“I just love being with people.”  The words of Jenny Robinson, a deaconess based at Friendship House in Belfast’s Sandy Row.

To chat to her is an inspiring experience; even over the phone I caught a real sense of the raw passion behind the ministry she’s involved in. Jenny has been working in the Sandy Row community for almost two years now, but her vision for social outreach had been birthed before that.  It was during her time as a deaconess in Kilcooley she saw the power of community outreach, while operating a café drop-in centre at the church: “I saw the need for reaching out and that it can be as simple as offering a cup of tea, saying a simple hello or having a short chat – and that that can make a huge difference to someone’s day.”

So when the door opened widely for her to take up a role within Friendship House, Jenny saw the potential to reach out to a whole new set of people.  It’s a place that seeks to meet the community’s varied needs, through a homework club, a friendship group for older people and by offering hospitality to people in a nearby homeless hotel.  And it’s Jenny’s fervent view that, “being able to help people in a practical way becomes a spiritual experience.”

“We’re so quick to categorise people, whether they are single mums, drugs addicts…and yet behind the headlines there is a real desperate need in each one to be loved and to be forgiven.”  And it is with real emotion in her voice that Jenny tells the story of a homeless man who was beaten up recently in Belfast City Centre.  He woke up on a cold pavement at the back of the city hall, unsure how long he had been lying there for.  No-one had stopped with him.  And even as he struggled to his feet and stumbled back to the hostel, no-one helped, no-one seemed to care.

For Jenny this story not only caused her deep concern, but challenged her – would she have stopped to help?  As she says, “the story of the Good Samaritan comes alive to me most days.”  And she concedes that through her work, God is constantly challenging some of the attitudes she has.  But yet He is also constantly inspiring her…

He inspires her through the story of a Sandy Row great grandmother bringing up her great grandson, even at her late stage in life.  He inspires her through the homeless guys they minister to, such as the 21 year old who couldn’t quite believe he was being given a Christmas present.  “Is this for me to share with the guys?” he kept asking.  “No this is for you,” Jenny kept repeated.  They both finished the conversation in tears.

And as Jenny looks excitedly to the future, it seems the planned extension of Friendship House can only lead to the creation of fresh ministry opportunities.  “I just hope it can be a place where people of all ages can come and grow in a safe environment, that we could be an effective witness in the community.  And that we could touch people’s lives, helping them climb the ladder a little and become strong people.”