Since May 2014, St John the Evangelist, Brownswood Park, in the Hackney deanery, has run a remarkable project to get children and parents from the local community into using the church on a regular basis, even if they have never set foot in the building before.
Kids’ Café, has been organised by the Reverend Daniel Sandham, with advice, fundraising, and weekly help from Hannah Phillips, the Hackney Deanery Children’s Missioner. It has seen 20-35 children arrive every Tuesday afternoon to attend this exceptional stay-and-play café.
When Fr Sandham arrived just over two years ago, St John’s had very few children attending this 1995 round church, located in Finsbury Park at the meeting point of the boroughs of Haringey, Islington and Hackney. The church is surrounded with high-density housing and hostels that house families and many local children. It makes up one of the top 10 per cent of parishes on the Index of Multiple Deprivation, with child poverty and lone parenthood among the highest nationally.
After some initial advice from Hannah Phillips at the start of 2014, Fr Sandham set up the free after-school café, which takes place in the worship space of the church, right around its liturgical furnishings. Primary school aged children attend every Tuesday afternoon during term time, and, accompanied by parents and carers, play together and create craft activities.
Launched in partnership with Manor House PACT and the Friends of Parkwood Primary School, the Café has attracted people from different religious backgrounds, enabling everyone to use the church, making it the focal point of this vibrant community.
Fr Sandham, Vicar of St John the Evangelist, said:
"St John’s is passionate about being a hub for this astonishingly diverse and stimulating community. It has been fantastic to see children and young families feel so at home in the church building, and Kids’ Café responds to a pressing need for children from a variety of backgrounds to have a safe space to play and have fun after school."
Hannah Phillips, the Hackney Deanery Children’s Missioner, added.
"The next step for St John’s is working together to use Kids’ Café as a springboard to expand its ministry to children and young families, with Messy Church and a re-invigorated work with children and young people on a Sundays.
"This exceptional Café is a great example of how simple ideas can really transform a local community and how churches can use any space to their maximum potential. This project is a blessing to the community and I would urge every church to consider opening up their spaces to develop children’s services and clubs for the young people of London."
Kids’ Café will restart for the autumn term on Tuesday 16 September, and runs every Tuesday during term-time.