News
Volunteer Recruitment
In June of this year Darren Holland, the town centre missioner at Bolton Methodist Mission, joined our team of chaplains. Darren has a great deal of experience in church leadership and pastoral roles and is a great asset to the team. During 2022 we will be having a recruitment drive in order to add further to our team to cover areas of the town centre that we currently do not cover – namely on Bradshawgate, Great Moor St and parts of Newport St, Deansgate and in the Market Place. We will also be looking to cover times of the week that are currently not covered including evenings and weekends.
Funding
The support we provide is only possible because of the very kind generosity of our funders, and we would like to pass on a huge thank you to those who have provided grants this year:
The United Reformed Church NW Synod
Bolton & Rochdale Methodist District
Markland Trust (C of E)
Bradshaw Gass Trust
The Bolton’s Fund ‘Community Champions Initiative
It is only through their continued support that we are able to cover staffing, resources and administration costs which allow us to reach out to those who work in Bolton Town Centre.
Areas Covered We now cover the indoor and the outdoor stalls at Bolton Market; The Market Place; Crompton Place; most of Newport Street, St Andrew’s Court, Deansgate, Market St and Knowsley St. During the pandemic 5 staff members who we have regularly visited for many years have sadly passed away due to Covid. We have also had to say goodbye to many staff members whose businesses have had to close or who have left their roles for other jobs elsewhere – this has particularly been the case in the hospitality sector.
Community Champions
The chaplaincy is now part of the Bolton Community Champions initiative and so our chaplains regularly share information sent to us by Bolton Council and the NHS about he updates in Covid regulations, vaccination centres and testing sites etc with the staff we visit when the subject comes up in conversation.
The Bolton Food Festival
Our chaplains had the opportunity to speak to every stall holder at the Bolton Food Festival back in August who had come from all parts of the UK and we also supported competitors and their family members at the Bolton Ironman events.
Interfaith Events
Our chaplains have represented the Bolton Christian Community Cohesion Team at numerous events organised by Bolton Interfaith Council and other faith groups over the last 12 months. These included the community walks, children’s football tournaments, ‘Family, Faith, Football’ events at BWFC and Black History Month events.
How you can support the chaplaincy
- Become a volunteer chaplain
There are still many areas of the town that we don’t yet cover so we always need new volunteer chaplains to join the team.
- Join our prayer support team
Visiting shops and businesses can be quite daunting at times so we have a wonderful team of prayer supports who regularly pray for the chaplaincy.
- Provide resources/ financial support
Other than our co-ordinating chaplain, all our chaplains are volunteers but we constantly need to purchase resources such as fleeces, t-shirts, badges, leaflets, cards, bereavement booklets and stationery etc so we would be extremely grateful if you are able to provide any of these resources or finance to purchase them.
Financial donations can be made by giving to our charity GMIM (Greater Manchester Industrial Mission) by using the following bank details:
NatWest Bank
GMIM Trust
Sort Code – 01-06-39
Account 01057308
If you are able to help in any of these ways, or you would like more information about the chaplaincy, please get in touch using these contact details:
Keith Armstrong:
The Hub, Bold Street, Bolton BL1 1LS
Mobile: 07500928573 or 07379369840
E-mail: tcc@bolton.gmim.org.uk
Website: www.gmim.org.uk/bolton