A Warm Space within the Llandudno community

The Warm Space at St John’s Church in the town of Llandudno, part of the Conway and Prestatyn Circuit, began in January 2023 after the government requested worship and community spaces to open up and provide warm places for people.

St John’s received funding from Community and Voluntary Support Conway for their Warm Space initiative. It was only intended to operate for six weeks but it was soon clear how popular the space had become.

Liz Royale, Circuit Outreach Lay Worker, soon saw the need for it to become a permanent fixture at their church. “It has grown so much over the past few months,” says Liz. “Now we have prayer time before the community cafe in the morning. Some people will join the prayer time.”

At present Liz, along with an amazing team of volunteers, welcome between thirty and forty regular guests each week. Over time, they have seen that the people who come meet up with their friends over tea and coffee, have a chat or play board games and jigsaw puzzles. There is even a book exchange that has proven to be a great hit. Suzie, one of the regular visitors, says, “We love popping in to see friends. It’s good to see the church busy and with a lovely and friendly atmosphere.”

With the Warm Space in the afternoon becoming increasingly popular, the church have noticed that some of the homeless have been coming along. “The homeless come as they know it’s a safe, warm place where they can charge their phones, get free food and have somewhere to sit and to chat with other people,” Liz adds.

St John’s have partnered with a local charity called Sanctuary Trust and they work together to provide warm, clean clothes and care packages as well as offering companionship, support and help with housing. As well as the Warm Space on Friday afternoons, they have now started a community café in the mornings.

With the support from the church and the community, the café and the Warm Space can continue to be a huge success and Liz hopes that they can keep this up as long as possible.