Hope Cafe February 2011
Hope Cafe usually takes place on the third Sunday of the month but this month we had to move to the fourth Sunday because we did not want to clash with the fantastic New Christian Music Weekend.
This month Costa Coffee, Leighton Buzzard was full to the brim again. Our theme this time was ‘Justice and Fairtrade’. We invited an enthusiastic supported of Fairtrade to speak for a few minutes about why Fairtrade was important and making a difference to real peoples lives around the world. Feedback from the tables was that most people seemed to think that Fairtrade was a good thing and deserved the support of shoppers. Some were sceptical at the development aid provided by governments because of the corruption and bureaucracy which can mean very little money actually gets through to those who need it. On the other hand supporting Fairtrade means that money gets to the right people and avoids going through government agencies or big charities. A few extra pence on coffee, bananas, chocolate etc is a small price to pay for helping a family stay out of poverty. Live music this month was from one of our celebrated local musicians, Paul Ewers. Paul plays saxophone and his music is easy listening, idea for a cafe style environment. Everyone seemed to enjoy the event, especially the table who won the quiz!
There was also a short talk on justice and how everyone has an inbuilt sense of justice from when a small child, something that is God-like in them. Every child almost as soon as it can speak and play with other children will say, ‘its not fair’ when something happens that is not to their benefit. As Christians we believe in a God that the Bible describes as being righteous and with a sense of justice that is as “high as a mountain” and as “deep as the ocean”. Colin suggested that those who criticise God and say he is unjust do not know or understand him. Just because something happens that we think is not right does not necessarily disprove the goodness of God. Perhaps other forces are at work, in the human heart or in the external environment.
