The Cyber Cafe
Patron: The Lady Apsley
The Cyber Cafe nestles at the rear of the old Memorial Hospital with its entrance onto the Sheep Street car park. It is just opposite the air raid shelter and attracts young people from our community. The Cyber Cafe is a registered charity and managed by Churches Together in Cirencester.
The Cafe offers a chance to use computers, go on-line, do homework, meet friends, chill out, chat and have a cup of whatever soft drink/coffee/tea suits you at that moment. The group started quietly in October 2005 and has been going ever since. With a slight drop during the middle of the year, numbers have now risen and it is the coolest place to be seen. Thanks to a real effort being made to contact young people at our secondary schools, the Cafe looks set to go from strength to strength.
This year has been the most successful in making deep and meaningful relationships with young people. We have had contact with 180 this year, with 20-40 regulars each week. During this last half term we were getting up to 35 young people per session which was so encouraging. Many come as a result of our going into school in summer 2008 and taking the whole of year 8 through RP lessons. It is wonderful that they are still coming to the Cyber Café, and to Bible Club on a Tuesday morning at Deer Park. Because of their continued interest on who Jesus is and how He can change their lives,we have launched Youth Alpha at the Cyber café on Thursday evenings from 5.50-7pm. Last Thursday we had eight young people attend, who are mainly 16 and 17 year olds, which means we have been able to maintain links with them as some come just for the bible study.
The football team has nearly completed their first year in the Cotswold Churches League. Our hope and prayer is that we can find a supporting church so they can stay in the league next season
The encouraging number of volunteers meant we could open during school holidays, which has been very successful. Saturday openings have also been a great success, but finding volunteers has been very challenging. It has been Charley and me in charge with occasional help from Joe Harris who is now an adult helper. The Cyber Café has been a positive part of Joe's life since he was just 13 years old, and we believe many other young people will be impacted as he has by Christians who sacrificially give their time and money to this wonderful project.
Vic Trykush
