St Thomas’s offers free lunches for students

Monday November 10th 2008

Canon Walter Lewis, rector of St Thomas's. St Thomas’s Parish Church, Belfast, is offering free student lunches with a musical flavour every Friday.

The church, at the junction of Eglantine Avenue and Lisburn Road, launched the free student lunches programme on Friday November 7, and will now. open its doors each Friday from 11am to 2pm to students from Queen’s University and the University of Ulster.

Students are invited to enjoy free coffee, soup and sandwiches and relax to live acoustic music in the beautiful surroundings of the newly refurbished church.

Music will be provided each week on an ‘open mic’ basis and all those attending are invited bring instruments and play or sing. To get things off to a good start, the music on the opening Friday was provided by ‘Albrecht’s Pencil’ – a Belfast duo who write and perform their own music on guitar and a host of other ‘exotic’ instruments.

Rector of St Thomas’s, the Rev Canon Walter Lewis said: “At St Thomas’s we warmly welcome students from all backgrounds and churches. Wherever they come from, their contribution is valued and we believe that all students are an important part of our church life and identity.

“The idea behind these free student lunches is to provide those at QUB, UUB, UUJ and other students, particularly those studying away from home, with an opportunity to meet together, relax and enjoy the good food and good music on offer.”

Canon Lewis continued: “I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all students to St Thomas’s for our student lunches.”

Commenting on the initiative, one student said: “I will definitely be attending the lunches. As a broke student, I would never pass up the opportunity of free food and it will make a change from my usual diet of Pot Noodle and Chinese takeaway! There isn’t really anywhere else in Belfast that offers free lunches as well as open mic, so it is great to see this at St Thomas’s, which is basically right on my doorstep.”