A Warm Space
St Michael’s, Bempton
I’m Maureen and I completed Stepping Up at Christmas 2022. I worship at St Michael’s Bempton, and have, for some time, been active in visiting people around the village, inviting them to come to church, or to the church hall for coffee, friendship, and company. This seemed to be especially needed after the Covid restrictions, when many people were still anxious about coming out.
Our Food Pantry
Since then, other needs have emerged in our community, with the cost of living crisis and energy prices this winter. I believe that in times of need your church is there to help you. It is clear that in our villages of Bempton and Buckton, some of our residents are very much in need. In the magazines that go out to everyone in the villages, I encouraged anyone who was in need or struggling, to come to St Michael’s. The church is open from 8.30am – 4pm daily, and at the back, on a pew near the font, we have set up a Food Pantry, with bags of food, for anyone in need to take. We are thankful to all those who donate food. I also go regularly to Morrisons in Bridlington, to collect donations of food from there, and other groups and individuals also donate.
A Warm Space
In addition to the Food Pantry, I was invited by our church leadership to organise a Warm Space on Tuesday mornings in the church hall. Between November and April we offered hot drinks and cake, followed by soup and roll at lunchtime, and a Lent course after lunch for those who wished to stay. The Warm Space has also been used and appreciated by people in the village. We were able to get some funding from the Parish Council, and also a Mustard Seed grant, which funded the replacement of the water geyser in the hall kitchen, and a new microwave, as well as funds for prayer cards. In both the church and the hall, we have a prayer station, so that people coming for food bags or the Warm Space have the opportunity to come into contact with faith and prayer.
I was approached recently by a lady in the village, who said that the food bags were a life-saver for her family over the winter. A friend had just bought her some shopping, and she gave me a bag of it for the Food Pantry, as a way of giving something back. She has now become a regular donor of foodbags. As we learnt in the Mustard Seed parable, it’s amazing what can happen from the planting of tiny seeds of God’s love and hope.