Barnes in Common

the magazine of Churches Together in Barnes
March/April 2007

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Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

by Susan Gibson

At the Methodist Church we have now been hosting 'guests' every Saturday night since the beginning of November. About 35 homeless persons - mostly men - start arriving at the Church, having walked from Chelsea, around 6.00pm. They wait outside, chatting, or just sitting on the steps, until they are allowed in at 8.00pm. The organisers are very strict, and even if it is raining they are not permitted to come in until 8.00. Each one has to have registered on the Scheme and cannot stay overnight if their name is not listed.

It is all highly organised and the church was thoroughly inspected to ensure that our premises were suitable. We passed the test. Our big new Hall and our commercial kitchen are ideal for catering for large numbers. In the early evening a van arrives delivering sleeping mats to be laid on the floor. (These are collected on Sunday morning, for delivery to the next night's church.)
A team of cooks (in our case the team is always from St Columba's Church in Pont Street) also arrives in the early evening to cook the dinner. This is a generous three-course affair, followed by tea or coffee - and they cater so that there is sufficient for any extra homeless people who may turn up to have some too. The tables are set up in the middle of the Hall and the sleeping mats are placed around the walls. Each 'guest' has his or her own sleeping bag. The men sleep in the Hall and the women sleep in the Common Room.

At around 9.30 the 'overnighters' arrive. There are three of them (usually students) and their job is to stay awake all night and make sure everything goes according to plan. On Sunday morning they prepare a cooked breakfast for the guests who depart at 6.30am. At which point a team of cleaners arrives to clean the place thoroughly before we arrive for church.

A lot of the guests have little or no English and a large number are Poles. So far we have had no problems: they are friendly, extremely grateful, and noticeably caring for each other. Everyone who has helped on a Saturday night has had a very enjoyable time. The team from St Columba's are splendid: on the nights when I have helped they cooked a marvellous dinner; and I came home feeling not only grateful that I had a home to go to, but how worthwhile it all is.

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