IN TOUCH CHRISTIAN MISSION

In Touch is a soup kitchen based in Lansdowne Church. We serve those in need, twice a week on Tuesday and Friday lunchtimes. We serve hot meals and ensure that our guests feel welcomed and valued. We also provide clothes, toiletries and care. 

In addition, we offer safety, housing, finance and medical support. We are supported by community officers, St Mungo’s the council’s rough sleeping team, and Faithworks to offer professional help to our guests. Teen Challenge also attends to help address addiction issues.

At In Touch we do not judge, we are determined to provide a dining experience that our guests may not be able to experience elsewhere in town.

Each service is different, and the In Touch volunteer team consist of a group of people with a huge range of skills that makes them ideal for working with the local community. Back of house volunteers set up and prepare food, while front of house volunteers greet, and wait upon our guests.

Everyone in the team is extremely empathetic and have shown themselves to be able to adapt to most situations that may arise.

Recently one of our regular guests came in with a serious head wound. We were blessed that a volunteer who is a trained paramedic was present that morning and was immediately able to provide first aid. Another volunteer, a former police officer, encouraged the guest to give the community officer a written statement which was passed to the police. The injured guest was then driven to A&E to receive further treatment. When situations like these occur the professional skills that our volunteers bring to In Touch really make a difference and provides a safe place for our guests to be treated.

“Sometimes the food can be an opening to a new beginning or a reconnection.”

On a separate occasion Ann, our Tuesday chef, produced a lovely syrup pudding. A young guest, who was new to us, commented on how good it was and that it reminded him of puddings his Nan used to make. He then said “I really should phone her and let her know I’m okay!”. It may have just been a pudding to us, but for that young guest, it triggered his memory and inspired him to reconnect with his family. 

Yes, we are a soup kitchen, but whenever we are open, great effort is made with the food, and sometimes the food can be an opening to a new beginning or a reconnection. 

When we operated out of St Augustin’s, we were able to learn the most effective way of serving and supporting our guests in preparation for moving back to our Lansdowne base. 

Since then, we have dealt with more complex issues with a greater proportion of our guests having ill health, substance abuse and regrettably drug dealing in the vicinity of the church. 

Many of our guests are living in poverty and others are extremely lonely, so a free meal and a sense of community at In Touch are very important. 

At each session, we are open about our Christian faith and the hope that is available in Christ. The Gospel address is heard in respectful silence, well… mostly! But it is often commented on as we serve food or clear away. We are determined to build a firm rapport with our guests and this can take time.

Through conversations with our guests, we earn their respect and they grant us the opportunity to speak about our faith - who knows the seeds that are being sown, which will be harvested at a future date?

Ellen McGinn