Gardening and an interfaith lunch in a historic church kicks off the build up to Mitzvah Day

Kicking off a month of social action culminating with Mitzvah Day next month, members of Britain’s oldest synagogue, Bevis Marks, prepared a special kosher meal served on the site of one of England’s most historic churches.

Last Sunday’s lunch is believed to mark the first time a kosher meal has been served at the new Aldgate Centre, which is connected to St Botolph’s, an East End church that dates back to the 12th century but was completely rebuilt in the 1740s. The historic meal – which comprised a vegan cholent and a vegetarian kugel – was prepared for service users of the Shoreditch Trust, which supports communities facing health, social and economic inequalities. The classic kosher dishes served won rave reviews from diners, almost all of whom were sampling the dishes for the first time.

@ Yakir Zur Photography[Missing Credit]

Service users sat and chatted with some of the city’s most senior political and faith leaders, including Rachel Blake MP, Councillor Philip Kelvin, Rabbi Shalom Morris, Rabbi Dr Michael Hilton, Reverend Laura Jørgensen, Reverend Josh Harris and Pandit Arun Shastri Ji. Councillor Phillip Kelvin, who is also a Bevis Marks member, said the day was an example of food bringing different people together and allowing “us to celebrate all our different cultures, whether it’s getting a bagel in Brick Lane or going two doors down and having a curry”.

The event was led by Bevis Marks Synagogue Chair Michael Green and S&P Executive Director Rebecca Doctors, along with volunteers Shaym, Dorothy and Ineza. Doctors spoke of its importance “for the Jewish community to show how we contribute to our local society. Events like this Mitzvah Day lunch give us the opportunity to come together with people from all faiths and backgrounds to volunteer, side by side, and build cohesion, collaboration and community spirit.”