Fegg Hayes Methodist Community Church has just launched Stoke on Trent’s first Place of Welcome, offering a free brew but more importantly a place for local people to meet, connect and contribute.
The Place of Welcome is open every Thursday between 9.00am and 12.00pm in The Hub@ST6.
Anyone is welcome to drop in at any time.
Places of Welcome is a network of small community organisations, including faith communities, who offer an unconditional welcome to local people for at least a few hours a week. The primary aim of the network is to create spaces where people can feel safe and belong – a scheme that started in Birmingham and is now developing throughout the country.
Working in partnership with Fegg Hayes Futures, who run the Hub on Fegg Hayes Road, where the Place of Welcome will be happening, the Church hope to create a comfortable space where members of the community of all ages can meet, make new friends or catch up with old ones and, if they want to, share skills or join in activities. There’s free wi-fi, a selection of books and games and a range of craft activities to have a go at. At the minute the church are encouraging people to knit items for the premature baby unit at the Royal Stoke University Hospital.