Growing Community, Welcome and Faith
The past few months have been a whirlwind of opportunity for The Suitcase Project with new initiatives and deepening connections with people and organisations across the community.
At the heart of The Suitcase Project, we have a steady rhythm of welcome, learning and belonging. Our conversation group continues to be an easy and welcoming access point for people to connect with us and with one another, while our English teaching in a local school is opening valuable opportunities to build relationships with children, staff and parents.
Language support also continues through our English classes for all levels, with childcare provided so that parents can take part more easily. These classes have become much more than a place to learn English: they are a space where friendships form, confidence grows and people feel known. The shared soup lunch afterwards has become another important part of that welcome - and the soup is always worth staying for!
Alongside this, we have restarted our gardening project in partnership with Glenside Farm. Thanks to funding from Belfast City Council, we will be able to develop this further over the summer by growing our own garden at Emmanuel Hall. This will be another way for people to learn, share skills and spend time together.
The women’s group continues to offer a great space to connect, chat and try new activities such as macramé, storytelling and music lessons. Our Women’s Swimming, in partnership with Templemore Baths, has also continued, and recently we have been able to fund swimming lessons for women.
Our monthly evening meals paint a wonderful picture of life together and of the restoration of the world that Jesus invites us into. For our April meal, we partnered with East Belfast Community Development Association and enjoyed an evening of incredible food, music and art, with more than 50 people coming along. We look forward to partnering with them again in September.
Prayer and faith remain important to the life of the project. On the last Monday of the month, we gather in the evening to pray, and after lunch on Wednesdays everyone is invited to join us as we seek Jesus together by reading and discussing John’s Gospel. People from many different backgrounds take part, adding richness to our conversation and to our discovery of God through the Bible.
Our desire is that people would meet Jesus. We believe that God is discoverable, knowable, and loves us enough to die for us so that we can be welcomed into his family.
In all we do, we pray, welcome people, and gently look for opportunities to share Jesus. We would love you to partner with us in whatever way you can through prayer, volunteering and giving.
Prayer requests
In recent months, we have enjoyed closer connections with statutory and voluntary agencies, which has helped us meet and support new people. Please pray that these connections would continue to deepen.
Please pray for those who attend our groups, that they would receive the support they need, build connections with us and with one another, and experience something of the goodness of God in their lives.
Please continue to pray for our finances, that there would be opportunities for funding and increased donations.
Please pray for Julie, for me, and for the volunteers as we continue to serve and care for those who attend.
Pray that we would continue to have opportunities to meet newcomers, and the heart to listen to and serve them well.
With thanks to Tim Burns, Leader of The Suitcase Project, a diocesan outreach to newcomers to Northern Ireland.