There have been celebrations at St Peter's Church, Williton, as Café Church marked its second birthday. This milestone reflects the passion and commitment shared by those who come along each month. It has become a space where faith is shared in simple, but powerful, everyday ways. This reflection, written by a member of the St Peter's church family, explains what Café Church means to their community and why gathering in this way is important to all who come along.
St Peter’s Café Church is 2!
There is a buzz of conversation around our tables. Fuelled by porridge and croissants, sipping our coffee, we chat to our neighbours – some are already friends, some we don’t know well, and some can’t chat back to us but respond in other ways. Soon we will sing and pray, listen to a Bible reading and a talk, explore our faith and our lives with one another. And we will have the craft task to do. Today we are making origami doves, a task at which few of us excel and which results in the kind of laughter not often heard in a church service.
As our monthly Café Church service enters its third year, we reflect on what it had added to our church and local community. “It has helped me get to know people in a less formal setting,” says someone. “All ages can genuinely worship together,” says another. Someone comments on the people from our local care homes, some severely disabled, who give us so much as well as enjoying an outing with lovely food. Another likes the spontaneity and informality, and that there are families worshipping together. There is no doubt that Café Church will continue to be a blessing to all of us.
BUT – we can’t all see one another, because our tables are crammed into a small area of the church. Much of the church is off limits because the dry rot makes the floor unsafe. We urgently need to fix things. First the roof, because its leaking is feeding the rot. Then the interior, a new floor, new flexible seating, potentially a new kitchen and toilets, spaces for different uses, a refurbishment that will enable the building to be used by the community throughout the week as well as on Sundays. Café Church can lead to other things.
It is a way into church for families whom we know through projects such as Campfire Church and Little Saints. An Alpha course will also, we hope, encourage more people to worship with us. Congregations are already growing, as we are becoming ever more integrated into the Williton community. We need the whole church building, in good shape. Raising the money we need is a daunting prospect, especially as we are a Magnificat parish, but we are determined to get there.