These are a few practical suggestions for responding to the issue of homelessness as a church.
Hospitality
We all want our churches to be places where people from all walks of life are welcomed, respected and valued.
Showing hospitality does not mean accepting antisocial or threatening behaviour. Equally, a church should not be a place where a homeless person is made to feel unwelcome.
Prayer
Please pray for our homeless brothers and sisters, as well as the work of charities and services that seek to help and support people who are homeless.
Look out for details for joining in with Homeless Sunday, an ecumenical special day usually set on a date in October.
Giving
Adopt a charity that works with homeless people and commit to a financial donation to support their work. Charities in our diocese are listed below.
Wintercomfort for the Homeless has established a successful social enterprise called Overstream Clean that trains up and employs people who are, or have been, homeless.
If your church is based in Cambridge City and pays to have it cleaned, why not switch to Overstream Clean to do this? Several Cambridge based churches have made this switch and can recommend the high cleaning standards offered by Overstream Clean.