St. Mary's Church in Wyke were very excited to welcome the Bishop of Bradford, the Rt Revd Toby Howarth, to their newest ecumenical mission project.
Together with the Moravian, URC, Methodist, catholic and free churches locally, the church has opened The Meeting Place, a coffee shop in the village centre.
The Meeting Place offers a warm space and welcome to all who might be seeking friendship and pastoral care, along with an advice centre, meeting people's other needs in a variety of ways.
The advisors offer children & families support, benefits advice, and financial and pensions support.
All the appointments with advisors are free, and there is a pay forward scheme run in the coffee shop to enable all to have access to a hot drink and food where needed.
The project is an addition to another existing mission, Wyke Foodbank, a Trussell Trust Foodbank which the council of churches in Wyke set up in 2015.
The Revd Lucy Wormsley, Vicar of St. Mary’s, said: “The Meeting Place was born out of the rising demand which the Foodbank had seen in the past few years and a shared vision which God at different times had given to both me and Foodbank manager, Dawn.
“The Meeting Place has been a new opportunity for the Church locally to meet people's needs more holistically, whilst also offering the love of God and the Gospel to new people who might otherwise not have come to a church.”
Over a cuppa and some soup and a roll, Bishop Toby was able to meet with some of the regulars at the Meeting Place, our manager, Dawn and the volunteer staff who help to run the coffee shop, as well as pray with and for them as they seek to grow and develop these projects into the future.
Bishop Toby said: “This project is a much needed provision for the people in this area, and it is great to see the churches working so closely together ecumenically, something that has always struck me as a hugely positive part of St. Mary's Church ministry in Wyke.”
The Meeting Place is open Monday to Friday, 10.30am - 3pm, and all would be welcome to come along and see this project in action.