“A Taste of God’s Kingdom”

On Saturday, 30th June 2007, fifty people gathered together in the centre of Birmingham to recall and, physically, “re-member” Jesus’ parable of the Great Feast (Luke 14:16-24).

The location lay just outside of the city centre’s “ASBO Zone”, allowing members of Birmingham’s Street Community to meet with friends, many of whom came from local churches.

Inspired by the parable, invitations had gone out to the Street Community during the previous week. They were invited to come along to a “Street Banquet”, an event held in their honour.

As food was shared, from the shelter of the “gazebo-tabernacle”, personal stories were offered and received. The streets and lanes, roads and byways are home for most of this congregation.

A young guitarist led the congregation in the singing of many  popular hymns. Beginning with the protest song “The times, they are a-changin’” and concluding with the anthem “You’ll never walk alone”.

The words of Jesus’ parable were given to participants and passers-by, alike, in leaflet form. Then the “Street Banquet” ended with prayer and personal testimony of loss and hope.

A banner hanging from the “gazebo-tabernacle”, which had signalled the presence of the “Street Banquet”, was made from a communion cloth. That very banner was the centre-piece for communion at Carrs Lane United Reformed Church the next morning.

While there is much talk in certain circles of people about “Fresh Expressions of Church”, here is an example of the original Jesus community. Here, people at the margins are given places of honour (Luke 14:8) – a taste of God’s Kingdom.

Rev. Neil W Johnson

Methodist Central Mission, Birmingham