SOUP KITCHENS UPDATE
3rd November, 2021
Despite the practical difficulties caused by the pandemic and St Mary’s currently being closed for the improvement scheme, the Hull Homeless Outreach team continues to provide food for 40 or 50 people each Wednesday and Thursday evening and Reaching Out to the Homeless run the Friday evening soup kitchen, all from St Mary’s.
The soup kitchens currently operate from St Mary’s South Porch, reached via the churchyard gate on Church Alley, on:
Wednesdays from 5pm
Thursdays from 5pm
Fridays from 6pm
A big thank you to Greggs, Aldi, KFC and Nandos for the food donations.
Also, thanks to Attitude hairdressers who come along during the Thursday soup kitchen to offer free haircuts and to medics from Yorkshire Medical Service Hull who attend.
For the moment HHO are keeping to a core of six volunteers to minimise Covid risk given the currently limited space for preparation and serving, but, once the church re-opens following the much-needed improvement work, HHO will be looking for additional volunteers.
Debbi Lee of HHO says, “The people who come along range from 18 to their 60s. They have just hit bad luck and some of their stories are heart-breaking.”
“For some it’s the only social interaction they get all week.”
All at St Mary’s wish to thank the Hull Homeless Outreach and Reaching Out to the Homeless volunteers for all the tremendous work they do.
You can find Hull Homeless Outreach on Facebook @hulloutreach and Reaching Out to the Homeless can be found on Facebook too.
Despite the practical difficulties caused by the pandemic and St Mary’s currently being closed for the improvement scheme, the Hull Homeless Outreach team continues to provide food for 40 or 50 people each Wednesday and Thursday evening and Reaching Out to the Homeless run the Friday evening soup kitchen, all from St Mary’s.
The soup kitchens currently operate from St Mary’s South Porch, reached via the churchyard gate on Church Alley, on:
Wednesdays from 5pm
Thursdays from 5pm
Fridays from 6pm
A big thank you to Greggs, Aldi, KFC and Nandos for the food donations.
Also, thanks to Attitude hairdressers who come along during the Thursday soup kitchen to offer free haircuts and to medics from Yorkshire Medical Service Hull who attend.
For the moment HHO are keeping to a core of six volunteers to minimise Covid risk given the currently limited space for preparation and serving, but, once the church re-opens following the much-needed improvement work, HHO will be looking for additional volunteers.
Debbi Lee of HHO says, “The people who come along range from 18 to their 60s. They have just hit bad luck and some of their stories are heart-breaking.”
“For some it’s the only social interaction they get all week.”
All at St Mary’s wish to thank the Hull Homeless Outreach and Reaching Out to the Homeless volunteers for all the tremendous work they do.
You can find Hull Homeless Outreach on Facebook @hulloutreach and Reaching Out to the Homeless can be found on Facebook too.
our Christian mission
The manifest and considerable difficulties of using St Mary the Virgin in its present state include failed heating, inadequate power supply, lighting, toilet provision and disabled access, a dangerously uneven floor and a complete lack of kitchen facilities.
Despite this St Mary’s provides a ministry of regular worship and a ministry to the homeless and others in need in the city.
For St Mary’s to be able to retain and increase its congregation and its role in the community, the building must be made fit for purpose. Please see our Our Challenge page for information about our plans for St Mary’s.
Making and nurturing disciples
St Mary’s offers traditional worship, complimenting that offered by neighbour Hull Minster. Currently, we hold two regular weekly services, Friday Holy Communion and Sunday BCP Sung Eucharist, as well as Easter and Christmas services, occasionally baptisms, weddings, funerals and annually the city’s service for those killed in road traffic incidents.
At 533 our parish population is very small. However, St Mary’s distinctive high Anglican form of worship means that disciples are drawn here from as far as North Lincolnshire, Market Weighton and Beverley. Through experience we know there is scope to make disciples from amongst our parish’s daytime, non-resident population of city office workers, shoppers and visitors.
Once our building offers a safe, warm and welcoming environment, and we have a vicar or Priest-in-Charge, proposed activities include re-introducing our Thursday Midday Office, launching a Lent study group and initiating other uses of the church described below with the aim of inviting in potential disciples.
Reaching those we currently don’t
St Mary’s parish is one of the 5 per cent most deprived in the country. The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019 ranked Hull as the 4th most deprived local authority area.
St Mary’s reaches out to those in need in the city by providing a venue off the streets for sustenance three evenings per week. 60 to 90 people aged between 17 and their late 60s attend each evening. The soup kitchens are managed by Hull Homeless Outreach (HHO). Donna Holiday, one of the founders of HHO, says, “St Mary’s inspires a respect in the people who attend, which wasn’t always there when we were on the streets. Our service users tell us that they feel safe here.”
The transformation of our building will be key to taking forward our vision to:
Tend by responding to human need and being an inclusive congregation and to
Transform by recognising God has placed us as an urban presence in the City to support all people who live and work here, whether successful and gifted, or poor and marginalised.
We pray that we can expand our ministry to those in need and explore future initiatives including:
Moving to growth
Making the church building fit for purpose is fundamental to enabling us to move to growth. Currently many people find St Mary’s too dark, cold and damp to stay for long or, during winter especially, to worship here regularly.
In addition to services, currently St Mary’s is open 11am to 2pm each Thursday and Friday and during the summer on Saturdays.
