Case studies of churches that welcome Gypsy. Roma and Traveller people
The Church of the Good Shepherd, Rossmore, Poole
For many years the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rossmore, Poole, has been seen by many of the Romany Gypsy community as their church.
There are a lot of Travellers settled in houses in Rossmore and before those houses were built there were Gypsy stopping places on the heathland. The small wooden church has a few local Travellers attending its Sunday services and has hosted many large Traveller funerals over the years. Its recently retired vicar, Rev’d Peter Homden, grew up in Rossmore and was well-known and respected by local Travellers. He’d often help people out with difficulties with the council, the police and other institutions. In 2019 an open-air service followed by a hog roast was held with local Travellers.
Five years ago the church began to host a non-contact boxing club, run by local Traveller Michael Johnson, which attracted many young Travellers and non-Travellers from the estate. The church also hosted the premier of ‘Ghost Gypsy’, a film about a young Traveller woman facing discrimination at school. Kushti Bok, a Dorset based Traveller organisation, regularly holds meetings at the church.
As Rev’d Jonathan Herbert, Chaplain to Gypsies and Travellers in Dorset and Wiltshire, recalls: ‘I remember taking a Traveller funeral at the Church of the Good Shepherd and how helpful everyone was. One of the people from the church told me she’d been in the local supermarket when she heard someone at the checkout complaining how the funeral would disrupt traffic. She said she put the person right saying how many Travellers she knew as trusted friends and how people should respect and learn from their funeral traditions.’
St Mary’s Parish Church in West Moors
There is a sign on the door of St Mary’s Parish Church in West Moors which often invites comment from those attending weddings, funerals, and other parish events. It is the Roma Chakra and it is the church’s way of saying that the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community are always welcome through its doors.
St Mary’s has a long and proud history of supporting the Traveller community in West Moors, but in particular during the tenure of Revd Andy Muckle, the present vicar. Andy has made it a particular focus of his ministry to reach out to the community and has been part of the group that supports the work of Revd Jonathan Herbert the Diocesan Chaplain to the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community.
A common sight in West Moors is Andy leading a funeral procession, walking through the Town from the church to West Moors Cemetery, where the Traveller community has a strong historical association. Andy has also been involved in advocacy work for the community, particularly in regard to recognising the distinctive nature of Traveller memorials in the Town Cemetery. It is an area of ministry that Andy and the church are proud to support.
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Community - St Mary's Parish Church West Moors - A Church Near You
The Lauda Project, Liverpool
The Lauda Project is a community outreach based out of St. Dunstan’s Parish Church on Earle Road in L7 (Part of The Team Parish of St. Luke in the City and in partnership with Liverpool Parish Church). We have a special focus on helping to build bridges between our local Romanian Roma community, the Church and the wider community of Toxteth, Edge Hill and Wavertree.
We are connecting Romanian Roma families to the wider community through our Wednesday morning community support hub which runs in partnership with Micah Community Market, Granby Toxteth Development Trust and MerseyCare’s Life Rooms. Families and individuals can join us each week for a hot drink, toast and a chat, pick up a bag of food items, get clothes and other household items, learn English or Romanian, and speak to MerseyCare staff about any needs or issues they are facing. There are many opportunities to help facilitate these brilliant services and build relationships with those who come through our doors.
We are running an after-school club once a week on Thursdays during term time at St. Hugh’s Catholic Primary School to do this where 60% of the pupils are from Roma families. We spend our time together playing, creating and learning about God’s love and purpose for life. It is an amazing opportunity to build relationships with the families and have a positive influence in the lives of the children. It’s also a lot of fun!
The Lauda Project is sustained by our amazing volunteers, many of them coming from the Tsedaqah community in Liverpool, from Youth With A Mission Liverpool, from our local churches and also from the Roma community themselves. We could not carry out this work without these amazing people and it is a blessings to see so many people from very many different backgrounds all working together to lift one another up and see our Roma friends welcomed, embraced and empowered to live beautiful lives here in Liverpool and beyond.
