London Marathon report from St Anne’s Church, Limehouse

On marathon day, we opened up the crypt for “tea, toilets and timeout” for marathon spectators. About a hundred people came through the doors in a three hour period – mainly to use the loos, and we were able to give out invitation cards to Easter services and copies of a tract by “A Passion for Life”. The strengths of the event were that it gave congregation members opportunities to be involved in first contact evangelism (giving out tracts, engaging people in conversation, being prepared to stay around for lunch and create a “buzz” about the crypt) and what we were offering (particularly toilets) genuinely served the marathon spectators. The main weakness of the event was that the majority of people coming into the church were not local (although some were) and opportunities for gospel conversations were fairly limited. I think it would be worth doing a similar event next year.

Andy Jelfs, Parish Worker

St Anne’s Church, Limehouse, London