A priority for St Mary’s is to increase contact with people beyond our small church community. Once the building is improved we can encourage people who are not currently part of the Christian community to come inside by organising events and by acting as a venue for events (e.g. workshops, concerts, poetry readings, exhibitions) and by promoting St Mary’s architectural and historical interest for visitors to Hull.
If we can secure top-up funds for a new heating system, a new electrical system and the new facilities needed, we aim to draw city workers, shoppers and visitors into St Mary’s with:
∙ Provision of refreshments and regular light lunch provision of soup and sandwiches
∙ Regular guided tours
∙ Heritage talks programme
∙ Extending Saturday openings beyond summer (perhaps first Saturday in the month October to June)
∙ Improved external signs, interpretive panels, printed and audio visitor information
∙ Increasing the number of days we are open
∙ Promoting St Mary’s as a visitor destination
∙ Organising fundraising events
∙ Meeting the demand for the use of St Mary’s as a venue and encouraging new interest from event organisers.
There is real scope to attract more visitors to discover our heritage. We are one of Hull’s oldest churches, in the Old Town on the route between museums and retail areas and at the centre of Hull’s HAZ and Maritime City initiatives - a maritime historian has already examined our monuments for maritime significance.
Despite this St Mary’s provides a ministry of regular worship and a ministry to the homeless and others in need in the city.
For St Mary’s to be able to retain and increase its congregation and its role in the community, the building must be made fit for purpose. Please see our Our Challenge page for information about our plans for St Mary’s.
Making and nurturing disciples
St Mary’s offers traditional worship, complimenting that offered by neighbour Hull Minster. Currently, we hold two regular weekly services, Friday Holy Communion and Sunday BCP Sung Eucharist, as well as Easter and Christmas services, occasionally baptisms, weddings, funerals and annually the city’s service for those killed in road traffic incidents.
At 533 our parish population is very small. However, St Mary’s distinctive high Anglican form of worship means that disciples are drawn here from as far as North Lincolnshire, Market Weighton and Beverley. Through experience we know there is scope to make disciples from amongst our parish’s daytime, non-resident population of city office workers, shoppers and visitors.
Once our building offers a safe, warm and welcoming environment, and we have a vicar or Priest-in-Charge, proposed activities include re-introducing our Thursday Midday Office, launching a Lent study group and initiating other uses of the church described below with the aim of inviting in potential disciples.
Reaching those we currently don’t
St Mary’s parish is one of the 5 per cent most deprived in the country. The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019 ranked Hull as the 4th most deprived local authority area.
St Mary’s reaches out to those in need in the city by providing a venue off the streets for sustenance three evenings per week. 60 to 90 people aged between 17 and their late 60s attend each evening. The soup kitchens are managed by Hull Homeless Outreach (HHO). Donna Holiday, one of the founders of HHO, says, “St Mary’s inspires a respect in the people who attend, which wasn’t always there when we were on the streets. Our service users tell us that they feel safe here.”
The transformation of our building will be key to taking forward our vision to:
Tend by responding to human need and being an inclusive congregation and to
Transform by recognising God has placed us as an urban presence in the City to support all people who live and work here, whether successful and gifted, or poor and marginalised.
We pray that we can expand our ministry to those in need and explore future initiatives including:
- Facilitating a regular drop-in advice centre - HHO service users often need help with finding housing and filling in forms. Some cannot read or write, others need computer access and assistance with completing forms online. Because HHO users become familiar with St Mary’s through the soup kitchens, HHO believe St Mary’s will be seen as a welcoming place for seeking support. Donna Holiday of HHO says, “We already have laptops and people ready to offer their time to help and we have tried providing this support at St Mary’s but there isn’t the right space and the electric supply isn’t reliable.”
- Becoming a hub for signposting people to services – we are in discussions with a local councillor who is spearheading this initiative, involving other churches, libraries and charities in Hull.
- Establishing a ‘Recovery Bible Group’ for those recovering from addiction, homelessness, debt and other social issues.
- Facilitating the provision of fresh start and job clubs, possibly in conjunction with Christians Against Poverty (we have made initial contact with CAP to discuss this).
Moving to growth
Making the church building fit for purpose is fundamental to enabling us to move to growth. Currently many people find St Mary’s too dark, cold and damp to stay for long or, during winter especially, to worship here regularly.
In addition to services, currently St Mary’s is open 11am to 2pm each Thursday and Friday and during the summer on Saturdays.
A priority for St Mary’s is to increase contact with people beyond our small church community. Once the building is improved we can encourage people who are not currently part of the Christian community to come inside by organising events and by acting as a venue for events (e.g. workshops, concerts, poetry readings, exhibitions) and by promoting St Mary’s architectural and historical interest for visitors to Hull.
If we can secure top-up funds for a new heating system, a new electrical system and the new facilities needed, we aim to draw city workers, shoppers and visitors into St Mary’s with:
∙ Provision of refreshments and regular light lunch provision of soup and sandwiches
∙ Regular guided tours
∙ Heritage talks programme
∙ Extending Saturday openings beyond summer (perhaps first Saturday in the month October to June)
∙ Improved external signs, interpretive panels, printed and audio visitor information
∙ Increasing the number of days we are open
∙ Promoting St Mary’s as a visitor destination
∙ Organising fundraising events
∙ Meeting the demand for the use of St Mary’s as a venue and encouraging new interest from event organisers.
There is real scope to attract more visitors to discover our heritage. We are one of Hull’s oldest churches, in the Old Town on the route between museums and retail areas and at the centre of Hull’s HAZ and Maritime City initiatives - a maritime historian has already examined our monuments for maritime significance.
