School breakfast clubs

Hitchin Christian Centre is a vibrant, contemporary church passionate about serving the local community. The church began life in 1981 and spent most of its formative years hiring various facilities across Hitchin before eventually moving into a purpose-built building in September 1998.

The ethos of the church is rooted in a belief that the church exists to be good news to the community through words and actions. This ethos is outworked through a vast number of community initiatives which take place both within and beyond the confines of their facility. We also involve our community partners such as – The Living Room Stevenage (Drugs and alcohol rehab), ABC (Anorexia & Bulimia Care), Care for the Family (Marriage and family matters) etc, as well as being actively involved in local government as a member of the Local Strategic Partnership core group.

“First Stop” Breakfast Bar launched 3½ years ago. The idea was birthed when Senior Pastor, Rev Tony Summerfield discovered that a boy he was counselling from a local school had no food in his home. Within a few hours Tony had enlisted the support of Waitrose to supply free food (e.g. bread, tea, coffee, cereal, etc.), with Marks & Spencer agreeing to purchase fridges and toasters, as well as supply food each day. The club continues to be well-supported by these retail chains as well as receiving full support from the Head-teachers of all three secondary schools. Around 40 young people attend “First Stop” every day with commenting that it’s a great place for ‘rest and relaxation’ and that is feels like “‘our’ place”. In 2008, the Breakfast Bar was awarded “Best ‘Community involvement’ Breakfast Bar in the U.K.” by Kelloggs.

The Playbox Playgroup runs 4 mornings a week and a Parent & Toddler Group is also available to support parents with their younger children. Additional support for parents is offered through training courses and counselling.

The church has a full-time Youth & Community Pastor who works across the Westmill estate. This includes running activities for young people in the “Coffee Mill” covering such issues as bullying and vandalism. Over the May Bank Holiday weekend members of the church volunteered to help on the estate through gardening, painting, clearing litter, etc.

A number of additional youth and children’s clubs run every week from the church for children aged 1 to 16 years old, as well as a weekly football club which is held at the Priory School sports hall.

For the last five years, the church has organised a free summer Fun Days for the community which includes inflatables, games, bbq and music. In 2008, all the churches across Hitchin are joined forces for a huge free community event (entitled Re:Act) in the Market Square.

Counselling and mentoring is carried out in the secondary schools by the Centre staff and assemblies are also taken at different times during the term. The Centre also runs a programme for Secondary Schools called “Evaluate”. This is a sex and relationship course aimed to help young people make informed choice about issues relating to sex, sexual transmitted diseases and contraception. This multi-media, interactive presentation has received excellent feedback from both young people and teachers.

At the other end of the age spectrum, the church is committed to support the elderly community. The “By Your Side” team offer daily support to Senior Citizens including helping them with hospital appointments, shopping for them and caring for them when they are ill. Various outings, entertainment and teas, harvest baskets, Christmas hampers and lunch are also provided.

The church continues to grow its community work and in the next year intends to recruit a full-time Community-Life Director who will work even more proactively with schools, agencies, and local government to ensure that the church is providing even greater hope and help to the Hitchin community.

Last Updated 06 December 2010