Almost every Sunday, I wrote in my Christmas Letter, I meet people who ask for financial help. They come inside the church, or I meet them outside when I arrive or leave the church. People who ask, "Can I have a word with you, Father", but whose needs I soon discover I cannot meet. I have had to learn that, as a priest, I do not have the knowledge, nor the skills, to be a social worker; that in our town there is provision by various charities who offer support to those in need of the basics in life.
What we offer is Prayer. We welcome everyone to our services, and to a cup of coffee afterwards!
As of this month, we also have a dedicated page on our website signposting people in crisis to what help is available, every day of the week, in our town:
Please email us if you find some of these links not working, or of there are other resources we could include on the list.
Nikita Banev, Priest of the Community