Baptists give grants to churches to alleviate poverty

A church in Essex that closed down two years ago is to re-open thanks to a grant from the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB). Ardleigh Green Baptist Church will open in the New Year following renovation and redecoration work.

The church received a £3,000 BUGB Against the Stream grant which will be used to buy sports equipment for sports activities and start a table tennis club for the over 50s. The church will also be able to open an after school cafe for students from a nearby college.

In December, five churches were given grants of a total value of £15,000 in order to ease poverty and the effects of poverty in their local areas.

Rev Sheila Martin, the Eastern Baptist Association regional minister, said that locals were "terrified" following a murder a couple of years ago and the stabbing of a student.

According to Baptist Times, she said, "We want to respond to some of the social needs in the area. There are few community buildings - we want to build bridges into the community. We are very excited about this - where before we could do nothing, now we can do something."

A BUGB grant of £2,000 was also given to Shirley Warren Action Church in Southampton. The grant will be used to set up a youth cafe for 11 to 14-year-olds in a deprived area of Southampton.

In the last 14 months, over 130 youths aged 11-18 have been meeting on a Friday evening at the church. The minister, Rev Jenny Elliot, said they wanted to split the group according to age.

She said, "There is a huge need - only half a dozen are Christians. We are hoping to continue to build relationships and provide a bridge between cafe and midweek cell groups. We have built up good contacts and some young people are going to the youth cell," reports the Baptist Times.

Trinity Baptist Church in Bury, Hope Baptist Church in Plymouth and Lawrence Weston Baptist Church in Bristol also received Against the Stream grants from the BUGB.