Manchester Universities Catholic Chaplaincy
The Boaz Night Shelter at Manchester Universities’ Catholic Chaplaincy was established in October 2016, sharing its ministry with six other churches in Greater Manchester, in order to provide somewhere where destitute asylum seekers can stay every night of the week from October to April. The Chaplaincy hosts a group of up to 12 destitute asylum seekers every Saturday night providing a meal, sleeping accommodation, and breakfast. Forty-five generous volunteers, most of them university students, make it possible at the chaplaincy. There are four teams of two volunteers every weekend: hospitality to set up the sleeping and dining space, kitchen, sleepover,
and breakfast. There is also a team of weekly laundry volunteers.
The night shelter is organized by the Boaz Trust, a Christian charity serving destitute asylum seekers and refugees in Greater Manchester mainly by providing accommodation and support and campaigning for a more compassionate asylum system. After visiting the chaplaincy night shelter recently, the Boaz Trust night shelter coordinator said: Thank you so much for having me on Saturday night. I truly enjoyed being there and your team are amazing! They are so relaxed and friendly, and the men do feel that too. The food was amazing!… Thank you for creating such a lovely
environment for the night shelter men.
The generosity and availability of all involved, and their authentic and caring welcome to the Saturday night guests are a great gift for our Chaplaincy. The project is a service not only to the weekly guests, but also to the students involved. They get to greet, meet and share a meal with homeless men, with asylum seekers. They get to recognise each guest in their individuality, and thus to realise that behind each one there is a difficult story, a broken family, perhaps a trauma, without needing to know any details of it. Every Saturday we say a prayer together that ends: “Lord, protect all refugees in their travels. May they find friend in us and so make us worthy of the refuge we have found in you. Amen”
More info: http://boaztrust.org.uk/ns/
Contact: nightshelter.muscc@gmail.com
and breakfast. There is also a team of weekly laundry volunteers.
The night shelter is organized by the Boaz Trust, a Christian charity serving destitute asylum seekers and refugees in Greater Manchester mainly by providing accommodation and support and campaigning for a more compassionate asylum system. After visiting the chaplaincy night shelter recently, the Boaz Trust night shelter coordinator said: Thank you so much for having me on Saturday night. I truly enjoyed being there and your team are amazing! They are so relaxed and friendly, and the men do feel that too. The food was amazing!… Thank you for creating such a lovely
environment for the night shelter men.
The generosity and availability of all involved, and their authentic and caring welcome to the Saturday night guests are a great gift for our Chaplaincy. The project is a service not only to the weekly guests, but also to the students involved. They get to greet, meet and share a meal with homeless men, with asylum seekers. They get to recognise each guest in their individuality, and thus to realise that behind each one there is a difficult story, a broken family, perhaps a trauma, without needing to know any details of it. Every Saturday we say a prayer together that ends: “Lord, protect all refugees in their travels. May they find friend in us and so make us worthy of the refuge we have found in you. Amen”
More info: http://boaztrust.org.uk/ns/
Contact: nightshelter.muscc@gmail.com
