FEAST (Friends Exploring And Sharing Together)
Many areas within our district are undergoing new housing developments. In the Nene Valley Circuit, the major town of Wellingborough has two large estates (Stanton Cross and Glenvale Park) undergoing significant mixed-use development and these will grow the town by a third. As part of the re-invitation process of Revd Kim Shorley, conversations began to take place within the circuit about the possibility of the relocation of a ministerial presence (as the Manse – which was being rented out is located less than half a mile from the second development and 3 miles from the first).
Their prayerful discernment took seriously the need for Revd Kim to be with established people and places and yet acknowledged her need to renew her pioneering spirit to explore how theological issues and interests’ surface in our culture today, and how arts and culture speak into theology and evangelism.
In Feb 2020, together with Revd Jill Marsh, members from Cliff College and other speakers the circuit held the third district ReImagine conference named ‘Everyone an Evangelist’ and whilst Covid 19 interrupted many activities the time was spent by her engaging with the varying Connexional resources, with the aim to see how new ways of being church might be supported and nurtured through being intentional with the ways in which those who already identify as people of faith invite, and are invited, to form relational groups. As a member of the District Executive Revd Kim was supported and encouraged to explore this vision which sought to reengage with/reimagine one of the foundational markers of our Methodist DNA – that of the small group meeting.
Alongside this, members of the Mission Team at Wellingborough Methodist Church were encouraged by Revd Kim to explore ways to engage with their local community and like many around the district they began to look at how they might use the building, in this case the church fence to display art work, the Christmas and Easter stories with items to take away as a sign of blessing. This led to the church exploring a partnership with Made with Many, which resulted in a pilot scheme of ‘NN8 writers’ (a wellbeing writers group) meeting and a number of church members attended the group as it firstly gathered on Zoom and then onto the premises.
In October 2021 the church hosted a Creative Arts Weekend during which feedback was sought from those who were exhibiting and attending around which creative art might be used to launch a small pilot group – and two possible starting points were identified – Art and Films and NPNP exploratory funding was obtained to allow pilots to be launched using the Castle Theatre as a base for FEAST groups to meet.
FEAST’s vision is that through its core values people will be invited to build intentional relationships in which they can each discover the presence of God in and through the things they do alongside sharing an interest in art, books, films and TV, climate issues, etc. This invitation would become the catalyst to encourage them to explore faith as it is lived out in the realities of everyday sights, sounds, and social spaces that we all spend our time in.
FEAST facilitators will be encouraged to use the shared interest as a deliberate tool for faith sharing, prayer and, most importantly, loving support of its members with the expectation that over time and through a relationship with each other and the local context each person will begin to reflect around questions about how we treat and see creation, how justice can be pursued in what we buy, and how we see and speak to one another, all concluding in each person’s own discovery of how we might, in the many places that we each inhabit, live out our love of Christ with others to see God’s blessings on and for the transformation of the world.
If you want to find out more or make contact you can email info@feastnetwork.org.uk.