C's - Churches

Lets blog churches and homeless people, I would rather not but I will.

Churches are a lifeline to homeless people -why? well most outreach and support for homeless rough sleepers comes from churches and religeous organizations.

I will briefly tell you who is who, but be warned it varys very severely:

anglicans/church of england:
some church of england churches are very into helping the homeless and will do so with great pride, emphasis on the pide, some church of england churches will coldly and blankly turn you away, I have asked an anglican church for a hot sugary drink when I was starving and hypoglycemic and they turned me away (they said it would mean they had people queing up round the block for help, what rubbish!), there was also a case of a vicar stabbing and scalding a homeless person for sleeping in his church porch, but there are many c of e people who do care about the homeless, though it is often members of the congragation rather than employees of the church. The c of e are too variable so if you want to know if a church will help or support you or let you stash stuff or leave it in their churchyard then talk to them and get to know them.
In the Anglican congragation who last helped me, the Vicar is an asshole and the congregation reply to his attempts to drive me off by affirming that they are the church, not him, and vicars come and go but they will remain and run the church, they prevented him from having my bedding removed by the council and they have looked after me, not all vicars are like that though, some are like the vicar who told me he lived in a tent for six months and it was the  best six months of his life and he understands my viewpoint and if I need anything he and his church will help, and there is also the lovely lady vicar who bought me my phone and is always welcoming and feeds me when I drop by.

Baptists: They are fond of offering cuppa soup and evangelism to homeless people, generally they are helpful in my opinion, so if you like lots of cuppa soup and noisyness then they will welcome you, they are always limited in space for you to stash or sleep, they have nothing but fellowship and cuppa soup and God to offer you. :) They also love to give you something to help with in return for tea and cuppa soup etc, they also have parties sometimes.

Catholics: Ooh, lets get Catholic, in the Catholic church there is a strong and genuine empathy for poverty and homelessness, no matter what other shortcomings this denomination appears to have, in my experience both priests and congregation will feed you if they can and sometimes stash things, depending on the church and area - ie in London they are limited to what they can do but there is a marvellous Catholic church in London that gives the homeless a banquet and support every week, Catholics like to help others, even poor Catholics like to help others, so don't take advantage and don't ask for money, they sometimes used to give me money despite my refusals and they loved to feed me and give me tea and look after me.
Methodists: The solid denomination certainly help homeless if they can, again they are often limited in space but they like their tea and their food and sharing it with you, as long as you behave well. If they have food vouchers or can refer you somewhere then they would love to help.
Quakers: The Quakers are the least difficult to approach because they treat people equally and without pride, they will share food and tea if there is some, will help if they can, will refer you on to other sources of help if they can, and if you need peace, they have peace and calm there in their services.
Gospel Halls: solid teaching, lively singing and any excuse for a feast, even if it is a feast to feed the poor and homeless, if you are Hungry then go and gospelise with them.

Evangelical churches (independent/evangelistic): Their God doesn't always agree with feeding the five thousand, he is more interested in collecting souls, run for your life brother! believer or not, it won't do you any good to go in there for help, they are salespeople, soul buyers, marketing managers and will leave you hungry because they just need you to see their point of God. The most they will do is let you have a cup of tea while they ensure you get the point, and if you are uncomfortable standing there then never mind, as long as you are saved!
Mormons: As above.

Cults: The sneaky type of church, they approach you on the strand with food when you are alone and vulnerable, they ask how you are coping with the weather, they tell you they like you and that you would fit nicely into their warm happy home. Run for your life, you may fit uncomfortably into their home and their God in order to get away from sore feet and bad weather and hunger, but in the end you will be empty and hurting and trapped, don't go with them!