Café Refresh

New contacts for and additional interest in Commission For Mission seems to come on a daily basis at present.

The latest group that we are talking to are Café Refresh based at St Andrews Leytonstone. Through Café Refresh the church plans to offer a spiritual haven for their community. They intend to run a creative programme in their café, hall and worship space and are looking for local artists of all genres to help and participate in this.

They are exploring how they can offer such activities as children’s creative workshops, poetry/literature reading and writing workshops, low cost exhibition space, music recitals, and possible joint arts projects with other partners. They are also planning about six exhibitions per year. They would like to get this up and running by summer 2009.

Helen Gheorghiu Gould is the project's Development Worker. She has been involved in the original vision and Action Plan, and is now developing the café and creative programme and meeting as many local organisations and people as possible. Her previous experience has been in running a charity dealing with arts and social/international development.

Also in Walthamstow will be the annual E17 Art Trail for which Commission For Mission Chairperson Henry Shelton, at the instigation of Commission For Mission member Steven Saxby, will be loaning his Stations of the Cross to be displayed at St Barnabas Walthamstow from 5th - 13th September 2009.