October Update
A Busy Month of Community Connections
It’s been a busy and encouraging month for Bristol Noise! We’ve had lots of conversations with churches and charities across the city about setting up community spaces, volunteering and hiring equipment to support local initiatives.
We’re also seeing a growing number of projects being referred, which reminds us just how much need there still is in Bristol — and how important it is for communities to rally together to help those around them.
The update from Westbury-on-Trym Baptist below shows what can be offered to the local community and to meet a specific need.
If you or your church family want to get more involved in your local community but aren’t sure where to start, get in touch. Bristol Noise has a wide network of contacts and plenty of experience connecting people and projects. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple chat to spark something new!
Stewart, Rachel and the team at Bristol Noise |
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Westbury-on-Trym Baptist Church
The Vision
The vision for the Friday Café arose from a simple observation. Each day, many parents and children would walk past the church on their way to and from school. During the warmer months, some would pause to sit on the grass, enjoying conversation and time together. These informal gatherings revealed a clear opportunity: to create a welcoming, intentional space for families within our community to connect, rest, and build relationships.
Purpose and Timing
The café has been scheduled for a time of the week when families are most likely to be relaxed and able to stay for a while — after school and towards the end of the week. The aim is to provide a friendly, safe, and comfortable environment where parents, carers, and children can enjoy refreshments, fellowship, and community after a busy day.
A Community-Led Initiative
The Friday Café is entirely self-funded and made possible through the dedication of volunteers, whose enthusiasm and commitment have been instrumental in bringing this vision to life.
Gavin Ball - Children, youth and families leader, Westbury-on-Trym Baptist asks: "Please pray for us! Especially that we can build relationships with people that come."
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Bristol Warm Welcome Network
Partnerships are key to how we have always worked as Bristol Noise charity. Recently, we were involved in supporting Good Faith Partnership who organised a Bristol Warm Welcome Network event. This was a regional event for leaders and volunteers of warm spaces and community cafes, training them to support people's mental and physical health.
It was a morning of in-depth mental and physical health training, specifically tailored for the leaders and volunteers of the region's warm spaces and community cafes. Bristol Mind started off with a detailed, interactive workshop on understanding and supporting people with mental health challenges. Then there was training provided to warm welcome spaces to become Community CVD Champions and learning to use blood pressure monitoring equipment.
It was an inspiring morning as we also heard about the national Warm Welcome Campaign, Churchworks' latest report on Social Prescribing and Faith Groups. One of our team had privilege of hosting this event and introducing these inspiring speakers.
If your church or organisation would like to to join the Bristol Warm Welcome Network then please get in touch with us and we will send you more information
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Kintsugi Hope 2020....and now
In February 2020, just one month before covid-19 lockdown, Bristol Noise hosted an event with Kintsugi Hope inviting leaders from Bristol churches and organisations. This event was sharing vision about mental and emotional health in our churches and communities. Over 100 leaders turned up and little did we know what was around the corner with the challenges of covid-19 pandemic and cost of living crisis on our communities.
Last week, we heard that since that event there are 25 regular Kintsugi Hope wellbeing groups in Bristol Region and over 800 people have been to groups over the last 5.5 years. It’s really encouraging to partner with others to provide ways for churches to engage in their communities and show God’s love in practical ways throughout the year.
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We are joining other Bristol organisations, groups and representatives, to firmly support the BSWN: Black South West Network’s call “to take a stand against racism in all its forms, overt and structural, and to act with courage in the face of hate”.
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Volunteer Opportunities
There many different churches, charities and organisations across the city who are often on the look out for extra help in all different forms. Visit Voscur or Can Do Bristol websites for more volunteer roles (or post your opportunities there too)
Here are a few of the latest volunteer opportunities we've seen across the city...Find more on our social media pages.
Foodbank Volunteers
InHope - BS4, Easton and Fishponds
Click here
FAB Café Host
Age UK
Click here
Event Support Volunteer
St Mungo's
Click here
Learning Assistant
1625IP
Click here
Plant Nursery Volunteer
Brandon Trust
Click here
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Share with us...
Do you have a story or idea to share? We'd love to hear from you! Get in touch!
We'll be back again soon, but in the meantime, check out resources on our website: click here |
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