Can your church or hall offer a warm space?
You may be thinking about providing a ‘warm space’ for people in your community this winter and many churches already do this. It’s a practical response to the cost of living crisis and there is funding available if you are considering this option.
Crossroads St Elizabeth’s in Earlham parish is already open to the community in the week for activities on certain days and as a foodbank distribution point. So it seemed a sensible idea for them to offer a warm space for the community on those days. Jennie Vitkovich from Crossroads Earlham writes: “We weren’t put off by having to fund extra heating because it seemed an obvious thing to do and we feel this is a really important part of our outreach work. One room in particular in the building will be the designated warm area and we can adjust individual radiator thermostats as required.
We applied for, and have received, a grant from the Winter Resilience Fund offered by Norfolk Community Foundation. The money we received is for refurbishing the designated warm room, providing free refreshments and for heating costs.
The current financial situation provides us all with an opportunity to reach out to our communities and offer them a warm welcome into our church buildings or halls. Our experience suggests that this does not always have to be a big project, a couple of hours a week can make all the difference for people and make them feel cared for.”
If you are providing a ‘warm space’ at church, don’t forget to register it on the map for people to find: www.warmwelcome.uk
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