The Lodge Road Community Church team were delighted to be part of the 缅北强奸 Kitchen Tent at this year鈥檚 Greenbelt Festival.
A core group of seven was joined by 12 more members on day trips, all embracing the festival spirit. Their greatest joy came from being part of the wider 缅北强奸 community in the Table Tent, this year shared with the Trussell Trust.
Altogether, 60 volunteers from 缅北强奸 churches across the UK welcomed thousands of festivalgoers.
The Revd Anji Barker, a 缅北强奸 minister who serves as the Lodge Road’s Safeguarding Coordinator, said: 鈥淭ogether we shared radical hospitality and delicious meals, all made from food rescued from landfill by the brilliant team at Refuse Durham. The meals were lovingly prepared by both the Refuse and Lodge Road teams, transforming what would have gone to waste into something truly nourishing.
鈥淲hether cooking, chatting with guests, scrubbing pots, or leading workshops, every person played a part in creating a space of warmth, welcome and connection.鈥�
The weekend offered a glimpse of what God is doing across local churches today, against narratives of decline.
鈥淒espite what the dominant narrative often suggests, there is still a deep sense of hope, passion, and energy alive in our communities,鈥� continued Anji.
鈥淲e鈥檙e witnessing God at work in our neighbourhoods, and we have the privilege of being places of welcome and rest for 鈥渁ll who are weary and heavy burdened.
鈥淗ospitality is so often undervalued as a form of evangelism. We鈥檙e not feeding people in order to convert them to a set of doctrinal beliefs, rather we are sharing food with our neighbours as a connection and spiritual practice.
鈥淎s followers of Christ, we鈥檙e called to respond to the needs in front of us using what鈥檚 already in our hands. More often than not, this means recognising where God is already active in our communities and choosing to join in, not necessarily lead.鈥�
鈥淪haring time, food, and friendship with those who are isolated, lonely, or simply struggling to get by is a simple but powerful way to live out the abundance of Christ. It echoes the life of Jesus, who took just a few loaves and fish and fed thousands.
鈥淭his kind of abundant living feels countercultural in a world鈥攁nd sometimes in our churches鈥攚here messages of scarcity are constant. But what if we began to see the little, we have not as something to cling to, but as abundance to be shared? Our buildings, our finances, our time, and even our very lives鈥攁ll can become instruments of grace.
鈥淲hen we make space for others, inviting them to contribute their gifts and talents alongside us, something beautiful begins to emerge. We’ve seen this at Lodge Road, and we saw it on a larger scale at Greenbelt this weekend, as people from across the 缅北强奸 came together in a powerful act of servanthood.
鈥淎s we return to our churches across the UK, my prayer is that new ways of joining in with God鈥檚 movement will take root among us鈥攖hat we would notice, nurture, and celebrate them as genuine expressions of the gospel.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud to be part of the diverse, faithful, and hope-filled family that is the United Reformed Church.鈥�
Learn about the 缅北强奸 at Greenbelt.