This week is Warm Welcome Week. The initiative was set up in 2022 as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. Now 5,000 venues across the UK act as Warm Spaces, opening their doors to the community and providing a free hot drink or meal, warmth and companionship particularly in the cold winter months. Many of churches in our diocese are among them. Below are a few of their stories, and you can find photos from all the churches listed via our Flickr page.
A total of 485 Church of England churches have signed up to the campaign, which Bishop Philip is also supporting in his role as Chair of the ChurchWorks Commission. He said: ““Warm Welcome isn’t just about energy bills. Everyone of us has our God given value and dignity. These spaces provide friendship, kindness and a sense of community, so crucial to well being.” Read the Church of England press release >>>
St Christopher’s Thornhill
St Christopher’s Church in Thornhill offers a community drop in with a helping hand each Tuesday. It starts with a short communion service followed by coffee, then soup and roll for lunch during the winter months and a roll and fruit in the Summer. Volunteers from the church feed around 30 people each week. It’s open to all ages including the elderly and young mums and those just wanting warmth and company.
During the session, help is also available from visiting agencies including Southampton housing, Citizens Advice Bureau and The Society of St James which provides information on benefits and drug abuse as well as advice on energy saving. There are occasional visits from the police, and a paramedic from the neighbouring surgery. The number of agencies visiting has grown since the Warm Welcome began over 2 years ago, offering the chance to meet an adviser face to face.
Volunteer Marie Graham says, “It’s a safe place for people to come and be with people, to form friendships and socialise and reach out if they have needs.”
Some of those who visit the Warm Welcome have also started attending church on a Sunday. Mike attends Warm Welcome most weeks and said, “When the concept of Warm Spaces was first created because of the cost-of-living problems, the church stepped up and has been doing a great job. It’s helped give people purpose. There’s quite a lot of loneliness and isolation in the area and this gives you the chance to get out and meet people. It’s a joy to come here and get companionship and the benefits of it.”
Young Mum Chloe-Anne visits each week with her 10-month-old daughter. She agreed, “I love coming here, talking to everyone and making friends. I wake in the morning happy because I’m coming here as a lot of the time I don’t get out. The first time I came they welcomed me into the family. Everyone is so friendly and they help you. They prayed for my daughter when she was poorly. They are like my second family.”
Angie is a social prescriber who regular offers support and advice and signposts people to the services they need. She said, “I enjoy coming to the community space. You get to know people. Some people don’t want to go the surgery but need a point of contact, so this is invaluable.”
Revd Richard Graham said, “I wanted to bring in agencies because there’s such a need in the area. It’s quite a deprived community and a lot of people won’t go out to places, but they can come here and get the help they need and that’s very positive.”
He added, “About half the people who come here don’t come to our church on a Sunday and we’re opening ourselves to be that community area. A lot of people are lonely and they’ve come in once or twice and connected with somebody and now they come in regularly. Every now and then they come to the Christmas service but we don’t over push it, we just let God work in people’s lives. We’re quite a community church, we do quizzes, jumble sales and lots of other events to connect with our community. The commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and all your mind which is our primary element, but the second is to love your neighbour as yourself so we’re putting that into practice and hopefully showing the love of God through practical means. Then we leave God to work on people’s hearts as to whether they want to know more and obviously we’re there to help them in their practical needs but in their spiritual needs too.”
St Mary’s Basingstoke
St Mary’s in Basingstoke runs a Welcome Space every weekday morning as “a place to relax and chat or work and play”. It started as part of the national Warm Space initiative and has continued ever since.
A team of more than a dozen volunteers make teas and coffee, bake cakes and listen and talk to those who come along, which sometimes includes those sleeping rough.
Volunteer Bruce Williamson said, “It’s just nice to be here and help the guys who are struggling. It’s not only the homeless guys, but church family members who just come in for a break and a coffee. We’ve got a little jar that people pop money into if they want to, but we don’t ask for any money. It’s important for the church to be able to do this. We try to talk about Jesus and remind them what he did and why we’re here. But it’s just nice, quiet non-judgemental space.”
Bob recently moved to Basingstoke and the Welcome Space has provided him with a way to meet new people. He said, “I come here and it’s lovely. You meet different people and get to know them. There’s always a welcoming chat.”
Volunteer Jane Beckwith added, “People like to have someone to spend time with them and as volunteers we can sit and chat. I think it’s important for people who are on their own like Bob and people from the church family and the community. It’s somewhere for them to come and meet other people, because it’s easy to be lonely when you’re on your own with nothing to do, so we’re a warm space and a welcome space. We tell them about things that are happening in church that they may want to come to. Bob came to the bereavement course and we have our lunch group too. Sometimes people bring in their laptops and do their work here as well. They can work and have company as well.”
St James’ Church, West End
There’s lots of laughter coming from the hall of St James’ Church in West End. “There is no better medicine,” says volunteer Ann Clover.
