The Octagon is a community centre situated in the Brook Farm Community of St Andrew’s parish, and is an area that The Chase Team have been actively involved in for many years.
Octagon Coffee and Lunch – Tuesdays from 10.30
You can see below a video of the Octagon Ministries produced by the Diocese of Worcester:
The Octagon Coffee and Lunch meets on Tuesday mornings (10.30am – 1:30pm) and was established 20 years ago by volunteers from our churches as a community café for and outreach to the Brook Farm Community. The Café provides a weekly warm welcome, acceptance, inclusion and hospitality for over 30 regulars and drop-in visitors from the local community and beyond. The volunteer serving team are committed to building relationships and developing opportunities for building faith.
Our ministry mission statement “Growing in love for God, each other, our community and the world” shapes our aim, values and ethos. So each café session always starts with the volunteer team coming together for a Bible reflection and prayers for the café and this has become embedded in the culture of Coffee Shop. There is also a culture of prayer through the prayer station and opportunities for prayer and reflection following national events.
Throughout the year we have different celebrations on special days – Easter, Christmas, Harvest and a Service of Remembrance for loved ones who have died are important highlights, providing an opportunity to decorate the Octagon, have special food and a short service including hymns, Bible readings, prayers and a reflection.
It’s an exciting place to be and a church with a difference in the form of a café. We are humbled to be part of God’s mission and amazed at the things that are happening there. If you would like to find out more, pop into Coffee Shop at the Octagon from 10am-11:45am every Tuesday.
Community Pantry
The Community Pantry is a project run by the Octagon Committee and supported by volunteers from the churches. During the pandemic a number of food projects took place at the Octagon, starting with emergency food parcels, cook and eat projects where families collected a bag of ingredients and a recipe card each week to cook at home and cooking hot meals for families through the summer holidays. From this the Community Pantry was born, there was a real need for extra support for families and individuals in the local community, to help stretch their budgets and also to encourage a more diverse diet. The Community Pantry is open on Friday mornings from 9:30 – 11am and is open to anyone, currently supporting around 40 families each week. People are able to choose a specified number of items from the fridge, freezer and pantry and also a bagful of ‘free’ items (usually fruit, vegetables, bread and a variety of other items) for a donation of £2 each week. Families who come to Thursday Project are also able to use the pantry.
Where does the food come from? Each week on Thursday mornings there is a delivery from FareShare of around 180kg food which usually includes fresh meat, vegetables and fruit, bread, yoghurts and many other products, sometimes with quite short use by/best before dates. FareShare takes surplus food from right across the food industry and aims to tackle food poverty and reduce food waste by distributing it to charities and community projects across the country. The Community Pantry also receives food donations from Malvern Morrisons supermarket each week; usually fresh fruit, vegetables, tins and packets.