Sowing Seeds of Hope
The past 12 months have been super tough, so The Big Lunch (run by Eden Communities), Churches Together in Cornwall and Transformation Cornwall have been working together to plan how we can bring people safely back together in neighbourhoods, parishes, places and spaces across the Cornwall. Research shows that we all need something to look forward to, and hosting a Big Lunch is one way of doing that for your community.
The Big Lunch is about celebrating community connections and getting to know one another a little better. This year, there are more reasons than ever to get together as The Big Lunch kicks off a summer of community, friendship and fun with a truly moveable feast!
The usual Big Lunch date of the first weekend in June will still be within the period of restrictions on social gatherings, but we’re going ahead “Online, on your doorstep, over the fence” to get us in the mood as we think about planning bigger get-togethers as circumstances permit.
Eden Communities are teaming up with good causes across the UK for summer 2021 with a whole #MonthOfCommunity during June, celebrating Volunteers Week, Neighbourhood Watch Week, Carers Week, Loneliness Awareness Week, Small Charity Week, Refugee Week, and The Great Get Together. Members of your church may like to use any of these opportunities to chat about future plans in a Big Lunch conversation with their neighbours or online friends, and maybe plan a bigger get together later in the year.
Most of all though we’d like to encourage everyone to sow seeds of hope as we start the big rebuild of our lives together. And in the autumn we’ll start planning for a really Big Lunch next year. Look out for our special Big Lunch for Cornish Churches workshop around October and send us your ideas for what, where and how you’d like to celebrate and say thank you to our communities in the months and years to come. Eden Communities have a pack full of useful materials to help you get organised, whether this year or next, including invitations, posters, stickers, ‘how to’ guides and some PG tips to help you brew up ideas. Just register at www.TheBigLunch.com and the team will post one out to you (download also available). Bunting, t-shirts and other materials are also available – please contact Communities@edenproject.com at any time if you would like some posted out.
Do share your plans as they develop – do let us know at ctcmissioner@gmail.com and tag us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:
@edencommunities / #TheBigLunch / #MonthOfCommunity
@churchestogetherincornwall / @transformationcornwall / #ChurchesLoveTheBigLunch