As the APGM with a responsibility for a light touch overview on behalf of the Provincial Grand Master, for the Three Pillars Feeding the Homeless charity and their activity in the Province, I felt that it was only right that I volunteer to take a turn at supporting the charity directly by serving some of the clients who attend the twice weekly opening times at one of our feeding hubs across the Province. The logical choice for me was the St James Church, Northampton alongside WBro Aaron Day and his regular team of volunteers all of whom make such a massive difference to so many peoples lives in one of the most deprived areas in the town.
Having established that a Friday evening would be ideal for us to attend, we reported for duty and were duly briefed as to what to expect, what was on the menu for the evening and also how to take the orders for the meals and a soft drink. It became evidently clear in a short space of time that as newbies there was a lot to do and we could expect to be very busy during the course of the evening, we were also introduced to the hugely enthusiastic team of volunteers who had stepped up to assist Aaron in the general running of the evening which included food preparation, cooking and of course the cleaning up and washing up afterwards.
We were quite nervous as the team seemed to have all worked together before and were old hands and therefore were on first named terms with some of the diners for the evening, however with much encouragement from the team as a whole Gail and I put our best foot forward and got stuck in. The evening got busy very quickly and whilst I had a general idea of what we were going to be confronted with as far as those most in need, what did surprise me was the complete spectrum of ages and other compounding issues which were evident, such as mental health and also general health issues.
Aaron had a husband and wife team who are medical professionals who, as volunteers, attend regularly twice a week and provide a very swept up and bespoke but gentle triage service. These two wonderful people just chatted to each of the diners at the tables and were able to offer suitable advice to those who needed it and point them in the right direction on medical and other important areas of wellbeing.
The evening started with a steady stream of customers coming through the door and service was continual until last orders at 8 pm. WBro Ged Dempsey popped in to see how things were progressing and as one might expect Ged is ready for anything. So much so that one homeless man presented himself and it was clear he was in quite a bad place mentally and physically, however to cut a long story short, between them Aaron and Ged waved their magic wands and a pop up tent appeared, a sleeping bag made its way into the hall and he had consumed a meal and had one to take away for the following day. Thanks to WBro Bob Cadby this chap had a new set of clothes although also thanks to Bob and his fashion sense, some Fred Perry polo shirts and Polo Ralph Loren trousers had never been so greatly received. The medical professionals also did their vital ministrations and he was booked in to have an assessment and from a simple call in for a hot meal a man who might have fallen through the cracks could now be guided in the right direction and hopefully get the help he so badly needed.
We did feed 44 covers however the evening being hot and sunny outside it wasn’t as busy as we had anticipated however we did think that as the weather changed later in the year some of the folks who were missing would return, as it was not unusual to have 65 to 70 covers present during an evening’s service. Once the service had concluded we all pitched in to clean up and pack up as the church hall had to be ready for its normal use during the weekend for Sunday school, prayer and bible study during the course of a normal weekend, but nevertheless all equipment had to be ship shape and ready to go for the next set of meal service the following week. After service had concluded the team all had a very quick verbal debrief on the evenings activity, we then thanked each other for a good evenings work.
I can’t begin to describe the emotional impact this experience had on both Gail and I, however to give you some idea of how we felt immediately after we got home we both messaged Aaron and told him to put us down for every Friday evenings duty from now on as we felt that this wonderful charity was really making a difference in our community, is what Freemasonry represents in real terms and we both felt it was important to give it as much support as we possibly could to those who needed it the most.
If you are able to help either by volunteering your time or by making a donation – financial or food – please do contact WBro Aaron Day on 07989421764.