Lansdowne Life 8 October 2017

More documents

Recommendations

Info

A day in the life of the In Touch ministry In Touch operates from St Augustin’s Church each Tuesday and Friday and provides lunches plus clothing to the homeless and vulnerably housed individuals. To deliver each lunch requires a team of at least 15 volunteers and as can be seen below they come in a variety of shapes and sizes (see photo). During the meals certain volunteers will spend time with the guests to understand their problems and provide contact details of the various services that can provide some help to address their predicament. Lunch also includes a dessert of old favourites of either rice or sticky toffee pudding. We also serve a variety of cakes, Preparations begin at 8:15am with health & safety checks, preparation of the food, and laying of tables. A typical meal comprises of chicken (supplied free by Nandos) along with vegetables, potatoes, beans etc. Take away meals are also prepared. Donations of clothing and toiletries are sorted and sized and this is offered to the guests after every meal. This is now termed the In Touch version of ‘Harrods.’ Volunteer servers and dish washers arrive throughout the morning in time for when the doors are opened at 11:45am, then the fun begins! Before any meals commence there is a bible reading and a prayer which is always respectfully received by the guests. On a typical day over 70 meals will be served. which enables the guests a chance to choose their favourites. The meals are concluded by 1pm and according to the perceived need clothing is distributed. Doors are closed at 1:15pm and by 2pm the building is cleaned and the team leave. As we serve at In Touch we learn more of God’s love and His wonderful provision. Our prayer is that God will keep our guests safe and that they might come to know God in their present situation and go forward into a better life, physically, mentally and spiritually. Please see of harvest items on previous page (to be given to the In Touch ministry) The In Touch Team
VOLUNTEER VACANCIES: WE NEED YOUR HELP! HI5 - volunteers needed Please contact Debbie Astill if you would like to help in this way. In Touch - volunteers needed If you would like to help, please contact Joe Nisbet Faithworks Wessex is a local Christian charity whose purpose is to bring hope to people who are in a crisis whether it be homelessness, debt, lone parent or dementia. An important part of Faithworks is to help the local churches coordinate the work to address rough sleepers in Bournemouth. Several churches, including Lansdowne Church, have joined a team called Bournemouth Christians Along Side Rough Sleeper (BCARS) which is facilitated by Faithworks. The aims are to establish a town-wide service for rough sleepers and vulnerably housed which provides holistic support for the body, mind and soul. In addition, the team works in partnership and collaboratively with the local authority & statutory bodies and charities. There are seven organisations, including In Touch, that provide food and support throughout Bournemouth every day of the week as part of team BCARS. BCARS also operates Sleepsafe which is the provision of beds during the winter months for the homeless. The purpose is to provide a safe place to reduce sleep deprivation plus motivation to help rough sleepers get off the street and find new hope. Lansdowne Church supported this last year with part of the Christmas offering. During 2016/17, 80 people accessed Sleepsafe of which 59% moved into more secure accommodation. As part of the Sleepsafe process each user was encouraged to review their personal circumstances with the objective of identifying specific actions that would help them move off the streets. This initiative was called ‘half time’ the idea being that second half can be better than the first half and a new start can be achieved. As Lansdowne Church considers the future community projects for both Woodbury Avenue and the Lansdowne Road area the relationship with Faithworks will be important both in identifying the right projects and supporting the volunteers. Note: BCARS are presently looking for volunteers for the 2017/18 Sleep Safe team If you are interested then please contact the church office or visit: Faithworkswessex.org.uk Faithworkswessex.org.uk/our-projects/ hope-rough-sleepers-bcars Doug McGINN | Director of Operations
Page 1 and 2: October 2017 Lansdowne Life “The
Page 3 and 4: SOLA POWER Back in the 16 th Centur
Page 5: 'I'm not sure how we'd get through

Lansdowne Life 8 October 2017

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?