Tom MacDonald, Lead Pastor from Connect Church in Scunthorpe, delivered a series of four Film and Feast events in spring 2025 - each using storytelling, shared meals, and cinema to connect local people across divides.

Two of the events were designed for families, while the remaining two were aimed at adults and featured guest speakers whose personal stories linked directly to the films’ themes. Each event was held in the church building, which deliberately served as a neutral, welcoming venue to encourage inclusivity between faith and non-faith communities.

The goal? To bring people together around the universal human experiences of identity, culture, and belonging - and to challenge perceptions of what a church can be.

Project Highlight:  Multi-Faith Film and Feast

The most impactful of the four sessions was the multi-faith Film and Feast event, which centred around The Hundred-Foot Journey, a film rich in cultural themes and centred on integration and identity.

A guest speaker from a minority background shared her experiences growing up feeling different and excluded, and offered powerful reflections on unity without uniformity. The event featured Indian food, chosen to echo the cultural backdrop of the film, and proved a springboard for deep, unexpected conversations between attendees from a wide mix of backgrounds.

For Tom and his team, this was the event where the cross-cultural interaction was most noticeable. Audience groups they hadn’t anticipated joined the discussion, and “lightbulb moments” were sparked as people saw issues through different eyes, many for the first time.

The Film and Feast format worked. It demonstrated the power of food and film in creating safe, engaging, and meaningful spaces for difficult conversations.

Many attendees reflected that the relaxed, shared format helped open their minds in a way that more formal settings may not have. It made the unfamiliar feel accessible, both in terms of the venue and the people present.

Using the church as the venue also prompted reflection. Attendees commented on the space being open, neutral, and non-judgmental, challenging expectations and reinforcing Tom’s vision for the church as a true community hub.

Above all, the events showed how storytelling and hospitality can break down barriers, build empathy, and reduce stigma.

As successful as the events were, the team at Connect Church also took away some key learnings:

Timing: Running the events during Ramadan unintentionally excluded some community members. Future planning will account for religious calendars to maximise inclusivity.

Promotion: Tom acknowledged that a more proactive and targeted promotional approach could have helped reach even more people across the community.

Scheduling: Hosting the events in close succession limited reach and engagement. Stretching them out across a longer timeframe could improve accessibility and increase impact.

For Tom, the Film and Feast events reflect the heart of his mission: to connect people and create spaces where empathy, not judgment, drives the conversation.

He believes these kinds of projects have real potential when aligned with wider community initiatives, particularly those involved in Community Cohesion efforts. The events are part of a broader ambition to position Connect Church not just as a place of worship, but as a welcoming, open, and relevant community space for all.