Students in Newcastle were well fed, both spiritually and physically, after St Thomas’ Church launched a welcome feast during Freshers Week.
St Thomas’, with its advantageous location between both Newcastle and Northumbria universities, greeted thousands of freshers last week as they arrived in the city for the first time.
Armed with a pallet reading ‘Welcome Students. Free Pizza’, and a desire to share the word of God, the team at St Thomas’ was able to share 2,420 slices of pizza in four days.
The team, which comprises of people from all age ranges, piqued the interest of local students by engaging them with conversation, showing they care and asking them questions about their last two years.
St Thomas’ student minister James said: “It goes without saying that everyone was grateful for a free slice of pizza and the opportunity to meet new people in-person, especially after the year we have just had. Loads of people were surprised this kind of thing was being done by a local church, assuming it was connected to the university in some way. The team did a fantastic job inviting people to #TryChurch - especially if they haven’t been before.
“In generously sharing food together we’re hoping to communicate God’s heart to all of us. We’re hoping to communicate something so important - that you are loved, that you are welcome and that there is a seat at the table here for you.
“We’re praying that each slice of pizza communicates the gospel in some way to students hungry for more from their time in Newcastle.”
The event appeared to be a success, as their Sunday service - located at St Hildas in Jesmond, while St Thomas’ is being renovated - welcomed 150 people, some previous church family, others new students.
“We ate more pizza together after the service as a way of encouraging people to stick around for a while and to provide a space for conversations and building friendships”, James added. “We loved it, and are doing the same thing again for the next two weeks.”
St Thomas' anticipates the reopening of its building in early 2022.
To learn more about services at St Thomas’, visit their website or follow them on Instagram.
More images of the event are available below:
