Service for 194 homeless people who died in London in past year

The names of 194 homeless men and women who died in London over the past year, were read out at a moving service in St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square yesterday - nearly 50 more names than last year. The church was packed with friends, family members, homeless charity workers and volunteers.

Philip Stevens was remembered for his generosity and sparkly blue eyes. Another of those named was Andrzej Branski, who came from Poland in 2005 to do agricultural work. after a heart attack in 2006 he had long spells of homelessness. Andrzej was known as a helpful, well-educated and courteous man. In 2009 he suffered a bout of pneumonia. Finally this summer he was given a flat in Pimlico and was looking forward to a more settled life, but after a robbery he had another heart attack and died, aged 65. He was married and had three grandchildren.

David Rose was a "strong character", who wrote poetry. One of his pieces: 'Cutting Edge' was read at the service: "After a boom there's always a bust/Ask who's to blame and they'll tell you it's us/It's not greedy bankers or embezzling elites/It's somehow the fault of those with the least/The old, the disabled, and us on the streets."

Another Pole was commemorated: Agnieszka Stachelek, who came to England at the age of 44 in 2008 and worked as a carer and nanny until it was discovered that she had advanced bowel cancer. After undergoing surgery and treatment she got a room at the YMCA but was evicted when her benefits were cut. Eventually she went to stay at a hospice where she died - a "very lovely and courageous lady who never complained about all her many problems".

After the names were read, the 60-strong Choir with No Name gave an emotional performance of Run by Snow Patrol.

The theme of the service was 'Springing up to eternal life and each member of the congregation was invited to place a symbolic fish on a paper stream cascading from the altar. Several people wept as they walked up the aisle.

In his reflection, Canon Stephen Saxby, vicar of St Barnabas in Walthamstow, described how he had experienced homelessness as a teenager. Many of those commemorated in the service had "lived in the shadows hardly known to anyone", he said. "We remember people we may have passed in the street but never knew by name. And we remember each one by name, acknowledging that each one is special, each one was uniquely and lovingly made, each one is worthy of dignity and respect."

Homeless people and those working with them were living in challenging times, he said. "We continue to experience not only very sharp cuts in funding to charities, but deeper and deeper cuts in welfare provision, forcing more and more people in the UK into poverty, and, indeed, into homelessness. At the same time, the UK is rightly a haven for many in our world escaping violence, poverty, and tyranny, with increasing numbers living destitute, with no recourse to public funds."

He called for "a proper safety net" to "protect those who are the most vulnerable and impoverished in our society".

Streetwise Opera gave a fine performance of A Song of Home - a piece devised with the Musubi Theatre Group from Kamagasaki in Japan - before the final blessing which was given by Rev Richard Carter from St Martin's.

Each member of the congregation was invited to take a stone or shell and a card with the name of one of the people who died, to pray for throughout the year. There was a reception afterwards at the Connection next to the church.

The Connection at St Martin's helps thousands of homeless people in central London re-build their lives away from the streets. Services include a day and night centre, street outreach for rough sleepers, skills training and employment service and advice & housing.

Housing Justice is the national voice of Christian action to prevent homelessness and bad housing. For more information see: www.housingjustice.org.uk

For more information on Streetwise Opera see: www.streetwiseopera.org/

Read about the Choir With No Name here: www.choirwithnoname.org/