We are about invitation
an invitation to people living on the margins of our communities
an invitation for them to come and share food
and when we do this together
we challenge our prejudices
we break down the barriers between us
and we have a taste of a better life
a New World
where everyone is welcome
where everyone is empowered
where everyone can flourish
a New World where justice reigns
so please accept your invitation to help us
Vision
Street Banquet is rooted in Jesus’ Parable of the Great Feast as recorded in Luke 14:15-24. Here is a vision of a table where the most marginalised and disempowered people are invited and welcomed as honoured guests. The parable challenges social norms, breaks down barriers and turns conventional roles upside-down. Street Banquet is a place where hosts become guests and guests become hosts – a sign of the New World of God.
Values
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As in the parable of the Great Feast, this is a place of welcome for people who are marginalised and disempowered in our society.
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As a marker of transformation, the Street Banquet (the popular name for Street Ecclesial Community) will always advocate, campaign, and serve in order to bring about enduring stability for those in the local Street Community.
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Bringing together physical and social well-being with spiritual and emotional well-being, because we believe that we cannot be partly whole as human beings
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Underpinned by a fundamental belief that all are made in God’s image, as guests become hosts, and begin to move towards holistic flourishing, people will begin to sense the call of God to a life of discipleship and leadership within the wider Christian family.
How?
The access points into the Street Community and the homelessness sector:
Banquets – regular, 2-3 course meals will attract both members of the Street Community and offer opportunities for those who feel a sense of calling to volunteer and serve.
Chaplaincy – a detached ministry forming one-to-one relationships, hearing stories, offering support and prayer, building trust and signposting.
Next steps towards forming a Street Ecclesial Community:
Invitation to get more involved in the Banquets – “guests becoming hosts”.
Invitation to “Table Fellowship” with informal conversation, prayer and beginning to introduce contextual Bible study.
The model of an evolving, contextual worshipping community is based on the Fresh Expressions “loving-first cycle” process:
Listen – Identifying needs within the Birmingham Street Community – stability, food, dignity, and respect.
Love – the Banquets
Community – Table Fellowship emerges from the Banquets
Share Jesus – Invitation to participate in Christian community
Church – Form contextual, street ecclesial community
Repeat – Think about the next opportunities
