by Phil Pitt

A church aims to help businesses during recession by launching a monthly “eggs and bacon” forum.

St Augustine’s in Rock Avenue, Gillingham, is hosting its first Business Community Breakfast at Gillingham Golf Club on September 9. The event, which starts at 7.30am and costs £10 a head, is open to all types of enterprise - retail, corporate and home-based - in the parish and beyond.

Organiser Ken Wheeler, a sales and marketing expert, says the monthly forum will offer a full English breakfast.

There will be a 10-minute talk on a business topic of the day, with participants invited to talk for a minute about their business - but Mr Wheeler insists it will not be compulsory.

He says the idea is to give business people an informal opportunity to get to know each other as well as promote their products and services.

Mr Wheeler, who runs Practical Sales & Marketing, said: “I know from my own experience many of the frustrations and disappointments of business. But it’s great to be in business during challenging periods because every win is so much sweeter.”

The Rev Jonathan Jennings, priest-in-charge of St Augustine’s, said that the recession was taking its toll on businesses and the church wanted to do something to support them.

“The meeting is designed to create a forum in which business folk can come together and so that we can be aware of how businesses are coping with the enormous pressures on them.

“We want to help folk to understand what businesses in the area do and to establish a better understanding of the community in which we’re all based. We hope as well as providing support it will improve the ways in which business with the community and with each other is done.”

Future talks are likely to be held on the second Wednesday of every month.

• Further information and bookings to Ken Wheeler on 01634 280179, fax 05602 043351 or e-mail info@practicalsales.co.uk