Every morning the small group of us who say Morning Prayer in St Martin-in-the-Fields are joined by a dozen or so others who come in to sleep of a night on the streets. Heavy rain and cold weather make for erratic behaviour. This morning one of the regulars was having a shouting match with some builders. He is a man who talks to himself but not to me. He is unable to look anyone in the eye. Today he got so angry that he was banging the builders' lorry and shouting at them. They tried to calm him down but only made things worse. I asked him what the problem was and he walked off. The builders are amazed. A few minutes later the man reappeared in church, still agitated but no longer shouting. We settled down to pray.
In the weeks before recording the Christmas Appeal I am looking out for stories I might be able to use in the broadcast. For a few weeks, Ben has been coming into church as we open up to sleep behind a pillar. He's young and personable and certainly doesn't look defeated, like so many who find their way here but he is amazingly invisible. Ben told me the other morning that he doesn't have difficulty making money and has always been able to find work. His problem is keeping it and using it constructively because as soon as he's got it he blows it on gambling. Usually it doesn't help to moralise but I tell him that the addicts anonymous groups reckon you have to hit rock bottom before you will find the will to change. He needs to work out what he wants. He's been coming into church to think because he knows he can't go on like this.
Half the money from the Appeal goes The Connection at St Martin's where it directly helps homeless people who come from all over the country. The number of rough sleepers is up 10% on this time last year. About 3500 people have slept rough in London during the last twelve months. They are the tip of an iceberg as there are another 15,000 in hostels. The Connection is a place that saves lives and helps people turn themselves round.
The other half goes to the Vicar's Relief Fund and helps people all over the country. Relatively small and immediate grants have an astonishing impact. Our top priority is to help stop people becoming homeless or to intervene quickly when they have. Grants are given through social workers and a wide variety of community agencies because the money we can give is only part of the support that is really needed to make a difference. The VRF also gives block grants to a network of local groups across the country that then make grants to people in need in their areas. Last July Leicester Cathedral's outreach service gave £142.26 so that a woman who had been living off scraps from bins and sleeping in doorways was able to move into a bed-sit. We have just received a follow-up. She is still in the bed-sit and now has a part-time job. She said, "I can't believe the Anglican Church helped me, a Muslim woman." In an odd kind of way, it's the spirit of Christmas. It's certainly a good reason to give and I hope to God people do, despite the recession and all the other claims on our money.
In the end it's the same question for us as it is for Ben, the gambler. What do we want to do with our money and who do we want to be? It's about our determination and will power.
The Reverend Nicholas Holtam is Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields
Go back to the BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal blog post.
- Make a donation to the BBC Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal, supporting work with homeless and vulnerable people across the UK.
- Listen to the 83rd Annual BBC Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal this Sunday at 0755. Later that morning Libby Purves reports on how the money from last year's Christmas Appeal has been spent in Received with Thanks at 0945.
- More information at the St Martin's web site and The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields web site.
