A group of volunteers from a parish church in the Diocese of Norwich are celebrating after a successful application to the National Lottery to help fund a community cafe for a further two years. The ‘Melton Pot’ is a small cafe with a big heart for people in the community. It’s run by volunteers from All Saints Church in Briston and has now been awarded £18,920 to continue.,
Revd Carolyn Sexton is the Assistant Minister of the Briston and Brimingham Benefice, a group of 10 parishes including Melton Constable. Revd Carolyn says; “It brings in people who are quite lonely, some who have recently moved here and don’t know anyone. Some people are a bit low and some just like to come in for a chat. Because it’s small, people don’t have to come in with anybody, they can come and chat to the volunteers. The volunteers are mostly new to us, they have come forward specifically for this and are not church goers, but they believe in bringing community together.”
The church volunteers see the cafe as missional outreach, to reach people who might need to come together. Revd Carolyn says; “We wanted to show the Christian side of supporting and caring for people and it’s found its own way through that. People have started to bring their vinyls in and play them. We have two people who visit with dementia and they are very happy to sit quietly and knit. It gives their family a few hours to do what they need to do. It mainly provides company and a warm space.”
The Melton Pot began in February 2026 and now the team can look forward to another two years of the cafe.
Priscilla Watson-Read is the Volunteer Coordinator and Supervisor at the cafe who answered an advert for volunteers displayed in the window. Priscilla says; “I live nearby and I was drawn to this place and answered the advert. It’s a good opportunity to meet people and I love it. I like the community and the sense of family, everyone’s very close.”
Mary Jermany volunteers for 2 hours every Friday. She has lived in the village for 54 years. Mary says; “I worked in the local co op for 36 years. When I lost my husband and was on my own, I was alright while I was working, I was meeting people, but it all got a bit too much for me. This is perfect for me to meet people and help.”
Karen and Simon Cornish are both volunteers and Karen helps to run the craft group. Karen says; “We’ve lived here about 10 years, I used to work from home and my husband still does. We both now volunteer here and since we’ve been volunteering, we’ve met and got to know so many people. It’s great. Our daughters also help out on Saturday afternoons.”
Toni Marshall supports the benefice with general administration duties and is involved in volunteering. Toni says: “This money gives us the perfect opportunity to make the cafe self financing. We are creating a safe, warm and friendly space for anyone feeling lonely, a place to catch up with friends or meet new ones. As Melton Constable has no other facilities like this, it’s a vital lifeline for our village, especially for those who don’t drive. We are proudly sourcing all our goods from the local bakery and we are run solely by dedicated volunteers. We have lots of plans for the near future for events and groups focused on helping to combat loneliness.”
The Melton Pot is not the only missional outreach the church community supports. In Briston, the team also run a choir and a warm space.
The choir came about after the church sent out a survey during the Covid pandemic asking people to say what was lacking in the community. Now up to 25 people meet each Monday evening to practice singing together. Some of the choir members have started to attend church services.
On Mondays, church volunteers also serve the community with a warm space, which has carried on going thanks to funding from grants. Around 20-25 people attend between 10am-2pm with a sandwich for lunch.
As well as mission, there is work to do on the church building itself. Revd Carolyn and the church team are now in the process of applying to the national lottery for building work at All Saints Church in Briston. The whole project will cost over 3 million pounds.
