Offering a Warm Welcome all year round
Over the last two winters, Warm Welcome spaces have provided a place for people in their local communities to come together. While they’ve enjoyed a physically warm space, guests have said what they most value is the hospitality.
“You know it’s warm space, it’s warm welcome. You go in there, you might be miserable and down, but you come out with a smile on your face,” says one woman of her experience.
Last year 550,000 people visited Warm Welcome spaces, and at least 432 Methodist Churches opened their doors to provide a Warm Welcome space, that’s 11% of all Methodist Churches in the UK.
Research showed that people visiting these spaces of hospitality during the coldest and darkest months of the year particularly benefitted from the ways Warm Welcome spaces combatted loneliness and isolation.
Here's the story of one Methodist church easing loneliness through Warm Welcome:
So, as the cost of living has not gone away, we need communities to continue to offer a Warm Welcome to reduce isolation and loneliness and connect people together. For the first time the interactive map on the Warm Welcome website will stay live throughout the summer months to ensure potential guests can find their nearest Warm Welcome space whenever they need to connect with others in their locality. The map can be found here.
And as churches work hard to respond to poverty and isolation in their communities through initiatives like Warm Welcome, the Methodist Church is also part of a bigger movement to say Let’s End Poverty. This is because we know that poverty can and should end in the UK for good.
Further details can be found on the Let's End Poverty website letsendpoverty.co.uk.
The background to the energy crisis
If you live in the UK and you're responsible for paying household bills, you'll be aware that energy bills are skyrocketed over the past couple of years. As is always the case, this has affected people on the lowest incomes the most.
In autumn 2022 many community groups, including churches, started up 'warm spaces' to help people get through the winter: places where people can come and get warm, have a free hot drink, maybe grab a snack and charge their phone.
Christians believe that everyone should be able to live with dignity, knowing their intrinsic worth and value. Poverty contradicts the will of God, and robs people of their dignity, sense of worth and value.
On 5th September 2022, this webinar was held by members of the Connexional Team, offering guidance about setting up warm spaces:
On 28th November 2022 we held a follow-up webinar at which we heard about people's experiences of setting up warm spaces and reflected on those experiences. You can view the recording here:
Check out this short segment from BBC Look North, featuring the warm space run by Centenary Methodist Church in Boston, Lincolnshire.
What exactly is a Warm Welcome space?
A Warm Welcome space is simply somewhere people can experience hospitality. Keep it simple: work out what you are in a position to offer and offer that. If you can only make cups of tea and coffee and provide some biscuits, that is good enough. If you can offer a bowl of soup or a warm snack as well, great. If you can provide a couple of simple activities to keep people occupied while they are there, e.g. a couple of newspapers or magazines, board games, books and so on, then that is helpful. Having one or two people available to simply be a listening ear may also be a great gift.
Set your space up as informally and comfortably as possible. People need to feel welcome and comfortable. If you have comfy chairs or sofas available, make use of them; if not, put chairs in circles around tables or coffee tables. Be aware, though, that some people may wish to sit on their own, so make sure some spaces make that possible rather than every table being expected to take 4-6 people. Think about having a designated quiet/silent space.
Make sure you have someone on the door to welcome everyone who comes in and lets people know what is available, how the space works and so on. (It could be helpful to have the same people wherever possible to build relationships with people).
What should our Warm Welcome space be like?
Talk to people who may need the provision. We can often make assumptions about what people need and when it needs to be provided. If you have contact with local people who may well need this kind of provision - maybe through regular groups in your building, a food bank, or through other local organisations - ask what would be helpful, what would make a space feel welcoming, and what time would be most beneficial. You may have limitations about when you can offer the space, due to volunteer availability and other activities in your building, but where you can offer a choice, do so. People living with the challenges of financial hardship, poverty and destitution often have very few choices available to them and feel unheard. Asking and listening can go a long way to reducing some of the indignity associated with poverty.
If you have been through a mission planning process recently, you'll have conducted a community audit, listening to your community's hopes and dreams, worries and fears. The better you know your community, the more easily you will able to tailor your Warm Welcome space to meet your community's particular needs. For guidance on conducting a community audit, check out the mission planning pages.
Be aware of power dynamics. We are sometimes unaware of hidden power dynamics when we offer help to others. These are often unconscious but making ourselves aware of them can help us avoid saying and doing things that can make people feel more shame, fear, and lack of dignity. To encourage a healthy power dynamic:
- Prioritise partnership;
- Resist being seen as the ‘provider’;
- Encourage participation and make it easy for people to contribute. It may be that people who attend regularly wish to help serve teas and coffees, clear up etc. Although, as churches, we are often used to doing everything “for” people, allowing others to contribute and become host as well as guest can help them feel valued, less shameful, useful. If they do help, keep your safeguarding procedures as clear as you do for any other volunteer;
- Offer a way of receiving feedback, e.g. ‘this space is good because…This space could be better if…’
Who could we work with to set up our Warm Welcome space?
