Christian Church, Christian faith, Hammersmith tube station,
Thursday 8th November 2012
The first UCKG HelpCentre inside a London shopping centre opened in Hammersmith on Saturday November 3, attracting 817 visitors throughout the day. Of these no fewer than 57 were first timers who had never been inside a HelpCentre before.
The new HelpCentre is in Unit 39 of the Broadway Shopping Centre between a Tesco supermarket and the Hammersmith tube station as the UCKG always endeavours to be as accessible as possible.
HelpCentres offer practical help, advice and support from a Christian Pentecostal perspective and are open for extended hours seven days a week all year round.
Their priority is to help people cope with and resolve their problems, through a combination of prayer and their own practical efforts. That includes helping young people to avoid, or where it’s too late for that, to get away from gang culture and drug dependency.
The inauguration opened with Bishop Junior and Pastor Ricardo, who is in charge of the Hammersmith HelpCentre praying for those attendees who are facing hardships of various sorts in today’s difficult economic situation. In all, there were three services during the day.
“Our purpose is to reach out to people where they are and to help them from a Christian standpoint. And that means where they are in terms of location as well as the problems they may be dealing with,” said Pastor Ricardo.
He will be supported in this work by a team of fully trained pastors and assistants, and volunteers from the HelpCentre’s congregation. Prior to the opening of the new HelpCentre the UCKG ran a part time facility nearby in Shepherd’s Bush Green.
Its policy is to follow demand and to open new centres in response to requests from the people who travel some distance to existing facilities. It expands from part time to full time HelpCentres as its congregations grow and demand from newcomers increases.
ENDS
Note to editors:
UCKG is a Christian church and registered charity that offers a range of practical support activities alongside spiritual support and comfort and welcomes all-comers. It reached the UK in 1995 and has gone from strength to strength, providing support and spreading the Christian faith. There are UCKG HelpCentre branches in England and Wales, including its first ever facility in a shopping centre at the Luton Mall in Luton.
For further information please contact the UCKG HelpCentre Press Officer via e-mail on press@uckgnew.org or call 020 7686 6033.
