I experienced a lovely coming together this Easter Sunday.
St Paul’s Church held Easter Services at 6am, 8am and 9.30am, and our excellent social committee served a hot breakfast for people as they came and went from church.
The Parish Room was full of noise and life and conversation, people of all ages sat together eating and rejoicing.
It was a very happy morning.
Then, in the evening, I was invited by the Wokingham Muslim Society to come to their Ramadan Iftar, also held in the Parish Rooms at St Paul’s.
It was brilliant to be there, along with two local politicians as we met people from all over the area and feasted on dishes from Algeria, Turkey, Kurdistan, Pakistan, Syria and all over the world- each family brought a dish from their homeland which made for a rich feast. (I skipped the pizza because that felt a bit comfy).
It felt very special to be in the same room on the same day feasting with friends from two different faiths, who share such a strong commitment to serving the community and ensuring that everyone feels heard and valued, whether they have a faith or not.
It seems obvious and yet important to say that we need to know our neighbours so we can be neighbours.
Food is a great way of getting together so that we can get to know each other, and ask questions, and find out how very much we share, that we all long for the same sort of community and world.
Father Richard Lamey is the rector of St Paul’s Church in Wokingham, writing on behalf of Churches Together in Wokingham
