The Methodist Church Tower Hamlets
Whitechapel Mission
The Whitechapel Mission has its own excellent website maintained by the Director, Tony Miller.
Deacon Theresa Simons Sam has Pastoral Care of the Mission for the Methodist Church (Tower Hamlets)
See the current work - video See list of current needs - here
There is a service at 15.00 one Sunday each month, live at the Mission
Recordings available at any time YouTube here
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June 2023- a volunteering session at the Whitechapel Mission
Here is a look at what the day entails:
5:45am - Briefing
6am
- The first task of the day from 6am will be to prepare breakfast. This
requires the preparation and cooking of bacon, sausages, beans,
tomatoes, eggs, mushrooms and hash browns, buttering of bread and making
of toast. We will also make and serve over 400 cups of tea and 600 cups
of coffee. Tea and Coffee is made by the individual cup and upon
request. This is a chance for a smiling face to say good morning to our
homeless visitors and start their day on a positive.
At 8am, some
of the team will begin to serve breakfast, while others continue to
cook more breakfasts and others will collect plates, wipe tables and
wash up. There will be a rush at 8am for breakfast, which will last for
about 20-30 minutes and then continue for approximately the next hour
and a half at a steady rate.
Throughout the morning, we will be giving out towels, soap, razors, shampoo and toothbrushes.
At 10am, our kitchens close for the day and we can begin to clean the kitchens down and prepare it for the next day.
By 11:30, we should be able to finish for the day. Terry with Sue and Jenny at the Session
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102, 243 meals served
The Mission continues its work, with the generous support of the staff.
The Mission is open for tea at 06.00, then breakfast is served from 8am each and every morning of the year and offers a large choice. A standard breakfast consists of 2 fried eggs, bacon, sausages, 2 hash browns, mushrooms, baked beans and tomatoes, served with a choice of bread or toast, and of course, tea or coffee. We also offer porridge and a choice of cereals, with other options available.
There is no charge for breakfast. In fact, there is no charge for any of our services. We do not know how many people will arrive on any given day. It may be as few as 200, but we feel that if there is only one person knocking on our door then we should open that door and make them welcome.
Pre the pandemic we would normally expect to cook 200-250 breakfasts on a weekday and as many as 300 at weekends. During the Covid period we cooked 350 breakfasts most days and as many as 600 on some days.
Sonia is on the Team - offering Advice and Guidance
Whitechapel Mission in rail initiative to tackle begging
The Mission is working with the London Overground rail network to discourage passengers from giving to people begging on the network’s walk-through trains, but instead to make a donation to the work of the mission. Posters on the stations and notices in the carriages say: “To help someone you see begging on London Overground, donate to the Whitechapel Mission. Any donations will be used carefully and your generosity will be welcomed”. The Whitechapel Mission - part of the Tower Hamlets circuit - is just minutes from Whitechapel station which serves the Overground, District and Metropolitan tube lines (and Crossrail at a future date). The mission currently provides breakfast for around 250 homeless men and women a day, together with essential advice services. Mission director Tony Miller said they had entered into discussions with London Overground because of the amount of complaints the train network had received about the high level of begging.
Whitechapel Mission Champions -
Champion the cause
Each of our churches now has a ‘Whitechapel champion’ who will act as advocate for the Whitechapel Mission in their congregations.
This is an essential task for publicising the work of the Mission
