Croydon Churches Floating Shelter offers guests (who are homeless people living on the streets) a hot meal, a bed for the night and valuable companionship in a warm, safe and caring environment.
The Shirley Floating Shelter will again operate this winter from Shirley Methodist Church on eight Sunday evenings, 10th November – 22nd December. As part of our long-standing partnership, St John’s works with Shirley Methodists to help with these nights. Other Croydon churches will be covering other nights, and yet others will be open from January to March, thus covering the five coldest months of the year.
Once more volunteers are needed. Can you help at Shirley?
Those volunteering before have found it a happy, interesting and rewarding experience. We would love to welcome new volunteers – do think about it and contact Brian or Jonathan (details below) to find out more.
The help we need is:
Provisioners – to bring in a pre-cooked main meal
Cooks and servers – to come in and cook the prepared food and serve our guests
Overnighters – to stay with our guests. Four overnighters are needed each night. Two beds are set up in a separate room. There are two shifts of four hours (allowing two to sleep while two while two are awake helping.) Overnighters welcome the guests and spend time with them, eating, talking and listening; playing games, and helping to make it a pleasant evening.
Clearers and cleaners – arrive as the guests leave at 8am
Launderers – to collect a bag of laundry (sheets, towels and flannels) to take home to wash, iron and return by the next Sunday
Reception – sometimes overnighters cover this but it is good to have additional cover during the evening.
There are lists in at the back of Church at St John’s, and in the Welcome Area at Shirley Methodist Church, to sign with offers of help
Trustee: Jonathan Baxter 020 8777 3158
Co-ordinator: Brian Cantrell 07468 618553
The streets are especially cruel in the winter months. Please help if you can.
Thank you
We give thanks for God’s gracious provision in our own times of difficulty and distress, and we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who will need support and shelter in the coming months:
“You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.”
Isaiah 25:4