Impact

#TNT Talks

At Transforming Notts Together, we have produced some videos with our Faith Action Network partners to give a visual perspective of the impact on lives in and around Nottinghamshire. With thanks so far to:

👏Louisa from The Beacon Project

👏Megan from Open Homes Nottingham

👏Adam from Refugee Roots

👏Clare from Salvation Army Anti-Trafficking and Modern Slavery Tea

👏 Andrew from St. Katherine's Teversal

Places of Welcome - Holy Trinity with St Mary's, Clifton

Holy Trinity with St Mary's Clifton - This church was already active in their local community but wanted to do something more focused on providing a warm space with a friendly welcome. After a wonderful visit, we sat down to ask them a few questions;

Why did you sign up to host a Places of Welcome at your church?

"We wanted to offer a friendly, welcoming, space, where anyone can come along for tea & toast and an opportunity to connect with others."

What is the best thing about being a PoW?

"There are many things to celebrate about being a PoW. In a busy world, it’s such a blessing to have a quiet time every week to just sit down and build relationships with people in the community, to share stories, laugh and listen to each other. It’s been lovely to welcome a diverse range of people, from young families with newborns and toddlers, to people from the nearby care home, who love to have a sing-along.

Volunteers enjoy being part of our PoW too. One volunteer has set up a jigsaw swap, which is becoming increasingly popular and another volunteer, who does the tea & toast, enjoys going out of her way to have a chat with everyone who comes through the doors."

How many people do you have visiting in an average week? Does this vary significantly with the weather or school holidays?

"On average 30 people visit every week, although this varies on the weather. When it’s wet, cold and windy, older people in the community are less likely to come out but in the school holidays, we have all hands on deck with games and activities, to welcome more children and families."

Has there been an impact on the wider church community?

"Having initially been to the PoW, people have gone on to access church, explorer groups, the Living with Loss Cafe, Toddler Group and Messy Church. We were able to make a link with the care home and now offer services there, and the residents joined in with our concert in the summer, performing a couple of acts!

Most of the people who come along have no previous link to church, but it seemed a natural step to tag a time of prayer onto the end of the session that people can choose to stay to. Most people do choose to stay and engage and remind me if it gets to 11am and we haven't started yet!

It is a beautiful time in the week where you can visibly see signs of God's kingdom breaking in."