Children in Malton were kept busy during the school holidays with a creft workshop. Run and founded by Elim Ryedale Church, the workshops proved to be a roaring success, with nearly 150 childrean attending.

The youngsters got the chance to make everything from masks and fridge magnets to biscuits and finger puppets. Children’s worker Becky Ibbotson said: “The feedback has been positive and we hope to run similar events in the future.”

Published in the Gazette and Herald on Wednesday 21st April 2010.

At Hope Central, the staff and volunteers passionately believe every family matters and aim to provide activities, services and training to support and strengthen local families. The opportunities are varied from quiz nights to chiropody, youth clubs to marriage courses. All are done to the highest standard and open to all. When possible, activities are free to ensure that everyone is able to come, but when a small charge is made bursaries can be made available on request.

During school holidays we run various children’s activities including dance workshops, table tennis coaching, crafts, films and computer games. This Easter (6th-9th April) there will be children’s activities every morning between 10 and 12 noon. During the term our parents and tots group meets every Tuesday morning between 9:45 and 11:15 am and our fourth marriage course starts on Thursday 25th February. The marriage course is a practical seven session course designed to help couples strengthen their relationships.

Right at the hub of Hope Central is our cafe, which provides a great place to meet, with exceptional coffee and food at great value! There are too many more things I could say but to keep up with the latest news, regularly go to our website www.hopecentral.info or join the Hope Central group on Facebook!

This October marks Hope Centrals first birthday. Run by Andy Boxall, Pastor for Elim Ryedale, Hope is a place for people to meet and take part in many different activities.

The church obtained the building on Castlegate that used to be White Rose Saddlery in October 2007. The building was in need of some attention and apart from the extension at the back; the work was all done by volunteers, including replastering the entire inside. In total around £100,000 was spent on the work, which was from some grants but mostly from donations and offerings from the church collection. In March 2008 an Open day was held and groups such as Parents and Tots began, and in October 2008 the Café opened as well.

When talking to Andy Boxall it is clear he has a lot of gratitude for peoples generosity, “Every step of the way was a journey of faith. We didn’t have all the money when we started out, but it would always arrive when we needed it.”

Andy first had the idea to open Hope Central after arriving as the new Pastor at Elim Ryedale in Norton 3 years ago. He saw what the church had done in the past and what they were doing at the time and decided they could become a bigger part of the community.

“Churches are seen as doing a lot of talking and not much doing and I wanted the opportunity to show that we can do a lot of doing as well. I aimed to create a place that was accessible to everyone and the café is a great place to meet people and find out all about the other activities and events available.”

Hope Central provides not only a relaxed area to meet and chat with great food, but also groups such as Stepping Stones (a parents and tots group), Beautiful Feet (chiropody treatment), Youth Groups, Alpha Courses and Quizzes. There are also meeting rooms for hire and a free debt advice service with trained advisors. Hope look at what is needed in the local community and use the skills and talents of volunteers to provide that service.

Hope Central strives to connect to the local community and Andy is keen to break the stereotype of churches. “We’re not here to force people to join the church. If people want to ask any questions then we are happy to answer them and provide them with all the information so they can make an informed decision.”

Andy has plans to carry on providing the same level of service in the future and would love to have all the rooms full and activities happening every day. The lease on the building will be up in April 2011 and his aim is that people will say ‘ please don’t close’.

When asked to sum up Hope Central in 3 words there are so many things to sum up it’s too difficult, but to sum up the main aim in one statement is easy – “Serving the People of Ryedale.”

For more information contact 01653 697796, hopecentral@elimryedale.net or pop in and see Andy and his team at 62-64 Castlegate, Malton.

It has been just over a year since Rev Andy Boxall opened the doors to Hope Central on Castlegate with a mission to ’serve the people of Ryedale.’

His overall aim is to complement other voluntary orgainisations in the district through a wide variety of resources, training and support and by offering a place where all ages can come and relax.

“We wanted a place that people enjoy coming to that is warm, welcoming and friendly and we wanted to appeal to a wide range of ages - 20s, 30s, 40s and so on,” he said.

The Elim Ryedale Church minister and a team of volunteers have restored and renovated both floors of the former shop to now include three meeting rooms which are available for hire, two offices and a recently-opened cafe area with internet access.

Rev Boxall, a married father of two, said: “It has been a slow build really, especially with the cafe. We have had great reports from people when they come in. It is now just a case of getting people to come in and have a look and see what it is like. Most people are surprised at the quality of what we have to offer and that’s really encouraging - we wanted the wow factor”

Hope Central, initially funded by the church and private donations, now offers a wide variety of free community events - all of which are run by local volunteers. It has after school clubs, a free foot care session with a chiropodist, English Lessons for foreign nationals, meetings for parents and tots and the over 55s as well as quiz nights and board games club, among other events.

An independent debt advice centre is also due to open later this month led my six trained volunteers. “We are trying to find what the needs are of the community,” said Rev Andy Boxall. “Rather with me coming out with loads of ideas, we want to discover what skills our volunteers have and match that with the community needs. Anybody and everybody is welcome - if there is a resource that you can make use of, please please do so.”

Originally from Bichester, near Oxford, Rev Andy Boxall has worked at Lectchworth Garden City, Kensington Temple in London and Watford and is now enjoying his “exciting, but challenging” role at Hope Central.

“It is exciting to see what we dreamed about on paper become a reality,” he said. “When we started we had no money but money came in and everything you see is now paid for. It is exciting to see everything come to fruition - despite the obstacles and difficulties we have faced. “Now we need to get the word out there and make it buzz with people. On the days we have got lots of people it is absolutely fantastic. To see them enjoying themselves is just great.”

Article in the Malton and Pickering Mercury
Wednesday 4th February 2009

On entering the cafe, I was met by friendly, welcoming staff and a bright, contemporary interior.

Hope Central serves a range of rolls, baguettes, wraps and cakes as well as fair-trade teas and coffees. Food is sourced locally where possible and there is a takeaway service if required. Everyone and anyone is welcome. The food is healthy and prices are affordable.

The cafe forms part of a much bigger project by Elim Ryedale Church to provide a place for all sections of the local community to meet. Next to the cafe area there is a large meeting room used every day of the week for activities as various as quiz nights and youth groups to chiropody and English lessons. More meeting rooms upstairs are available for hire.

The whole project has been carefully planned and thought out even down to the beautiful mural on the wall in the cafe. All areas are bright, colorful and comfortable providing a great place to meet, socialise or work.

Four laptops are available and you can even take your own laptop in to use the free Wi-Fi. The cafe is open Fridays during the school term from 4 pm so that students can do their homework.

Local minister, Andy Boxall says “We are really excited at the prospect of being able to ‘do’ and not just ‘talk’ as a community. We hope that the centre will provide a service for many local groups. We have worked so hard to restore, renovate and decorate the Old White Rose Saddlery and we think that it has definitely paid off!

Our desire is that Hope Central will be more than a building and will become a resource to bring help and fresh hope to our community.”

Hope Central is an excellent place to stop for something to eat and drink, meet with friends or attend one of the many activities. Hope Central has also linked up with Compassion, a charity that sponsors children in developing countries. The cafe now sponsors a child through Compassion and any donations that are given to the cafe go towards the sponsor. The money provides this child with the means to break the cycle of poverty and create a viable future for them self and their family. More details can be found in the cafe.

Article written in the Handymag magazine

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Article written in the Gazette and Herald