Church's monthly coffee mornings help West Norfolk villagers reconnect
Monthly coffee mornings have brought members of a village community together who might otherwise feel isolated, according to church officials.
Wimbotsham Methodist Church, on Chapel Lane, started holding the events about a year ago, as they were “short financially as well as short of people”.
Mary Rose, secretary of the church council, said the coffee mornings began after they discovered that a number of people did not know where the church was located.
She said the parish council helped them by installing a sign to direct visitors to the “correct end” of Chapel Lane, and to further ensure that people were aware of the Methodist Church, they distributed leaflets before holding their first coffee morning last year.
Mary said: “Some of the older residents said there was nothing else in this village, and were asking ‘are you going to do it again’. That encouraged us and we decided to do it every month – they are sort of village-bound really.
“There is something for them to do, and we have now got a lovely group of people who spend time with us.”
The church now holds the coffee mornings every third Saturday of the month from 10.15am to midday.
Their most recent event took place last week, which along with the bakes and hot drinks, also offered bric-a-brac stalls and local history information boards – which has been a recent addition to the coffee mornings.
“It’s something we have started in this last week, as Mary Davies, a member of the church who went to the parish council and asked if we could have the sign, is very interested in history,” Mary Rose added.
“She dug up a lot of information about the village, the church and Downham.
“We had a table with some information on and that went down quite well.”
Not only do the events raise funds for the church to pay for electricity bills, but they also provide the opportunity for people to spend time together.
Mary said: “We are so grateful that people turn out.
“We are pleased that we have got somewhere for people to come, and we’re always pleased to see them.
“We welcome them all, we can always make more cake.”