Christmas came early for some this week at Community Church, Southport, where church members and volunteers from the community pulled together to put on a Christmas VIP evening. These evenings are held twice a year during the winter months and are free events where the homeless and needy are treated like VIPs.
Often the homeless and needy are marginalized or outcast and treated like the lowest of the low. At community church we believe that everyone should be treated with dignity and we want to show God’s love to those who need it most, so we are trying to do something that makes a bit of a difference.
The evenings start when the VIPs are collected by minibus from outside the Soup Kitchen who help spread the word. On arrival the VIPs are welcomed with a soft drink and nibbles reception and when everything is ready are seated in the dining room. Each dining table has a host who ensures the VIPs are looked after and have everything they need. The VIPs are waited on by volunteers who this time served a three course Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. During the evening there is live musical and dramatic entertainment as well as a short uplifting talk presented by an invited guest speaker. After dinner the VIPs are invited to choose a selection of pre-loved quality clothes and as they leave each receives a gift of toiletry essentials and a goody bag of food and sweet treats.
This event has been running for approximately four years funded by the Community Church. However, on this occasion the cost of the event was covered by funding gratefully received from the Community Link Foundation. This funding along with donations of clothing and toiletries from the Southport community and further afield, and from local businesses