Every fortnight St James provides a hot meal, clothing and toiletries to more than 150 homeless and vulnerably housed people. The Open Door Meal, which takes place from 7 - 9:30pm every other Thursday, is run almost entirely by volunteers. Many are from St James, some come from other London churches. Philippa Baker is the part time member of staff responsible for organising the Meal. Please feel free to contact her for any information philippa.baker@sjtl.org There are lots of day centres and soup runs in London, but few places where homeless people and others can enjoy good food and socialise in a warm place in the evenings. |  |
Although we do not have the expertise to tackle the complex social problems many of our guests face, we are a link in the chain of services provided by other organisations. Loneliness and isolation often make it difficult for those who have been on the streets to settle into accommodation or for those fighting addiction to move on to new lives. Therefore the ODM aims to show God’s love by building a friendly, sociable and consistent community where all guests are welcomed, treated with dignity and can enjoy spending time with each other and the volunteers. As one guest said in January 2005, "It is so brilliant, I love it. The portions are huge and delicious, but it is not just the food, it is so much more than that, it is the generosity of the volunteers. It is wonderful here."
 | Since September 2005 we have also been running “Open Space”, a time of discussion, creativity, prayer and reflection for our guests which takes place in the church from 8:30pm on meal nights.
We are always looking for new volunteers, and also welcome donations of good quality second-hand clothing - particularly men’s. Please contact the church office if you would like to help. |
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