Community
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♦ COMMUNITY St Chad's and St Mary in the Baum are active in their local communities and are actively considering how we serve our parishes - the people who live around the town centre. Our Mission Action plan has been submitted to the Bishop of Manchester and can be downloaded here. We work with the number of local partners, including Touchstones Art Gallery, Rochdale Borough Council, Caring and Sharing Charity, Co operative Funeral Care, Rochdale Connections Trust and the Rotary Club. Much of our current work is concerned with welcoming asylum seekers and refugees, and supporting them in their dealings with the Home Office. We are also keen to build relationships between the faiths.
♦ INTER FAITH The churches of St Chad’s and St Mary in the Baum are located in the midst of many faiths, most notably Muslim people. We really value our neighbours and believe that God has commanded us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:39). We do not think it matters which faith our neighbour has. We also believe that many of the activities we do can be better done together.
♦ PLACE OF WELCOME # CLOSED DUE TO RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED TO HELP COMBAT COVID-19 VIRUS Welcome St Chad's Place of Welcome now takes place on Friday from 10.30 am to 12 noon. More about the Place of Welcome idea Places of Welcome is a growing network of hospitality run by local community groups who want to make sure that everyone in their area has a place to go for a friendly face, a cup of tea and a conversation if and when they need it. Places of Welcome is a net Places of Welcome developed out of the Birmingham Social Inclusion process ‘Giving Hope Changing Lives’, as a response to the question - Is Birmingham a welcoming city? While Places of Welcome began in Birmingham, it is now developing further afield, as people respond to the challenge to make our cities and neighbourhoods more welcoming. The development of Places of Welcome began with a series of workshops, as part of the Social Inclusion Process, during which we developed a set of guiding principles to which all Places of Welcome agree to. These have come to be known as the 5P’s, they are: Place: An accessible and hospitable building, open at the same time every week. People: Open to everyone regardless of their circumstances or situation, and staffed by volunteers. Presence: A place where people actively listen to one another. Provision: Offering free refreshments (at least a cup of tea and a biscuit) and basic local information. Participation: Recognises that every person coming to a Place of Welcome will bring talents, experiences and skills that they might be willing to share locally.
♦ ASYLUM SEEKERS AND REFUGEES Supporting those newly arrived as Asylum Seekers and Refugees Welcome We are the two Church of England Churches in Rochdale Town Centre and we are here to help you. ## PLEASE NOTE ## Worship St Chad’s, Rochdale Parish Church on Sundays at 11 am. Support and advice We gather together at St Mary in the Baum on Wednesdays after the 10 am service and offer advice and mutual support. Help with learning English We are working with the Salvation Army who provide English as a second language classes on Tuesdays from 10 am at the Citadel, Newgate, Rochdale OL16 1AW. More info from Roy on 0770 839 1667. Trips and outings Working with friends of the churches and local partners we organise special cultural events. Place of Welcome This is a community café held at St Chad's offering hospitality to those who are new to the town and also its long standing residents. It’s free, and a good place to talk or play board games. The Red Cross Refugee Hub We work closely with the Red Cross which meets at St Mary in the Baum on Mondays 10 am to 3pm. The Red Cross provide: ♦ Wellbeing courses About the project: Greater Manchester Refugee Support Partnership project (GMRSP) is a partnership between Refugee Action, Rainbow Haven, Revive and the British Red Cross. The partnership aims to:
♦ PERSIAN CHRISTIANS Welcome fri St Chad's and St Mary in the Baum welcome Farsi (Persian) speaking Christians. You will be very welcome and can be assured of our support as you settle in to the UK. We plan to develop a fellowship group and hold regular Eucharists ... watch this space. Sometimes we use both English and Farsi in our worship. This is the Lord's Prayer; پس شما اینگونه دعا کنید:
♦ VOLUNTEERING We are always looking for volunteers to help in a number of ways. Working with us, partner organisations or sister churches you could help by:
Please contact us to find out more. |