“Christ Church has a really nice and friendly atmosphere with great food.”
Community
Loving Service in the Local Community
One of our Mission Priorities at Christ Church is Loving Service in the Local Community. We are committed to offering loving and welcoming hospitality which reflects God’s love and welcome for all.
At Christ Church, we seek to be a place where God’s justice, mercy and compassion can be found. We are inspired by following a God of justice and by the biblical imperative, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17)
We seek to engage with and serve our local community. We recently conducted a community survey in East Greenwich which highlighted some of the areas of need such as the lack of any CAB or legal advice centre.
We welcome working in partnership with others. We work with Emmanuel Church to host the East Greenwich Welcome Centre for Greenwich Foodbank and we work in partnership with the Forum at Greenwich to host the Greenwich Winter Night Shelter. We are in partnership with Law Works to host the East Greenwich Legal Advice Clinic.
We welcome and serve people of all faiths and none.
The Greenwich Winter Night Shelter operates during the coldest months of every winter from January to March. It is hosted at Christ Church on Monday nights in partnership with the Forum at Greenwich.
The shelter offers safe overnight accommodation for homeless people irrespective of race, creed or background. We host up to 15 guests who are referred to us by partner referral agencies.
In 2017, we had 78 guests referred of which 60 were offered places and 48 attended. The average length of stay was 28 days and the average bed occupancy was 14 guests per night. 12 of our guests were successfully housed.
Christ Church, like each of the seven venues, has a volunteer team who welcome guests, cook, dine together, sleep overnight, provide breakfast and clear up.
Volunteers undergo training and we safely recruit by taking ups references.
To find out more about volunteering please email the GWNS project manager on gwnsprojectmgr@gmail.com or contact us at info@christchurcheastgreenwich.org.uk
Christ Church hosts the East Greenwich Foodbank Welcome Centre on Thursday evenings from 6.30-8pm.
With the belief that no one in our community should have to face going hungry, last year, Greenwich Foodbank supplied 6,433 packages of three-day emergency food supplies for families, couples and people living on their own and referred in crisis.
Greenwich Foodbank is part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.
At Christ Church, we host a Welcome Centre and we are also a Collection Point for food. Donations are dropped of my members of the public as well as members of the church family and we also received collections from local schools and organisations.
The Greenwich Foodbank Welcome centre is currently led by Steve Wallace and we work in partnership with Emmanuel Church and others in the local community to staff the Welcome centre with volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering at the East Greenwich Foodbank Welcome Centre please contact Steve at stephendwallace@outlook.com.
“The foodbank was there when we really needed it, it was an absolute lifeline.”
Christ Church hosts the East Greenwich Legal Advice Clinic (EGLAC) which is a pro bono(free) legal advice and assistance service available to persons resident or based in South East London with a focus on East Greenwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
EGLAC supports the Law Society’s pro bono Charter and strives to achieve best practice in legal advice and assistance for individuals and organisations who cannot afford access to justice.
EGLAC is a member of the LawWorks pro bono clinics network and Advice UK.
EGLAC is staffed entirely by volunteer lawyers and other individuals who help to administer our work and facilitate our clinic sessions. Our clinic operates fortnightly, usually on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, from 8-9.45pm.
If you would like to access our services please email admin@eglac.org.uk or call 07806 733341. If we believe we may be able to assist you we will book you in for an appointment at the first available clinic session.
If you are interested in volunteering to help with our work please email us at admin@eglac.org.uk.
EGLAC is a member of the LawWorks pro bono clinics network and Advice UK.
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