Warm Welcome is an initiative from the Churchworks Commission, of which The Methodist Church is a part. People can sign up at www.warmwelcome.uk and register their Warm Welcome space. Signing up to Warm Welcome is a commitment from churches to provide a free Warm Welcome this winter. They will receive practical advice and access to resources to assist in the process of setting up a church as a Warm Welcome space. The Connexional Team will be notified of any Methodist Church that registers (as longs as they clearly identify as Methodist).
Collaborate with other churches/community groups who might be able to offer space and be able to form a rota if needed. Speak to your ecumenical partners – they may also have plans in place or funding. In one example in Gateshead, the Methodist Church are hosting the Warm Welcome space and the local Anglican church have decided to offer volunteers rather than set up a separate space. Working together may well be a good way forward.
Check what is happening in your local area. There may be other community groups, spaces and organisations who are also considering being a Warm Welcome space. Can you work together, share learning and collaborate?
Check with your local Council/Citizen’s Advice Bureau about signposting for other help. Check with the nearest food bank about their referral processes in case you have guests who may need to access it. Check out where any local provision for low-cost food is available, e.g., Fairshare, community pantries and larders, cafés and supermarkets offering free or low cost food for children.
What about safeguarding?
Warm Welcome spaces need to be safe spaces. Safeguarding procedures help us to ensure that those who volunteer and host the space are safe, as well as those who come along as guests. Make sure all volunteers are familiar with your church Safeguarding policy and that you have appropriate volunteer recruitment forms. It is also wise to complete a Risk Assessment for the new activity to ensure you have thought through any potential risks to guests and hosts and the building. Please send a copy of your Risk Assessment to your District Safeguarding Officer who will also be able to give you advice if needed. The Connexional Safeguarding Team have produced the following draft guidance to assist Methodist warm spaces to be as safe as possible:
Safeguarding guidance for warm spaces
It is really important that people feel safe and part of that means they should expect that their attendance is kept confidential. Please ensure your volunteers know not to talk about who was present to friends and family after a session, especially if they know individuals attending. No one wants to have to access a warm space: having people know you needed it adds to the indignity.
This safety also comes from ensuring that no one is judged as to why they are there. Some people may be there because they need to keep warm, but some may come because they need company or for other reasons. Do not make assumptions about people’s income, resources, and situation.
If you are allowing people to charge their mobile phone and you use extension cables, make sure you use ones that are PAT tested and therefore safe. If you are serving any kind of food, make sure you are complying with up-to-date food safety and hygiene regulations. This is part of making it a safe space.
There is lots of guidance to help you on the safeguarding pages.
What funding is available for our Warm Welcome space?
Some Districts are offering funds to support churches who are in the right place to offer a Warm Welcome space, but for whom finance is an issue:
- Grants of up to £1000 are now available to fund Warm Welcome spaces in the Lincolnshire District - more information here.
- Grants of up to £500 are now available to fund Warm Welcome spaces in the Liverpool District - more information here.
- Grants of up to £500 are now available to fund Warm Welcome spaces in the Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury District - more information here.
- Grants of up to £500 are now available to fund Warm Welcome spaces in the Yorkshire North and East District - more information here.
- Grants of up to £500 are now available to fund Warm Welcome spaces in the Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire District - more information here.
All local authorities have been given a Household Support Fund in response to the energy hikes. Each authority can use the funds however they deem appropriate. Many are now using some of this fund for Warm Welcome spaces.
Transforming Churches and Communities, a charity based in the north of England, has produced a funding report giving details of grants available from various companies and foundations. Most are available nationally, although some are restricted to the Manchester and Stockport area. You can download the report here.
Where possible, make the refreshments free. Providing at least one of the refreshments for free will allow people to stay as long as they need. If your budget does not allow you to provide everything for free, consider making any hot food as pay-as-you-feel so that people can pay something, but not be priced out. You might also find people in your congregation or local community would be willing to pay-it-forward. That means they give you a small donation to cover the cost of someone’s refreshments in advance, so that it can be used to cover the cost of anyone who cannot pay. This may be a way of people helping the Warm Welcome space if they cannot help in any other way.
How could we share faith in our Warm Welcome space?
First of all, ask your congregation to pray for the space.
Then think about how to make it easy for people to ask for prayer, without pressure, or people feeling coerced in any way. For example, you could say, "In this room next door, we're praying at 8pm - you are welcome to join us if you wish."
Another simple approach could be to have a prayer tree or prayer box. One church has a team of volunteers at their food bank each week offering conversation and hand massage. This is a way of making people feel safe and cared for, and of building relationships. Sometimes this results in requests for prayer.
Some churches and circuits may discern a call from God to discover church at the margins, beginning a New Place for New People at the economic margins of society. For more information and links to training and network events, check out the Church at the Margins webpages.
Should we expect to keep running our Warm Welcome space long-term?
This is entirely up to you. You might want to consider your Warm Welcome space being a community hub that participates in social prescribing. When the weather really hots up and becomes dangerous for the very young, older people and those with long term health conditions, you could think about providing a welcoming, cool space. You and your team could also get involved in community organising. Here is more information about the Faith Rooted Community Organising Course.