On Tuesday 12th June our regular Food for Thought evening had a distincly African theme. We began with an African meal inspired by Sally Annan-Mensah who prepared soups based on her own homeland of Ghana. Following this we were able to enjoy lemon tart and milk tart based on recipes from Zimbabwe. There was also a selection of “exotic” fruit available on each table – melon, kiwi, papaya, dragon fruit, pineapple. As usual guests donated money towards the meal all of which was added to our collection for the Kakrao project in Kenya which we continue to support.

Our speaker for the evening was our own minister, Rev Jennifer who is approaching the end of her time at St John’s and is preparing for retirement. She reflected on her life in ministry and vivdly described many of the situation, events and people who had been influential in developing her faith and her theology. Hers was a ministry based firmly in a world of make-do where life is often experienced in the raw. Yet there can be hope and joy in all that messiness if you don’t worry too much about “the way things ought to be done”!

With a large group gathered for the evening we also took the opportunity to thank Jennifer for her work at St Johns and to present her with a cheque represesenting donations from church members and with a photo-book containing pictures of many of the events she was involved in during her time here.

The photos below show more of the evening – click on a picture to get a full view.