The theologian Dan Hardy has written about what he calls the church’s home team and away team. The home team exercises its Christian ministry within the activities of the institutional church. There is the church organist, choir member, house group leader, pastoral visitor and so on. The away team on the other hand exercise their Christian ministry through non-institutional church activities. Of course, many people are members of both teams. What concerned Hardy, however, was that although the home team are recognised in their churches and are even given special outfits to identify them, the away team sometimes do not get the same recognition and support. But in an increasingly secular society, where many people have little or no understanding of the Christian gospel, it is the away team who are where most people are.

One such example of an away team, drawn from many of the churches in this part of Hampshire, is the Olive Branch Christian Counselling Service which has been operating in Winchester since 1998. Since modest beginnings in a shared office in the Winchester Centre it grew to be the most used counselling service in this part of Hampshire, with the majority of referrals now coming from GPs and other health professionals. When I retired from the role of Director last February we were still based in the Winchester Centre, with four counselling rooms available in the daytime and access to five more in the evenings. With over 50 voluntary counsellors we were providing in excess of 4,000 counselling sessions a year. With client donations (we have never charged a fee) and gifts from Christian friends and churches, we could meet our costs.

But then the effects of the recession began to bite. Although we could still meet our costs, other organisations in the building lost their funding and Winchester City Council decided to look for rent for the Winchester Centre from elsewhere. So much for the ‘Big Society!’ This meant that if Olive Branch was to continue to provide a counselling service it needed to find a new home. Eventually after much effort by staff and trustees alternative accommodation was found, still in the city and accessible from car parks, station and buses. In fact the new accommodation could be seen as an improvement on what the organisation rented before. However there is a cost. The rent is higher and no longer does the organisation benefit from the IT support, cleaning services and reception that were provided at the Winchester Centre. All these now have to be funded by Olive Branch.

So in order to continue being an effective Christian witness in the City by offering counselling to anyone in the community Olive Branch will need to increase its income from gifts as many of our clients struggle to make even a modest donation. We are so grateful to the local churches who have supported us in the past and trust that they will continue to do so in the future. We would love to add to their number as the demand for our services is as pressing as it always has been. We would also welcome more gifts of suitable pictures, curtains and other soft furnishings as we moved into an empty building and some of our rooms are a little bare. We would also appreciate hearing from anyone who could offer to volunteer 2 hours a week (or fortnight) to work as a receptionist. This could be morning, afternoon or evening. We have found this volunteering role especially attractive to retired people and younger people seeking work experience. You would be joining a friendly group of dedicated people who believe that following Jesus means being where people hurt.

If you could help in any way please phone our office on 01962 842858 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will be very happy to talk and to invite you to visit and see us for yourselves.