antecedents over 300 years ago, beginning with SPCK (Society for the Promotion of Christian Literature) in 1692, followed by RTS (The Religious Tract Society, subsequently the United Society for Christian Literature) in 1794. Together they bear witness to a Church committed to the poor, to education, to the world way beyond Britannia’s shores, and to the wholeness of a gospel which saw faith more in terms of life than of religion and included social and cultural affairs, traditions and customs as belonging to the faith every bit as much as the finer points of doctrine and liturgy.
To appreciate the need today and the contribution now being made by FEED THE MINDS it is important to begin at the beginning.
Alec Gilmore