Top Church has opened a new Place of Welcome after itsrecent refurbishment. Every Monday from midday until 2.30pm, the church will beopen with free drinks and biscuits, giving a space for people to gather, talkwith others and be signposted to other sources of help and information ifnecessary.
There is a growing network of Places of Welcome run by communitygroups who want to make sure that local people have a place to go forconversation and a hot drink if and when they need it. There are a number ofchurches across the Diocese who now have an official Place of Welcome duringthe week.
Communities Minister at Top Church, Kath Poole, hosted thefirst session along with the curate, Sarah. She said: This was something wewere keen to start following refurbishment of the inside of our building. Thereare often people sat on the seats across the road from church and we wanted toinvite them in for a warm drink. As a Place of Welcome, well be committing toopening at the same time each week and offering a space for people to get toknow each other. Well be handing out flyers locally to make sure people areaware were open and also linking with other venues in Dudley, letting localpeople where they can get tea and conversation on different days of the week.
Joining the Places of Welcome network gives Top Church accessto publicity material and other support, for example help producing riskassessments. It also gives people a clear idea what to expect when they comethrough the door.
Su Parker looks after the Places of Welcome networkthroughout the Black Country. She said: Were really pleased that Top Churchis now able to open as a venue. The concept of Places of Welcome has come fromasking people what they want and responding to that. We try to make it easy forcommunity groups to set up and easy for people to come along. Its all abouttea, coffee, chat and information.Completely new groups take time to build as it often happens throughword of mouth, but they are always really appreciated by those who attend.
If you would be interesting in setting up Place of Welcomeplease visit www.placesofwelcome.org.uk for more information.