The church started a Warm Welcome 3 years ago and it takes place each Thursday. Coffee, tea, snacks, soup and a roll are available. There are crafts, board games, dominos and a game of cards is always popular. Others are enjoying knitting and crafts.
Lyn Spratt is lead volunteer and said, “The word has got around and people have come in. Quite often they’re lonely and they get bored at home and don’t know what to do, but sometimes they’re worried about walking into a new place, so they come in and we sit and chat. It brings people together and into the church as well, because sometimes they feel they want a quiet space but are frightened to walk into the church. So, we have the door open and if they want some quiet, we’ll go in with them or they might just sit there on their own. They get to know people within the community and that’s really important. One lady has lost her husband and her sister, so she came along because she felt a bit lonely and now, she’s joining the flower team at the church. It’s little things like that which can make a difference.”
The church has benefitted from a grant from the Parish Council which helps fund taxis to bring people to the hall who wouldn’t otherwise be able to get there and a grant from Eastleigh Southern Parishes Network towards older people’s care including the Warm Welcome and other events. It also has the support of the local doctors surgery who have provided advice booklets and recommended the event to some of their patients.
Angel started going to the Warm Welcome three years ago. She says she was unsure at first but persuaded by her daughter. Now she, her daughter and grand daughter regularly attend St James’. She said, “The first time I walked in, the welcome I received was fantastic. After three years I consider these people my family. It means a lot to me to come here. We laugh and talk and share our problems and always feel better afterwards. We love coming to church and look forward to it. I can’t explain the feeling I have as I walk through the doors. I feel welcome and happy.”
The Warm Welcome runs from January to March, this year increasing from 10 weeks to 12. Last year’s event finished with an end of year party with a special cake and the same is planned for this year.
Volunteer Anne added, “It’s a privilege to be part of this because there’s no pressure on people. They just come and feel they belong and can do as much or as little as they want to. It is corny, but we hope it really is a warm welcome. We are very aware that this time of year is a low time for so many people and some of the stories we hear are really moving. I know for a few people, this is their only point of contact in the week where they talk to other people. Friendships do form and people make connections and so it’s great. Sometimes it feels like you’re lighting the touch flame and then you stand back and let people create their own friendships, which is what it’s for, really.”
Holy Saviour, Bitterne
Holy Saviour in Bitterne, Southampton, started their community café after lockdown. A new extension had just been added to the church with a commercial kitchen and it had been the church’s vision to use this to provide for the community.
The Hope Café runs on a Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and Omega Café takes place on a Wednesday which includes a service of communion and hot lunch. The café also provides a welcome space for some of the city’s homeless.
Organiser Ruth Palmer said, “It’s about having a space that’s warm and people have someone to talk to. It’s free but you can give a donation but it’s about connecting with one another. I think people love having somewhere to come, to help isolation. It’s so important for the church to be that place. That’s our heart for the community. When we opened our extension, for us it was key to open a warm and welcoming space for all.”
St John’s Church, Alresford
St John’s Church in Alresford started hosting ‘Monday Meet and Eat’ in the Autumn of 2023 at the time of rising gas prices. They initially welcomed 3 families but now the weekly event brings up to 11 families for a hot meal, drinks and a chance to meet others.
The tables in the John Pearson Hall are full of board games and puzzles for youngsters to play and space for families to offer support to one another.
The initiative is organised by Churches Together in Alresford with volunteers from churches of all denominations. There is a team of around six volunteers each week who welcome, cook, serve teas and coffees or join in the games.
Kevin and Jo have been going to Meet and Eat with their children 9-year-old George and Daisy who is 7 since the beginning. He said, “It’s good because it gets the community and families together. You don’t have to be religious and if you’re having a hard time financially this can really help.”
Since the start of the Monday meal, 5 of the families have now begun attending church, in particular St John’s “Families at 4pm” service on the first Sunday of the month, which includes a story, songs, craft, drinks and snacks.
Sarah has been coming to Meet and Eat with her daughters Poppy, 7 and Molly 5 for over a year. She said, “The children love it. They enjoying playing games and it gives them a hot meal. They sit down with everyone else and it encourages them to eat. We now go to the service on the first Sunday of the month and they love doing that too and hearing the story and doing the crafts.”
Monday Meet and Eat is funded by the churches along with a grant from local charity the Alresford Pigs, which supports families in need. Children attend after school from several primary schools across the town and neighbouring villages.
Meet and Eat is organised by churchwarden Rosie Waring Green who said, “It’s having a presence in the town, showing care and thinking about the people who need that extra support in any way, emotional, financial, just being there for people. For some, they can save on their heating when they come straight from school. It’s gives them a couple of hours of warmth, a nice hot meal and some friendship.”
She added, “We’ve got four or five families who come to church who were never seen in church before, just to our real low-key family service ‘Families at 4”. Tiny seeds, but, you know, it’s all being planted and growing, and that’s what we’re here for, isn’t it? God’s Kingdom, really. To love people where they are and as they are.”
