Church call to be centre of Queen's Big Lunch
Queen's Jubilee celebration is an unmissable opportunity for building community.
Churches across the country should get geared up to be at the hub of
community celebrations ahead of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations next
year.
That's the rallying call from HOPE and the Evangelical
Alliance, following Buckingham Palace's announcement that the Big Lunch
would be part of the official royal programme for the four-day national
holiday. The aim to see more than a million people celebrate together
on their streets has caused HOPE and the Evangelical Alliance to
encourage churches to prepare for the party. 
"The
scale of the recent Royal Wedding celebrations all over the country
proved that the public love street parties," said Steve Clifford, Chair
of HOPE and General Director of the Evangelical Alliance. "Communities
really come together over a national celebration like this. In many
places people were getting to know neighbours they had never spoken to
before and creating a shared local spirit. Christians can be at the
heart of all this."
To help build a bigger sense of
community, churches, small groups and individuals can get involved with
street parties and lunches on their own streets, wherever they live in
the UK..
Roy Crowne, HOPE's Executive Director, said: "This is a calendar mo
ment
and an unmissable opportunity to make connections in your area, to be
part of building up your community and to use opportunities for
outreach through our words and actions. This could be just the start of
2012 community engagement with the Olympic celebrations following on.
As followers of Jesus we should be in the business of
community-building and sharing our hope with others."
As
churches are one of the few institutions that are in nearly every
single town, village and city it is hoped that members of every
denomination will use creative ways to get involved or possibly offer
their catering facilities.
The Big Lunch has taken place on
the first Sunday in June for the past three years. Organised by the
Eden Project, a conservation charity, the 2012 event will see this join
in with something much larger as the public gather their community
together to commemorate the royal occasion.
HOPE and the
Evangelical Alliance will provide practical advice and inspiration to
encourage church involvement over the coming months.
Source: Hope
