It's just a hot chocolate
With whipped cream and marshmallows
Or marshmallows and cream.
It's just a hot chocolate.
But it's not just a hot chocolate.
It's a teenage boy, knocking on the door at 4pm
Asking for four.
Because his grandparents are over too.
It's not just a hot chocolate
It's a father of 6 children, sometimes 12, asking for help with a problem at school.
It's not just a hot chocolate
It's a teenage boy, sharing his woes about Alexa and the gossip at school. About his mocks. About his cousin. About his bike.
It's not just a hot chocolate
It's a young boy, stopping on his way home from school, taking an extra biscuit, or two, wanting to stay a little longer because home doesn't feel like home yet.
…
It's just a hot chocolate
With whipped cream and marshmallows
Or marshmallows and cream.
It's just a hot chocolate.
But it's not just a hot chocolate.
It's a warm welcome. It's a friendly face. It's a safe space. It's an act of love, in an unloving world. It's a mustard seed. It's 5 loaves and 2 fishes. It's a small rudder on a big ship. It's a pinch of yeast in a loaf of bread. It's poured out perfume. It's 5 small stones. It's Spirit hovering above the water. It's the day in-between Friday and Sunday.
It's just a hot chocolate
With whipped cream and marshmallows
Or marshmallows and cream.
It's just a hot chocolate.
[Extract from ‘It’s just a hot chocolate’ by Rae Grayson, Children and Families worker Risen Christ, Wyken.]
1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT
So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
Hot Chocolate Mondays started at Risen Christ in January 2023. On the first Monday, the team gave out 26 cups of hot chocolate (with optional whipped cream and marshmallows). By September the team were recording around 60 cups given out each week, and on 22 January 2024 the team recorded a new high of 100 cups given away!
Each cup represents a conversation and a moment of connection with someone in the local community, and by being a consistent loving presence, the team have been able to build relationships with children and their parents and young people from the secondary school.
Maintaining the weekly routine of giving hot chocolate (and snacks) away has been costly, but the team have intentionally taken the decision to model a spirit of generosity and abundance to the wider community. The open-handed attitude of the church has won people over, and in a number of cases those who attend have felt inspired to contribute towards the cost. Some of the teenagers who come have also embraced this attitude, and offer to help in whatever ways they can – usually fetching and carrying things for the team. In short, those who come are starting to take ownership, seeing themselves as part of something good that they want to contribute to.
Monday afternoons have become a key point of connection between the church and the local community. In some cases, this is the only point of contact, but for others it has been the start of a relationship that has developed in other ways. Some have come to other events such as Messy Church, and for a few families who have found themselves in need, the already positive existing relationship has meant that the church has been in a position to offer both immediate and ongoing support. These relationships continue to develop, and bear fruit.