Monday 17 January 2011

Oxford Catholic Volunteer Movement's second soup run

Here is a report from the good souls who run the Oxford Catholic Volunteer Movement -
 
On Sunday we held our second soup kitchen with four  helpers. We had a two-hour slot at the community centre instead of our regular four-hour slot. Thanks to invaluable advice from CVM supporters, one of whom is Swiss student and knows the centre of Oxford better than the rest of us, it was much more successful this time.
 
We decided not to attempt to run a cafe but went out with small parcels of tobacco, sausage and bacon butties, chicken and bacon soup and fruit. We only saw five homeless people but four of them accepted as much food as they could eat and stuffed into their pockets. The first person we asked didn't; I think this was because I forgot to mention the tobacco first. Once we began by offering them tobacco, they thawed out and became much more receptive. They accepted quite a few copies of our flyers showing the dates, times and location of the soup kitchens for the next five months and figuring tobacco prominently near the top, and said they would spread the word. We enjoyed chatting to them..
 
It is still a small start, but at least we felt we'd achieved something this time. Next time we will be back to our four-hour slot, which means we can give them a proper sit-down meal and hand out clothes, books, etc (of which we've got loads).
 
I think key things were that when they hesitated we told them it was all home-made, nothing out of a tin, all fresh. Also the mention of sausage of bacon seemed to have a magical effect.
 
 
 

Saturday 1 January 2011

Catholic Volunteer Movement at Christmas

The 2010 Canterbury CVM Christmas meal was a great success. We had 15 volunteers to ensure that all our guests received an excellent meal and were able to celebrate fittingly this holy season. They were served with home-made soup, a turkey and ham roast meal and a pudding. Each guest received presents including tobacco, chocolates, socks and a sturdy flask.

These pictures show some of the volunteers hard at work preparing and serving the feast -



We are very grateful to all the Volunteers and the Canterbury Open Centre who kindly allowed us to use their premises again. Members of the CVM have also been helping out with the homeless night shelter in Canterbury which is being run for six weeks over winter. This has taught us many valuable lessons in how charities helping the homeless are organised. A member of the CVM in London has been doing extensive work with homeless people there each week as well as with the charities that help them. All these initiatives will prove invaluable when we finally get a property. Please pray hard that we achieve this in 2011.

Update on Ted Atkinson

Ted is free for now - he's bailed (unconditionally) to appear on 3rd March 2011 before a visiting judge at the College Lane court in Kings Lynn for a decision as to whether on not he goes to the Crown court.