Homeless Ministry
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Every Monday evening at 6pm during the winter our volunteers distribute food to the homeless in Kensington. They begin with some informal prayer at St Mary Abbots and then taking food prepared by the volunteers, down the High Street to people in their spots, ending at Holland Park with a debrief and more informal prayer for those we have met.
If you would be interested in joining this group then please contact Father Christopher HERE. |
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Church Outreach 2023
Thank you so much from Mother Emma and me to those of you who came and contributed so powerfully to our discussion of our outreach work on Monday evening. We shared the range of ways in which we seek to serve the wider community: our foodbank, our recent homeless ministry, our support for Glass Door, our financial giving to other charities and our help for those who come into our church in need .
Some of you spoke of the ways in which you have been changed by participating in our homeless ministry, as well as our outreach more generally, and we hope our whole church community will continue to be changed by this work. We decided that as the weather gets warmer we should pause the particular ministry of taking soup and other food and drink to the homeless people in the High Street, and revisit the form of help which we offer later in the year. This is because we reached the view that we could reach more people through other forms of service, particularly given the very healthy number of committed and faithful volunteers which we have.
One form of service which we will explore further is what pre-Covid was referred to as church sitting, but which might helpfully harness some of the skills in serving those in need which have been developed through the homeless ministry. This is something we will be approaching the PCC about, but please do get in touch with me if you would be interested in participating in this.
Central to our identity as a church is our shared sense of responsibility for our mission, and I hope you will continue to share ideas and continue to pray about how we can best serve those around us and further afield as a community.
With love, and giving thanks for all that you offer and which we can only do together and in the power of the Holy Spirit,
Father Christopher
Some of you spoke of the ways in which you have been changed by participating in our homeless ministry, as well as our outreach more generally, and we hope our whole church community will continue to be changed by this work. We decided that as the weather gets warmer we should pause the particular ministry of taking soup and other food and drink to the homeless people in the High Street, and revisit the form of help which we offer later in the year. This is because we reached the view that we could reach more people through other forms of service, particularly given the very healthy number of committed and faithful volunteers which we have.
One form of service which we will explore further is what pre-Covid was referred to as church sitting, but which might helpfully harness some of the skills in serving those in need which have been developed through the homeless ministry. This is something we will be approaching the PCC about, but please do get in touch with me if you would be interested in participating in this.
Central to our identity as a church is our shared sense of responsibility for our mission, and I hope you will continue to share ideas and continue to pray about how we can best serve those around us and further afield as a community.
With love, and giving thanks for all that you offer and which we can only do together and in the power of the Holy Spirit,
Father Christopher
You can also join our team who take part in fundraising for Glass Door, a homeless Charity focused on West London who have annual sleep outs and walks to raise money and awareness for homeless people. More information about Glass door can be found HERE.
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