Bangor Parish Church reaching out to the vulnerable
Bangor Parish Church has launched a Compassion Ministry which aims to offer friendship and practical help to the most vulnerable in their town.
The project operates out of two rooms in the halls which have been turned into a drop–in space and an attractive pre–loved clothing boutique. Anyone looking for advice or company is welcome for tea, coffee and a chat, however a referral letter is required to benefit from the foodbank and clothing service. “We want to ensure that our service is working in partnership with the excellent social work already happening in the town,” explains Missions and Operations Coordinator, Matthew Gault.
“From there we take people into the clothing boutique if they’re referred for clothes and they can select items of clothing or take a food bag from Storehouse North Down. People have been asking us, Why do you do this?’, so we’ve had some great conversations and in some cases have been able to pray with people.”
It’s early days but Matthew says that the ministry has already had an impact. “We had a man come in who was living in one of the local hostels and who was going for a job interview. The only clothes he had were the clothes he was standing up in. He said to one of our volunteers, ‘I have no hope of getting this job. Look at my clothes, I can’t make a good impression like this and I can’t afford good quality clothing.’ He was really blessed by receiving some clothes from us, and actually he stayed at the drop–in with us for quite a long time, chatting through faith and where his life was going, and we were able to pray with him.”
“Initially we were quite shocked by that discovery, and then we had some people come to the church who were struggling with those issues and that began to stir something in us as a congregation,” says Matthew.
“The Compassion Ministry came out of a time of reflection and prayer and relationship building as we got it off the ground. Although we have lots of ideas for the future, we’re still on a learning curve and keen to grow partnerships with other agencies.”
Rector, Revd Nigel Parker, sums up the vision: “We as a church are always looking for ways that we can share words of life and hope and also share Jesus with people. We want people to know that there’s an oasis of mercy in the middle of Bangor and Bangor Parish Church is a place to come to if you need help whether spiritual, physical, emotional or social.”
Bangor Parish Church Compassion Ministry is open in the halls on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1.30–4.00 pm.
2A Hamilton Road, Bangor, BT20 4LE www.bangorparishchurch.org.uk
Pictured above, L–R: Matthew, volunteer, Julie McFarland, Revd Nigel Parker and parish intern, Calum Caughey.
Intern, Mel, helps Julie in the boutique.
