As part of Warm Welcome Week, the Diocese of Guildford is encouraging people to seek out their local churches, many of whom have long been offering a warm space and a variety of wraparound support to alleviate poverty.
Warm Welcome Week takes place between 19-25 January and the UK movement creates free, inclusive spaces where anyone can find warmth, connection, and support - something especially vital during the coldest and loneliest time of the year.
To find local spaces, including churches, people can search via the online Warm Welcome Spaces hub or via local council websites.
Several local Church of England churches taking part in the scheme include St Mary’s Church, Ash Vale and St Martin’s Church, Camberley.
At St Mary’s, the Friday community café, offers warm drinks and food, alongside emergency vouchers for gas and electric, warm packs and electric blankets.
Alex Sanderson, the project manager for the church’s community outreach said:
“We have done a lot of work to connect the dots with other projects to help the community. We run a ‘Hear Here’ hearing aid clinic once a month at the church so we can easily signpost people across the two initiatives.
“The Library Service digital inclusion team visit St Mary’s every 4-6 weeks to help people be more confident doing things online.
“We have a wonderful group of regulars. All the volunteers are amazing and the food they make is delicious. We have also had some very moving prayer moments with people coming to us asking for prayer, and Revd Neil (the vicar) bringing the Sunday readings to the Friday café as a talking point.”
The church also partners with other denominations to visit local asylum seekers in a nearby hotel; offering hospitality, creative activities and a chance to practise English.
A few miles north, St Martin’s Church, Camberley has also been joining forces with other projects to offer holistic support to the local community. Revd Chris Richardson, the vicar, worked with Surrey Council and Surrey Heath Borough Council to establish the church as a ‘Warm Welcome Space.’
Chris said that this is building on what churches have always offered, a ‘space where people will be welcomed and given hospitality’.
St Martin’s runs multiple community spaces including three Warm Welcome Spaces, supporting 130 people on average, each week. As part of its Wednesday café, visitors can enjoy a warm space, hot drinks, fresh fruit and cakes while also accessing essentials such as free warm coats, blankets, food, hygiene products, and fuel vouchers.
This is all made possible by generous donations, grant funding and partnerships with other charities and projects in the area including Citizens Advice who also drop in to the Wednesday café.
The vicar of St Martin’s, Revd Chris Richardson said: “The level of need has definitely increased and has been exacerbated by the pandemic and the cost of living crisis. In addition to general poverty, we have people coming in who are desperately lonely and really enjoy the company and friendship that these spaces offer.”
“While these spaces are open to all people with all faiths or none, we are seeing people coming in who are searching spiritually and open to having conversations about Christianity and attending our church services on a Sunday.”
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- Find their nearest Warm Welcome Space: https://www.warmwelcome.uk/find-a-space