Love Your Neighbour

The Ealing Foodbank was set up in 2013 when over 40 local churches expressed a desire to help local people who are in financial difficulties with emergency food supplies.

They are part of the Trussell Trust network of foodbanks, and serve referred residents of Ealing Borough from Acton to Southall, and Northolt to South Ealing.  They have helped people from every ward in the borough!

Volunteering with the Foodbank comes in a range of activities: client facing in client centres, sorting and packing in the warehouse, driving and moving food from supermarket collection points or to the client centre, admin in the office.  They ask for around 3 hrs per session and at least 2 sessions per month, and for long-term volunteers.

We are not able to take volunteers under the age of 18 yrs.

Ealing Community School for English (ECSE) provides affordable English language lessons to adults in the Ealing area and beyond. 

Their classes aim to help learners of English integrate into their local community and achieve their personal and career aspirations.​

They are an entirely volunteer-run and led school, with a team of over 20 volunteer teachers, teaching assistants and administrators, supporting a community of over 200 students from over 50 nationalities.

ECSE offers English language lessons to adults for whom English is not their first language. Our students come from varied backgrounds. They include refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants.

There are 8 levels of English language proficiency that we cover, ranging many who have no English language knowledge at all through to those with advanced levels.

Besom, at St Paul’s, Ealing, provides practical and material support to those who have been referred to Besom as having particular practical or material needs (for example, they may not have a bed or basic furniture). It provides a bridge between those who want to give money, time, skills or things, and those in need, ensuring that what is given is used effectively.

 Besom is actually a national charity that encourages Churches to start their own Besom Projects. For more info: see besom.com

Each week, a team of two to distribute furniture, electricals and white goods to those in need within the Borough of Ealing. The items are collected from people who no longer have a need for them and want to see them find a good home.

Pre-pandemic we ran one-off projects that would make a massive difference to some households. These have included a mixture of: decorating, gardening and decluttering.

All recipients are referred to us by various agencies e.g.; Social workers, G.P’s and Schools.

The Van goes out on Thursday evenings for a couple of hours, serving the Borough of Ealing.

Either join the rota for the Thursday night Besom Van runs or discuss with Jo Smith the potential to do one-off projects in the future, perhaps as a life group.

Besom makes a real difference for those in need. By serving in this way, you get to be a part of blessing and encouraging someone.

The expectation is that volunteers commit to attending their duties that they have committed to and behave in a way that serves and loves their fellow volunteers as well as the people they distribute items to and from.

St Paul’s Ealing, take trained teams out to befriend sex workers ‘on’ and ‘off street’. It is focused on sharing the love and good news of Jesus with sex workers. ‘On street’ visits take place late evening on the first Friday of every month. It might be possible to be involved in one of a few teams: 1) visiting teams; 2) support team that liaises with the Metropolitan police and 3) intercessory team who meet to pray whilst all visits take place. The opportunity to demonstrate and share the love of Jesus.

The expectation is that the volunteers commit to being a part of the team for a minimum of 12 months in order to build continuity and to develop relationships.

Ealing Soup Kitchen is a charity who seek to help anyone who needs hot, nutritious food & a helping hand.

They’ve been running a weekend Soup Kitchen since 1973 at St John’s Ealing (a part of our family of churches) for the homeless & vulnerable.

They also run a Monday service at the Salvation Army in Ealing. Before Covid they had Friday drop-ins where we provide clothes, food, a hairdresser, showers, practical help and games. They work with other charities and can organise access to medical and dentistry services.

What is the Ealing Soup Kitchen?

Monday Night Drop In – A hot meal, music & more. 6-8pm. Salvation Army Hall, 6 Leeland Road, W13 9HH

Friday – The Hub. (Not currently open) Refreshments, showers, advocacy & hairdresser. 1pm – 3.30PM. The Crypt, St Johns W13 9LA

Saturday & Sunday – Ealing Soup Kitchen – a hot meal and fellowship. 3.30 – 5pm. St John’s Church Room, St John’s W13 9LA

The best thing about volunteering with the Soup Kitchen is the opportunity to demonstrate and share the love of Jesus with people. The expectation is that volunteers commit to attending their duties that they have committed to, and behave in a way that serves and loves all those involved.

