Internships

Each year, six new interns move into the bungalow, next to the two warehouses from which Besom and FACE to Face operate.  They commit to spending the year living in community with each other and working full-time at The Besom. 

The interns spend their days working for The Besom (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm), being trained up in the various different areas within The Besom.  These areas consist of co-ordinating the furniture givers and recipients and painting projects; the money-giving department; working with the time-givers in the warehouse; and working with Besom’s daughter organisation, Face to Face.

 A core aspect of the internship is the challenge of learning what it means to live in intentional community with the five other interns.  The six interns commit to spending every Monday night and one other night per week together.  They are encouraged to explore together what Jesus meant in John 13: 34-35: ‘A new command I give you: Love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another,’ and what this could look like in reality.

 Running alongside this ongoing challenge, is weekly teaching from James Odgers, the founder of The Besom, and other speakers.  Each intern is encouraged to assess the question of their lifestyle in relation to those poorer than himself/herself: ‘How can I live as I do, when others…?’  This question presents itself in various forms throughout the year and provides a context for other issues to be discussed.  Some of these are money, community, discipleship, vision, and social justice, which provoke much thought, further questions, debate and, inevitably, a gradual change in thinking and lifestyle.

 This internship aims to provide already strong, committed Christians with an environment in which they probe further into what God’s call for them might be, particularly within the context of the poor.