Church opens internet cafe for homeless

The first internet cafe for homeless people in Scotland was opened yesterday, by the Moderator of the General Assembly Church of Scotland, Rt Rev Finally Macdonald. The cafe, at the Lodging House Mission forms part of a new project by the Kirk's Glasgow Presbytery which offers a drop-in centre, cafe, shower facilities and visiting health services. It features eight PCs with access to the web and e-mail. Mission chaplain, Rev Ross J McDonald, said the project represented "an exciting development". He said: "In 1907 when the Lodging House Mission was established, lantern slide shows were used to inform people of our work and share a message of Christian hope and love. Today we are embracing new technology. "While the medium has changed, the same Christian care and compassion essential to the establishment of the LHM is still at the heart of our work. "It shows we are much more than an old fashioned soup kitchen, offering homeless people the chance to engage in a whole range of life enhancing activities." The mission is funded by donations from church-goers and a range of different bodies. The Lodging House Mission was set up in 1907 to cater for the needs of the then 15,000 single men and women living in Glasgow's lodging houses.