We visited Mildmay's spiritual birthplace today; St Jude and St Paul's Church in Mildmay Grove, Islington. This is the church where our Founder, William Pennefather was the vicar in the nineteenth century.
We hope to not only reconnect with Mildmay's historical roots but also to build new networks and relationships in the community that will be beneficial to all. Our aims are very much as they have always been, to serve our community and to enable life in all its fullness for everyone in our care. This, of course, aligns very well with the aims of St Judes.
We were met and shown around by the present vicar, Rev James Hill and his wife, as well as numerous other church members.
Every Tuesday afternoon the church holds a drop-in and it was lovely to see the church alive with activity. The church serves hot food and drinks and operates a food bank.
With our work with people with HIV, people who are homeless, and those rehabilitating from drug and alcohol dependency, there was very much to talk about.
We look forward to welcoming visitors from St Judes to our hospital and to fruitful future collaborations.
In 2016, our then President, Margaret Sentamu and her husband, the Most Reverend and Rt Hon John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, did us the great honour of planting the Mildmay rose in the grounds of St Jude and St Paul's in commemoration of the 150th year of the founding of the Mildmay Mission. They are pictured below with our former CEO, Dr Ross White and the vicar of St Jude's (apologies for not knowing his name - our records are woefully incomplete and something we are striving to address).
During our visit, we completely forgot about the rose. So embarrassing! So on our next visit, we will make a point of seeking it out and hope that the rose is flourishing.
