No Home, No Justice

Homeless in Oxford. Those three words are reality for a number of single people and my brief is to represent all the churches in Central Oxford in reaching out to our homeless community.

I am there for Christians, for those of other faiths or of no faith.  I am there for all who are sleeping rough, for those in the night shelter and various hostels, and those who are in their own accommodation, but who still need and use many of the facilities.

Facilities such as the Gatehouse or Stepping Stones.  Both are Christian based; the former is a drop-in café and the latter has a membership but works on a drop-in basis for food and some activities. I try to drop in to them fairly regularly.  I’m also available for the volunteers and the staff of the many and varied facilities that Oxford offers.  I see the work of the chaplain very much as a presence, being there for and alongside them.
I can never really know what it must be like for those who find themselves needing to use the Shelter,  or those who prefer not to; or what it is really like to be addicted to drugs or alcohol and trying to come off them. But I try to get alongside, to empathise.  I encourage, help them find some glimmer of hope and try to give them back some of the self-worth which so often they have totally lost.  Sometimes we talk about God and his all-embracing love and when appropriate of Jesus and his desire to walk with them out of the darkness and into the light of new life.

I remind them that Jesus was homeless at his birth and then became a refugee: during his ministry he was NFA (no fixed abode) and often sofa-surfed (stayed with friends) and died on a cross as a criminal outside the city.  Out of that came resurrection – and God offers them the possibility of new life.

Do we see success? Yes, some move on to their own homes, some go off to rehab hostels in other places and we hope continue to move forward. Others go back down to the bottom.  But I like to think of it as a spiral, rather than a circle and encourage them to do the same.

Many churches keep 29 January as Homelessness Sunday.  This year the theme is ‘No Home No Justice’.
At St. Giles Church there will be a special service at 6.30 pm that day and we welcome anyone who does not have a service at their own church but would like to come and support the work being done for the homeless and learn more about what it means to be in that situation.

On the 2 and 3 February, at St Michael at the North Gate, there will be a display showcasing the facilities that Oxford offers homeless people, and the opportunity to talk with them and some of those who work with them.  It is open from 11.30 am to 3.30pm.

For more details about Homelessness Sunday and its theme this year go to www.homelessness-sunday.org.uk

Sister Anne is happy to preach or speak about her work as homeless chaplain to church and community groups. Contact her on  07871 588 003 or email

Sister Anne CSJB is Oxford’s chaplain to the homeless