A parish is more than the worship it provides, indeed it is more than the building in which worship takes place: increasingly it is an idea that invites people to lean on it, draw energy and positive vibes from it, depend on it as solid ground in fragmented times. Our time spent with the patrons at Lidgett Community Café brought this home forcefully. As a York based charity we have for 12 years spent time visiting community centres and learning academies working with vulnerable people. We have ran creative activities with young people with disabilities, elderly residents who have experienced solitude, and, recently, refugees from Syria and Ukraine. We are aware of how not only creativity but the context in which creativity takes place can make the difference between engagement with activities and apathy. Luckily for us, as soon as we arrived at Lidgett Community Café in early 2023, the welcome was not only warm but proactive. Eric, Bill, Graham were all genuinely interested in what we could bring to the table
