St Columba’s United Reformed Church in Priory Street is more than a church: it is also a centre of operations for several York charities. STEPHEN LEWIS reports.

FINDING the right church can be a bit like joining a dating agency, says Alison Micklem, at least for a United Reformed minister.

“We have regional moderators, and they have a list of churches looking for ministers and a list of ministers looking for churches,” she says.

So the minister is a bit like the blushing girl waiting for an offer of marriage? “You can only say no!”

Nevertheless, when soon-to-be-ordained Alison saw the name ‘York’ on the list of United Reformed churches seeking a new minister, she knew it was the one she wanted.

It wasn’t only that her parents – the noted hymn-writer Caryl Micklem and his wife, Ruth – had retired to Pocklington, and so she knew York quite well.

It wasn’t even only that York was a ‘churchey’ city where churches of different denominations were willing to work together – although that was something she liked.

The clincher for her was that St Columba’s United Reformed Church in Priory Street had such a strong tradition of supporting charity work, through its community foundation.

Married to long-standing Liberal Liverpool city councillor Chris Lenton, Alison had been doing community outreach work for a group of United Reformed churches in Liverpool before becoming ordained. This involved everything from community projects such as holiday clubs and days out for disadvantaged people to detached youth work and working alongside organisations like the CAB and AA.

York Press:

Rev Alison Micklem in the pulpit at St Columba’s church

A lot of her work was in deprived areas of the inner city, or else out of town. So St Columba’s emphasis on community work attracted her.

Liverpool is a city that in may ways is struggling, she accepts. Prosperous-seeming York doesn’t appear to be, but there is genuine deprivation here, she says. “In York it is more hidden. But in some ways that makes it more difficult to deal with, because it is hidden and taboo.”

So in her interview with the regional moderator, she decided York was the right fit. Fortunately, the church’s elders returned the feeling. “I said yes, and they said yes,” she says.

That was about a year ago. Her husband told her “where you go, I will follow” – even if that meant quitting as a Liverpool councillor. So here they are.

Reaching out to the community and to the dispossessed should be at the heart of what the United Reformed Church does, says St Columba’s church secretary Derek Thomson.

“Christ was one of the great radicals, whose ministry was to the dispossessed, the poor and to everybody,” he says.

“All his teachings were aimed at the poor and the dispossessed and those who had not got a fair deal from society. As a church, we want to do something about that.”

York Press:

The exterior of St Columba’s Church Priory Street, York

York Press:

The exterior of St Columba’s Church Priory Street, York

The community foundation has been operating at St Columba’s since 2008. The church is a large, square, yellow brick building at the bottom of Priory Street which dates from 1879. It was originally a Presbyterian church which catered for the needs mainly of Scots living in York, among them soldiers of the Scots Greys and Black Watch.

“They would march from the barracks to here for Sunday service,” says Derek Thomson.

Scottish workmen who had come to York to work in the expanding railway yards were also among the congregation. “On Sundays, the church would be filled with 700 people, civilians and soldiers,” says Mr Thomson.

The days when the church was filled with such numbers are long gone. In 1972 the Presbyterian church united with the Congregational church in New Lendal to form the United Reformed Church. Today there are about 70 people in the congregation, with between 40 and 50, including the choir, taking part in services in the beautiful sanctuary on the church’s first floor each Sunday.

Between them, members of the congregation have a fantastic range of skills, says Mr Thompson.

But rather than duplicating services that other charities in York already offer, the St Columba’s community foundation decided to support existing charity and community efforts.

“There is no point reinventing the wheel if somebody is already doing something,” says Alison Micklem.

It therefore offered to charities and community groups in York the one thing it has in abundance: space.

The ground floor of the building now provides permanent office space free of charge for several York charities, and other organisations use it for meetings, workshops and AGMs.

“We really appreciate the fact that the United Reformed Church are our supporters and that we don’t need to make any payment for rent,” says Nigel Poulton, the mentoring coordinator of charity The Island, which has offices at the church.

“If we had to raise money for paying rent before even starting to raise money for funding the services we provide, it would be a real challenge.”

There are now three York organisations with bases at the church, with another to join soon.

 

Charities based at St. Columba’s

The Besom

The besom, which has offices at St Columba’s, aims to provide a ‘bridge’ between people who have something to give – whether it is time, money, skills, or things – and those in need.

It accepts good quality ‘things’ – everything from cutlery to cookers, sofas and even computers – which are then passed on to those who need them. It also has groups of people willing to give their time to decorate, paint, clean, clear, garden and cook for those in need.

Derek Thomson gives a good example of the way it works. “My wife and I were upgrading our computer, and I said to The Besom ‘can you use a fully-equipped computer?’” he says. “They said ‘Yes, we have just received a referral from a family who can’t afford a computer for their children’s homework.”

Rob Ainsworth, the co-ordinator of The Besom in York, said the Support of St Columba’s had been invaluable.

York Press:

The Besom

“The St Columba’s foundation has been our home for over five years,” he said. “It is a place to pray, administrate and facilitate giving in our city. Our aim as a charity has always been to equip the church to give to those in need. St Columba’s has helped us to do this greatly, not only in their physical provision but their encouragement too.”

 

The Island

The Island supports vulnerable young people by teaming them with a mentor to provide a positive role model. Young people aged between eight and 13 are each paired up with their own mentor: an adult volunteer who takes them out once a week and gives them precious one-on-one time.

The Island runs two evening clubs – one on the north side of York, one to the south – but it has its permanent offices at St Columba’s.

York Press:

The Island, with mentoring coordinator Nigel Poulton and a group of children supported

As well as those offices, the charity is also able to use the church’s large hall for training volunteers and for group events, where several mentors and their mentees come together to do arts and crafts, or play games.

 

Street Angels Street

Angels York is a Church-led initiative made up of volunteers who want to help make York city centre a safer and better place. Each Friday and Saturday night at 9pm a group of volunteers, men and women from various city churches, meet at St Columba’s. There they don reflective Street Angels jackets, before splitting into groups of three to patrol the city centre streets and visit pubs and bars.

York Press:

Street Angels

“Street Angel volunteers are likely to be approached by individuals needing help or information, from directions to the nearest taxi rank to where to find a safe place to stay for the night,” the charity says.

“Volunteers also identify those in vulnerable situations: single girls needing someone to walk them to a taxi or wait with them for a bus, guys who have lost their mates and their mobile phones, the teenagers drinking cider in the market stalls, or the homeless man who’s just had some guy pour a can of beer over his sleeping bag. Volunteers are there to care for those in need, to provide a listening ear and to be a safe and approachable person.”

 

York Neighbours

The organisation began life as ‘Belfrey Neighbours’. Its aim: to offer a neighbourly helping hand to people aged over 65 who wanted to be able to continue living independently in their own home.

York Press:

York Neighbours lend a helping hand

“As people get older some jobs around the home become almost impossible,” the organisation says. “Sometimes it’s hard to get out, to have a change of scene or to do urgent shopping, especially during times of illness or injury.”

* A regular phone call to check how people are

* Somewhere to call for help for one-off needs such as changing a light bulb, taking curtains down, shopping, help with meals, etc

* Occasional organised trips to the coast, garden centre, theatre or other place of interest.

The organisation now comes under the One Voice umbrella, and is expanding to cover the whole of York. Its name is changing to York Neighbours, and it is moving into larger offices at St Columba’s, where there will be room for at least two volunteers to man the telephones five days a week.

The organisation is looking to recruit more volunteers. If you would be interested, phone 01904 891627