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Soupermums at Wilsden Trinity Church

About seven years ago a good idea came up – why not extend our mission to the community, to young mothers and their babies. So the format evolved, on every Monday morning we would invite mums (and dads) to have soup and hot rolls followed by tea and cake, while volunteers looked after the babies for a while. This would be an opportunity for the Mums to talk about their everyday experiences of motherhood, in a relaxed, comfortable environment.

On the first Monday, Trinity’s team had two in the kitchen and three to welcome and care. Just one mum came which was proof of demand from the word ‘go’. Within a month we had six mums in our side room with their babies resting on a large quilt. We extended our mission to the local clinic, through contact with a health visitor. News travelled as fast as we had hoped. We bought our first high chairs and, as numbers steadily increased, we moved from the side room into the main body of our church.

We provided more quilts and cushions placed in the centre and a ring of chairs, as surround, so that everyone could converse and see what was happening. To the side, end to end, we placed the tables. From the start it was agreed we should not charge but thought it right to place a bowl for donations, encouraged to do so by the wishes of some mums.

Today we have six high chairs and a team of carers, including a special safeguarding group and those with pastoral experience. Our statisticians inform me that we have had 528 mums attend and have cared for 16 sets of twins. We are thankful that God had encouraged us and inspired us to push forward with this mission. Mums come from afar, not just the local village.

It is rewarding also to know that many of the mums have made friendships as a result of attending Soupermums and a few are bringing their second baby along. After we had been running for about five years, a group of mums, quietly and privately, made a collection among themselves and gifted our volunteers a lunch out which was very touching.

So, in conclusion, we are occasionally asked why we do this and our singular response, always with a smile, is because we try to be useful Christians. We have a Soupermums’ song, which is sung in conclusion – ‘Our God is a great big God and he holds us in his hands’ which is animated with hand actions by the volunteer carers while the babies bounce up and down.
We open at 11.00 am, provide soup at about noon and disperse at 1.00 pm. Then we have souper-carers lunch – same menu. Our mums have numbered 25 and more and even in atrocious weather, rarely drop below a dozen.

Keith B (Helper), Wilsden Trinity

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