Molly Messenger interviews

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MOLLIE MESSENGER MEETS...our very own JON FOX.

Jon is a regular worshipper at Hill Rd. He is married to Lee-Anne and attends with her and their two daughters Bethany and Melissa. Jon was a volunteer at the recently closed Winter Shelter. Mollie wanted to know more about the work so met Jon for a coffee and a biscuit after a recent service.

MM: Mmm, this Fairtrade coffee tastes so nice. It is so important to try to support the Fairtrade movement by...
JF: (looking bemused) I think you are on the wrong page, Mollie. This is Mollie Messenger meets...not Green Pages.

MM: Sorry Jon. I was getting carried away. You are right. There is a lot about Fairtrade in Green Pages this issue. Yes, that’s right. I was going to talk to you about the Winter Shelter here in Folkestone. I understand you have been working the nightshift there. What was the experience like?
JF: The night shift has to be one of the best shifts as you get to spend lots of time with the guests and fellow volunteers chatting about their lives and experiences. You get to see guests grow stronger and happier over the weeks as the support from the shelter and associated agencies and groups helps them with some of their issues and to find accommodation.

MM: It sounds like the shelter was a good thing, Jon. But what about now Spring’s here? What has happened to the guests? Are they just out on the streets again?
JF: All but three guests have been found accommodation at the end of the shelter project period but the work goes on by other groups such as the Rainbow Centre to find them accommodation. One of the guests does not wish to be housed at present but this is not a failure, but part of a long process to hopefully help him eventually be housed.

MM: Are there any plans to continue the shelter throughout the year? And will it run again next year?
JF: I don’t know what the official situation is but I would personally like to see the shelter run from December to the end of March, as March can be a really poor time for the weather and anyone staying out in it. As far as next year goes, the plan is to run it again if the funding etc. can be found.

MM: It all seems like a drop in the ocean, Jon, despite everyone’s hard work. How can one small group of Christians tackle this huge problem?
JF: The vision of the project is primarily to prevent people dying on the streets in Shepway. Secondly it is to help people get back on their feet. It does seem like a huge problem but it’s a bit like that poster about the boy throwing starfish back into the sea, when a man tells him there are too many, he can’t possibly make difference, the boy replies ‘it makes a difference to that one’.
MM: So what other roles were available for people who maybe couldn’t help out – such as those who had to work during the day...
JF: Like intrepid reporters like yourself, Mollie?

MM: Yes, and those who had other responsibilities?
JF: Everyone can be involved through prayer, fundraising, helping out at the Rainbow Centre or giving – this year the project had some gifts you could ‘give’ on people’s behalf at Christmas like a mattress or a toiletry set for a shelter guest. And of course that’s not to mention the families (and church families) who supported the volunteers when they needed to sleep off a night shift (mentioning no names!!)

MM: So what would you say to people who are a bit nervous about getting involved, who perhaps feel that homeless people are a bit too ‘them and us’ to be comfortable with?
JF: Don’t worry, the guests in the shelter are fantastic and interesting people and are no problem at all. They are just normal people who are struggling with hard times, and it’s great to see people overcome their nervousness when they realise this. I have heard it said that it only takes a few calamities for anyone to end up in the same boat. It is a pleasure to know the guests for the short time we are there for them. A lot of them have problems with alcohol and mental health issues, but they are so grateful to have the shelter that generally they are pains to keep a peaceful atmosphere there.
MM: Thank you so much for taking the trouble to talk to me. I hope that the congregations at Hill Rd and Capel find reading this inspirational and will want to get involved next year. Finally Jon, I wanted to ask you...

JF: My favourite hymn or song?
MM: How did you guess?
JF: I love Blessed Be Your Name, because it makes me feel tearful, emotional and moved. It talks about praising God through both the good times and bad. It was during a particularly bad time for me that God came to me, especially through the actions and acceptance of others, and this is something I feel is echoed when I volunteer at the Shelter, which is perhaps while I feel so passionately about it.
MM: Thank you so much Jon. I will pray that your passion rubs off on the others who attend this fellowship so that more will support this (ad)venture when it returns later this year!

PRAYER POINTERS
Thank God for the Winter Shelter and please continue to pray for the former guests in their various circumstances. Pray that we will not have a ‘them and us’ attitude to those who appear socially very different from ourselves. Is God calling you to volunteer next year?

THOUGHT FILLERS

Prayer is the act of seeing reality from God’s point of view rather than from our own
- Philip Yancey