Food for thought at Fresh Expression

Young people cooking a Safari Supper to raise money for St James's parish link in Ghana.

Kev Ward.

FRESH food is served up at a growing Fresh Expression in rural Buckinghamshire. Young people aged 11 to 17 regularly meet to cook a supper in Hanslope Methodist Chapel.

Katharine Crowsley, from St James, the Anglican church down the road, runs the group.

While she does not come from a culinary background the former secondary school teacher had a passion for working with, and including, young people in the church. "I was aware they don't get so many opportunities to cook at school, especially not a whole meal," says Katharine, who went along to a Fresh Expressions vision Day.

She was inspired by Barbara Glasson, a minister who set up Somewhere Else, a breadmaking Fresh Expression in Inner City Liverpool. "I love the idea of cooking with people as Jesus shared food with his disciples. ""We are in a rural area.

I love the idea of cooking with people as Jesus shared food with his disciples," says Katharine, who went on to set up Cook@Chapel in Hanslope, near Milton Keynes. Katharine wanted to do something that would appeal to young people who may not have a church background.

"For the first couple of years young people would come for a bit, like a youth club, but now it's much more of a community.

It's really grown in the last couple of years. "The highlight of the evening for Katharine is seeing young people developing their faith and the opportunity for them to ask questions, discuss and becomes a Christian community.

"At the end of the day when I come home after a tiring evening and hear that they have passed Christian stories on.

Some young people who were not from a church background had been telling younger nephews and nieces stories from the Bible, you know the message is getting through. "The nights start at 5pm, when the leaders meet to set the room up.

The young people arrive from 5. 30pm and start preparing the food, chopping the veg and baking the puddings.

While dinner is cooking the group sits in a circle for prayer time possibly watching a DVD.

"We have a mixing bowl and write prayers on pieces of paper, place them in the bowl and stir them with a wooden spoon. " Prayers might be linked to exams, family needs, illnesses or events in the world, and more recently, the floods that have engulfed the UK. From the prayers the group say grace and move into mealtime.

"There's another Christian element, that's an informal Messy Church, a craft, art and prayer activity.

I link that to the Lectionary. "The night finishes at about 8. 15pm, with washing up, which is an important part of the young people becoming a community together. "Cooking is not my strong point but I have been really blessed with a lot of leaders who are really good cooks. "And some of the young people are also good cooks.

"Some are really interested in food and some just come with friends because it's social. " Cook@chapel is aimed at 11 to 18-year-olds, but as the current group gets older, Katharine is looking at something evolving into a group for young adults.

I have tried to encourage them to take more ownership of it as they have become more mature.

It's got to be sustainable.

There are new people joining and we hope the older ones will take it forward.

They are starting to think about what they want to do. "As an offshoot, an allotment has been started, which has helped to forge community links with the grandfather of one of the children who attends Cook@Chapel getting involved.

"People from around the village have offered their expertise and the volunteers are linking up with Cook@Chapel.

One lady who is a really keen gardener has come onto the management group," said Katharine. To watch a film about Cook@chapel go to www. freshexpressions. org. uk/stories/cookatchapel/feb14 or email kathcrowsley@aol. com.

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