Cloister Café
Holy Trinity, North Ormesby
Tracy is a Community Minister at Holy Trinity, North Ormesby, and completed the Stepping Up in December 2021 and was commissioned as a Community Minister in March 2022.
During Stepping Up, through prayer, conversation and speaking to those in the community, her vicar Bridget, Tracy felt led to re-imagine the Cloister Café, something which had closed during the Covid-19 pandemic and hadn’t re-opened.
With the help of Bridget, Tracy began to imagine a place that was able to provide affordable food and drinks to a community that is in high need, but most of all, a place of welcome where food was available but relationship is a priority.
With the help of a Mustard Seed grant, Tracy has re-established Cloister Café as a main fixture on a Tuesday in North Ormesby. Open whilst the main market is open just outside, the team of volunteers in the kitchen are on constant toastie and tea-cake production. Whilst in one part of the hall, a prayer tree stands, full of prayer cards from those who attend.
Already the café has become a place of gathering for local care homes, for those alone and feeling isolated. The volunteer team led by Tracy is almost all from the community, supporting the vision to see the church in being a hub for the community.
As Community Minister, Tracy's hope is that the Cloister Café will expand and grow beyond the current hours, some weeks they have to shut the doors at closing time to stop people coming in! Tracy’s heart is to see all people welcomed into the café, to go beyond the customer - transaction relationship and to see a community established that has its own identity.
To find out more about the Cloister Café and Holy Trinity, click here
To watch a short film about Tracy and the Cloister Café, click here