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Every Wednesday from 12:00pm - 2:00pm volunteers from the parish provide hot meals and drinks for anyone in need. The National Lottery has generously provided funding grants to allow us to keep this going and we thank them and our amazing volunteers for their continued support.

Anyone wishing to volunteer to help at Warm Welcome would be very welcome.  Please contact the office or email sjhn.morecambe@lrcd.org.uk

Here are some of the previous events we have been able to put on thanks to all the help and support we have received

LIZZI COLLINGE – FEBRUARY 2025: In February 2025 Lizzi Collinge, our local MP, visited Warm Welcome to see the work that we do for our community.  She spoke with some of our guests about their experiences.  She also took the time to speak with volunteers about what is important to them in supporting our guests during their time with us on a Wednesday and through the week.  She took on board the comments we had about the provision of affordable housing in Morecambe and promised to come back to us on this point in the future.

Three smiling people standing in a kitchen or break room, two women and one man, posing for the photo. The man is wearing a red sweater, and the women are dressed in professional attire, one with an apron. There are tables, cups, and kitchen appliances visible.

CHRISTMAS 2024: On Wednesday 18th December 2024 the Warm Welcome at St. John Henry Newman Parish ran a Christmas lunch for our Warm Welcome guests.  All of our volunteers attended to help prepare the lunch and serve it to our guests.  Due to the funding we obtained from the National Lottery we were able to provide a turkey dinner with all the trimmings, a selection of desserts, plus napkins and crackers.  We were able to cater for the 12 guests who attended and gave out seconds or take outs to another eight guests. We were entertained by DJ John who played a selection of Christmas songs which added to the festive atmosphere.
The funding from the National Lottery has enabled us to make a real impact this year and has given us flexibility, for example, to help our guests with food parcels when they needed them.  On average our numbers have increased from six to on average 10-12 guests per week this year.  We have been able to support a new mum introducing her to the Parish playgroup.  We have been able to spend time talking to guests offering them advice about whatever is worrying them.  The space is now a real community with guests looking out for each other during the week and alerting us to any issues.

Father Darren has fed a number of people from the presbytery in the evenings.  These are generally people who do not normally attend the Warm Welcome on a Wednesday.
The National Lottery has given us the time to publicise our Warm Welcome more than we did last year.  Our co-ordinator has produced a piece for the Warm Welcome newsletter:
https://www.warmwelcome.uk/blog/becoming-part-of-the-fabric-of-its-community

as well as taking part in a podcast in which she acknowledged how helpful the National Lottery funding has been in podcast 2: Warm Welcome - The Hosts:
https://www.warmwelcome.uk/blog/warm-welcome-has-its-own-podcast

Group of women with festive attire and aprons standing behind a table with food and drinks in a bright room, celebrating Christmas.
A woman and an elderly man sitting at a desk, smiling at the camera, with a laptop, mouse, and tangled cables on the desk. The woman wears a Christmas hat and a sweater with a reindeer design. The man wears a red sweater with plaid accents.
Five women in Christmas sweaters and festive accessories standing together indoors with a table of baked goods and cups in front of them, celebrating Christmas.
A person holding a blue and white patterned plate with roasted potatoes, cooked vegetables, stuffing, sausages, and bacon-wrapped items, with a tray of cooked sausages and utensils on a wooden table in the background.
Two women preparing food at a buffet station with Christmas themed attire. One woman wears a Santa hat and the other wears a red shirt with a white apron. They are smiling and serving food from chafing dishes.
Three seniors, two women and one man, smiling and sitting at a table in a room decorated for Christmas. One woman has a red bow in her hair, and the other woman is wearing a black sweater with snowflake patterns.
Three women serving food from a cafeteria-style tray with chafing dishes, one woman smiling and wearing a red hoodie and plastic apron, another woman wearing gloves and a white sweater leaning over the food, and a third woman's arm partially visible on the right.
Four women in aprons and Christmas hats preparing food in a kitchen.
Six women wearing Christmas-themed clothing, aprons, and hats, standing in a room with a plain white wall, some smiling, participating in a holiday event.
Two women smiling at a holiday gathering, wearing Christmas-themed accessories and clothing, including reindeer antler headbands and a Santa hat, with other guests seated at tables in the background.

EASTER ‘24

In line with Warm Welcome’s national spring celebrations we offered a Warm Welcome meal for Easter on Wednesday 27th March 2024. We had 12 visitors to our Warm Welcome space and each of them received an Easter egg and a £5 food gift card to spend at Aldi as well as sharing a hot meal, pudding and brew. Most of our regular volunteers turned up to join in the afternoon serve food and enjoyed spending time with the attendees.

St John Henry Newman’s Warm Welcome will continue throughout the year and everyone is welcome to attend. It meets every Wednesday between 12.00 and 2.00 p.m. in the Newman Centre.

Anyone wishing to volunteer to help at Warm Welcome would be very welcome. Please contact the office or email sjhn.morecambe@lrcd.org.uk

Easter basket display with assorted Maltesers chocolates in red, purple, and green boxes on a purple tablecloth with a vase of yellow daffodils in the center.
Easter display on a wooden table featuring wrapped chocolate bunny candies and colorful foil-wrapped chocolate eggs, with a bookshelf and a chair in the background.

CHRISTMAS ‘23

Group of thirteen elderly women and men standing indoors in front of large windows celebrating Christmas, some wearing holiday sweaters and accessories.
A round table with blue and white patterned plates, some with leftover food, and covered with Christmas decorations including a red tinsel garland, a holly and silver star ornament, and wrapped presents. There are white coffee mugs, glasses, a smartphone, and some condiments, with a wooden floor underneath.
A round table decorated for Christmas with red chairs, blue and white plates, white napkins folded like Christmas trees, colorful Christmas wrapping paper roll napkin holders, a small holiday centerpiece, and a small candle.
Round dining table set for a holiday meal with nine place settings, Christmas decorations, and a Christmas cracker centerpiece.
A birthday cake topped with white frosting and colorful sprinkles on a wooden table.

What an amazing afternoon Christmas Warm Welcome proved to be.  We had 18 attendees and fed 21 altogether.

The majority of volunteers came to help out.  Some set up the room and filled the goodie bags.  Others cooked and poor Lorraine was chained to the sink!!

Those attending had the full Christmas lunch (turkey, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, sprouts, gravy, stuffing, pigs in blankets and cranberry sauce) followed by trifle, mince pies and yule log.  We had soft drinks as well as brews.

Each attendee got a bag of goodies (toiletries and chocolates).  We had a very generous anonymous donation which enabled us to buy Aldi vouchers for participants to spend on food or treats over the Christmas period.

We are pleased that we have been awarded National Lottery Community Funding for our Warm Welcome which will enable us to continue to offer our services for 2024.  Warm Welcome is building into quite a community offering a haven to people who want a hot meal and a chat.

Warm Welcome will reopen on Wednesday 3rd January 2024 between 12.00 and 2.00 p.m.