Catholic Curry!

I went with two friends to a curry evening at the Catholic church in the City centre this evening. The event was in aid of the 'Raise the Roof' appeal which has been going for some time to try and put a new roof on the Church.

It is many years since I have seen such a band of true Christians under one roof. The whole evening was a knock out! The Church hall, adjacent to the Church is a lovely venue, modern, with a welcoming feel to it. When we walked in we were welcomed like old friends although it was only Ms.A that was known to them. There was a youth group playing slightly ethnic music and doing it extremely well, casually dressed, and with smiles that only youth can provide. They made the transition from drum beat to mellow music effortlessly. Everybody was tapping their feet!

There were over eighty people drifting in and out and from all walks of life. The crowd was very cosmopolitan, and some of the ladies were wearing beautiful brightly coloured sari's and children with their hair braided with brightly coloured ribbons. There was a stall of wonderful hand made Christmas cards, a bar (with a permanent licence) and a small area to dance if you so wished.

The authentic Indian food was served after about an hour, made by Indian volunteers who are friends of the Church and it was all wonderful. We queued buffet style for the main course and the Indian dessert was brought to the table when the main course was finished. My friends and I were downing our pints (of lemonade & lime that is) as they had run out of half pint glasses!

As were were sitting next to the hand made card stall we got drawn into conversation with the ladies running it, which was quite interesting to me having done that particular hobby for 11 years. We just felt part of a whole.

There were no speeches, no prayers, no grace before food, the priests were all in 'mufti', you could have been in a pub lounge with an extended family and friends. What an atmosphere! Then the little group (eldest member sixteen) struck up with Abba numbers from the film 'Mama Mia' and we all sang and clapped along with them. Raffle tickets were sold and drawn (didn't win anything) and then all too soon we were planning to leave. What a super evening, an act of Christian fellowship. The evening raised nearly £400.

There are a few Anglican Churches I could think of that would like to have a social evening like that! The camaraderie and Christian love shone through tonight, and somehow, like last Christmas Eve when I went to a Catholic mass, they all seem so happy, friendly and so proud of their faith. It was good to follow Jesus' example and spend some quality time with God.