Community outreach at 422 Manchester

Steve Harrison from 422 Manchester inspires us as he describes the project’s Christian roots and practical outreach.

422 Manchester has its roots in the Manchester Vineyard church plant. Manchester Vineyard is a church planted in 2016 with a simple mission intent, to ‘Love Manchester’. Within months, that simple desire was echoed across the city as everyone tried to come to terms with the attack at the Arena. The team were soon on the streets with a borrowed van, handing out refreshments and giving folks space to talk, to pray, to weep.

Obtaining their own van gave the Vineyard team a resource for reaching out to the community; then when running a mobile foodbank as the pandemic struck but without a base, they worked out of borrowed premises. But a project was at hand.

422 Stockport Road is a Victorian building that has had multiple uses, finally as a youth centre, but years previously the funding stopped, and it lay empty. The church felt a calling to take over the building as a Community Hub, not as a church, and sought an asset transfer from the council. Squatters had since moved in, so once possession was obtained there was so much more to do. So the team set to work!

It is calculated that the work done by volunteers took £300,000 from the total cost of reopening. So many organizations were involved that it would be impossible to name them, but help came from far and wide as the building was reconfigured.

Through the main doors as you turn left is the café, opened in August 2021. It is operated by Pure Innovations and provides low-cost food and refreshments. It’s also the space where many outside agencies come in to provide support and advice, and there are many fun events. As you turn right, you have the Pantry, receiving food donations and deliveries to support those in need in the area – one of the poorest in the country – and so vital right now. Goods come in from direct donations or via online purchases.

Up the wonderful staircase is the upper hall which is useful for concerts, sports activities, even mass vaccination sessions! In the space above the hall, there is a visual arts centre. Below the entrance level are spaces for a permanent NHS office, a training suite and rooms rented out for start-ups. At the rear, a lift is being installed for easy access, and there is even a special wall for bee-friendly plants.

The church is called to ‘Love Manchester’. At 422 Manchester we see that call being fulfilled.

Steve Harrison
Steve is a member of Manchester Vineyard and a volunteer at 422 Manchester; and a Holy Land Tour Leader. Steve is also a grandad, New Wine United team member, an ambassador for Nightstop, and a fan of Bury Town and Stockport County.

You can find out more about 422 at https://422manchester.org/
Facebook at 422 Manchester Instagram at 422manchester Twitter @422_manchester
Pure Innovations supports people with disabilities or health-related issues https://www.pureinnovations.co.uk/

Photos ©️ Steve Harrison/422 Manchester. Clockwise from top left: a tree grew from the top floor before renovation, new windows and more after renovation, cafe after renovation, cafe before renovation, the hall upstairs, Steve Harrison with a delivery for the Pantry, opening day montage with the BBC Philarmonic Orchestra, 422 logo, and (bottom image) repairs being undertaken in the hall.