Come along to a warm and welcoming space every Tuesday afternoon of term time 2-4.30pm at St Paul’s, where you are seen and heard, where all are valued, and no one’s labelled. A space where anyone can suggest an activity, share a hobby, learn a new skill, make connections and be signposted to any help they need. Sadly we cannot offer any provision for children. A space where it is understood that we are all on a sliding scale of mental wellbeing. A space for people to connect whether they have faith or not and everyone is welcome to belong.  We will have a variety of crafts, puzzles and board games as well as a quiet space where people can reflect and if they’d like encounter God’s love.

The Ealing CAP job club is a friendly place for jobseekers to gain the practical tools, skills and confidence they need to step back into employment.

Our job club is run in partnership with CAP (Christians Against Poverty). CAP works with churches across the UK and beyond to bring hope and support to people living in poverty. See the CAP website for more information: https://capuk.org/about-us

Each term the Job Club run a 10 week Steps to Employment course which includes sessions on goal setting, job search, CV writing and interview skills. As well as the course, they offer 1:1 coaching and help with job searching and applications. Lunch and refreshments are provided, and members can use our laptops to work on their CVs and job search.

The Job Club will meet on Tuesdays during term time from 10.15am to 1.30pm at St Paul’s Ealing

The club is free and open to anyone who is seeking employment. So if you would like support getting into work, then please do get in touch.

St Paul’s Community Playschool provides a safe, caring environment where children aged 2-5 learn through play and make their first friends. They have been a proud part of the Northfields community since 1992, linked to St Paul’s Ealing C of E church. They provide a nurturing environment to stimulate children’s natural curiosity and help them to become engaged, independent learners.

The Playschool feels so privileged to be a part of your lives and your children’s first steps in education. If you are interested in learning more, drop them a note on the contact us page and they  can arrange a visit.

The Prison team work with the Anglican Chaplain at Wormwood Scrubs Prison to provide support and encouragement for men who are in prison there.

Courses and bible studies take place in the prison chapel on weekday daytimes.  Sunday services are held in the prison chapel on Sunday mornings.  Prayer meetings are held outside the prison on a Monday evening once a month.  Most of the work for the Angel Tree present scheme takes place outside the prison at a time of the volunteer’s choosing. To be involved with any activity inside the prison, a volunteer needs to obtain security clearance.  But it is possible for anyone to be involved with Angel Tree and praying for the prison.

Anyone wanting to work inside the prison has to submit to a full security vetting process.  Once cleared it is essential that prison rules are adhered to when visiting. When inside, the most important thing is to express the love of God in what we say and how we act.

Contact Alan Browne | Prisons Pastor

People can become a Street Pastor or a Prayer Pastor.  The Ealing team needs both at the moment.  Street Pastors are those who go out on patrol, in a group of 3 or 4.  Prayer Pastors remain at the base for that night and support the patrol team in prayer (and with cups of tea when the patrol has a mid-way break!)  Being a Street Pastor requires comprehensive training.

You’d be doing something in and for the community that really makes a difference to individuals and the community.  Ealing Police say that when Street Pastors started in 2009 there was an immediate 40% drop in antisocial behaviour on the nights they were out. 

Once the training is done, volunteers are only asked to serve one night a month. 

St Paul’s is a great community where refugees can find family. We are really well placed to enable those who have recently arrived in the UK to meet others in Ealing, help them to learn English and to settle in a new place.  We are part of the ‘Welcome Churches’ Network which connects local churches to refugee families who have been housed in Ealing, either temporarily in hotels or more permanently in flats or houses. We are able to help via a number of existing ‘Love Your Neighbour’ ministries including Besom, CAP Job Club, The Language School and others.

At St Paul’s Ealing, our desire is to see every individual grow to reach their full God-given potential. In many cases, we carry wounds, burdens and inherited beliefs that can sometimes prevent this from happening. The Wholeness Centre aims to provide people with an opportunity to address anything that is getting in the way of their personal or spiritual growth. The following is an outline of the three different options which may be of help to those needing support.

Visit our page here.

The Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter provides emergency dormitory style accommodation for up to 14 guests from those who are sleeping on the streets, are at immediate risk of rough sleeping locally and the ‘hidden homeless’. Shelters are open during the winter months (from late November to the end of March), at St Paul’s, we usually offer the Night Shelter during December or January.