Norfolk Together's news and prayer letter 

imagineWelcome to the December edition of Imagine Norfolk Together's news and prayer letter (Great Yarmouth / Gorleston)

Imagine Norfolk Together is a Joint Venture between the Diocese of Norwich and the Church Urban Fund which aims to support churches in their engagement with the local community so that together we can grow in relationship, strength and capacity to meet life's challenges. I work for Imagine Norfolk Together as a Development Worker to work in and around Great Yarmouth and Gorleston
As always I would love to hear from you. Please ring me on 07471 357072 or email me at anna.heydon@togethernorfolk.org.uk

Anna Heydon


Thank you so much to all who supported the Great Yarmouth Advent Sleepout 2016. We have raised over £2000 for the Church Urban Fund and for The Living Room. This money has enabled The Living Room to be able to advertise for a Project Co-ordinator (see below)

** http://imaginenorfolktogether.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=15fabc4d94b274186187fd132&id=23bb3590dc&e=17b554c1d1

 

To find out what was actually the biggest challenge of the Great Yarmouth Advent Sleepout 2016,

** http://imaginenorfolktogether.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=15fabc4d94b274186187fd132&id=dc385e9cdf&e=17b554c1d1

 

Thank you for your prayers for The Living Room. We plan to open one night a week from January. Please pray for the right person to come forward for the Project Co-ordinator role (see below). Thank God for His provision and the generosity of local people and the enthusiastic volunteers who have offered their time and energy

CHRISTIANS AGAINST POVERTY (CAP) IN GREAT YARMOUTH
CAP LOGO
Park Baptist Church in Great Yarmouth is excited to announce the launch of the Town’s first CAP Debt Centre on 3rd January 2017

Since 2014, Park Baptist Church has partnered with Christians Against Poverty (CAP), running the CAP money course to help equip individuals with the budgeting tools to manage their finances and begin their journey to living debt free

Opening a CAP Debt Centre is the next step for CAP in Great Yarmouth and enables us to come along side individuals and families struggling to make ends meet. This work is so important now, with financial uncertainty following the “Brexit” vote and the roll out of universal credit creating numerous and ongoing challenges for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities

As part of the Launch, Park Baptist Church are hosting an ambassadors reception on Monday 30th January 2017 from 2.00pm at 14a Crown Road, Great Yarmouth, NR30 2JN. The aim of the event is to reach agencies and organizations in Great Yarmouth who come into contact with those who may be struggling financially and in need of CAP’s help

If you work for, or are part of one of these organizations; If your clients, members or staff are likely to struggle to manage their finances, then please come and join us on Monday 30th January 2017 at 2.00pm at Park Baptist Church, 14a Crown Road, Great Yarmouth NR30 2JN. Find out how CAP is making a real difference in Great Yarmouth. Call Sandra on 01493 843361 to book your place

To find out more about the history of CAP ** http://imaginenorfolktogether.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=15fabc4d94b274186187fd132&id=cda5fc3678&e=17b554c1d1

DREAMS  VISIONS
Dreams & Visions
is a small Norfolk-based Christian community entrusted with money and resources, which offers to help believers make their dreams and visions for social action or mission become a reality

Great Yarmouth is a priority area for Dreams and Visions, and the team (of which I am privileged to be a part) wants to support the area with resources and prayer

Over the last year Dreams and Visions has invested over £10,000 in projects in Great Yarmouth, including: The Great Yarmouth Food Bank, The Living Room, GYbeeandbee, The Pathway Cafe and Identity Youth Project
To find out more about Dreams and Visions ** http://imaginenorfolktogether.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=15fabc4d94b274186187fd132&id=3102a4077e&e=17b554c1d1

To find out more about the Administrator role which Dreams and Visions are currently advertising

** http://imaginenorfolktogether.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=15fabc4d94b274186187fd132&id=a19023fb91&e=17b554c1d1


Great Yarmouth Foodbank logo 2In November the Great Yarmouth Food Bank became so concerned about the impact of Universal Credit on local people, that they called a meeting of organisations working in the Borough. The meeting was attended by 25 people from 19 different organisations

The meeting provided opportunity to share experiences of the roll-out of Universal Credit on individuals and families in the area and to discuss what changes were needed. As a result of the meeting a letter is being drafted to Damian Green and Brandon Lewis to share concerns and call for change

If you missed the God and the Moneylenders day last month, it was excellent...but don't worry, you can watch the inspirational films which we worked through (based on the book of Nehemiah)
**  http://imaginenorfolktogether.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=15fabc4d94b274186187fd132&id=0765c4888b&e=17b554c1d1
** http://imaginenorfolktogether.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=15fabc4d94b274186187fd132&id=dde6ee4013&e=17b554c1d1


Church of the poor? Strategies to engage people experiencing poverty

Word on the Streets organised the ‘Church for the Poor’ survey with support from Church Action on Poverty and Jubilee Plus. The full findings are available to download
** Click here to download the Executive Summary. (http://imaginenorfolktogether.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=15fabc4d94b274186187fd132&id=6aeb377aed&e=17b554c1d1

** Click here to download the full report http://imaginenorfolktogether.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=15fabc4d94b274186187fd132&id=04513d3ab5&e=17b554c1d1

 

** http://imaginenorfolktogether.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=15fabc4d94b274186187fd132&id=3a593c2aad&e=17b554c1d1


OPENING OUR EYES TO HOMELESSNESS

Homelessness is a serious and growing issue in England and the number of people sleeping rough in London has doubled in the last five years. This paper looks at different types of homelessness and shows what churches can do to help.
To read the paper

** http://imaginenorfolktogether.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=15fabc4d94b274186187fd132&id=91c27d76da&e=17b554c1d1


CHRISTMAS LUNCHES

No-one needs to be on their own or hungry this Christmas.

As usual The Bridge is hosting a Christmas lunch at St Mary Magdalene Church, Gorleston on Christmas day, with food served at 12.30pm

There is also a meal served in Great Yarmouth at the Marina - see information below

Space!

Do you have or know of spare space available (e.g. garage) which could be used for storage? There is a lot we could do to help local people with the help of some space to store things!

If you think you might be able to help then please let me know.

I would love to hear from you to discuss any of the following things:

* How you are getting involved in your local community, and good news stories about the difference this is making.
* Events you are running which welcome the local community or which equip for community engagement
* Ideas and dreams of how Christians could work together to bless the local community
* If you would more information about the Church Urban Fund and what they do
* If you would like to know more about running a 'Know your Church, Know your Neighbourhood' group in your church
* If you would like me to visit your church, church meeting or group
* Applying for Church Urban Fund grants
* Anything you would find useful in future editions of this letter
* Just to say hello!


You can email me at ** anna.heydon@togethernorfolk.org.uk (anna.heydon@togethernorfolk.org.uk)