The Loaves and Fishes project, run by The Sisters of the Church, is a well known food bank in inner-city Bristol.This example from the forthcoming church/school links brochure -a catalogue of case studies from around the Diocese -shows how a local school engaged with the issue of food poverty and raised awareness.Case study: 'Loaves and Fishes' DVD
This project saw St Agnes share its links to the Sisters of the Church and to the Dioceses DCYP with the primary school it serves. Community activism and interfaith relationships were the themes. St Agnes is a city centre congregation. Around 70% of St Barnabas CE Primarys children are Muslims.
The church played a part in matching its links to both St Barnabas CE VC Primary and The Sisters of the Church who live in the benefice. Katy Staples, the Diocesan Schools Adviser, was asked to facilitate a project for the predominantly Muslim children of the school related to the charitable work of the Sisters as well as the Sisters religious convictions and faith motivation.
Sister Hilda went in to the school, conducting an assembly and then some group work in class time. The children she spent time with were able to make human links with such an overtly Christian person. This helped them to understand Christian charity and to see similarities between their faiths, comparing their hijabs to Sister Hildas veil.
The children then helped the Sisters during the week as they prepared for Loaves and Fishes. This is a weekly food bank which they run on Sundays in the city centre. Around two hundred homeless and destitute people are given a hot drink and some food for the week ahead.
The school project involved making a film about Loaves and Fishes which has been used as resource for RE and social/community education across Bristol. This was funded by the Bristol Archdeaconry Charity.