A church in Wolverhampton is helping people out of work to find new jobs.
St Chad's Church, in the Bilston area, formally opened its new Job
Club in September together with the city council, Wolverhampton
Inter-Faith & Regeneration Network, and local charity SiteLearn.
Bilston is one of many areas in the diocese that suffers from
particularly bad unemployment with figures over 50 per cent higher than
the national average.
Pat McFadden, Wolverhampton South-East MP, attended the opening
ceremony and praised the church for its efforts to support the local
community.
He said: "By giving people help we really can make a difference and
get them into work. It's a good testament to the church's keenness to
get outside the doors of the church and into the community and say 'what
are the needs of the community?'"
Reverend Mark Hathorne, the vicar of St Chads, said that over the
years the church had sought to provide a wide range of services in the
community that are not explicitly Christian in nature - the Job Club
being one example.
The City Council's Adult Education department is funding the project
while the Wolverhampton Inter-Faith & Regeneration Network is
helping connect those in need with the service. SiteLearn is providing
the staffing and resources.
Mr McFadden added: "It's a great credit to the church that it's
getting its sleeves rolled up like this and getting involved and making a
difference to people in the community who may - or may not - walk in
the doors of a church but nevertheless will benefit from that Christian
helping hand."