One of my favourite experiences as a student was when my house mates and I decided to cook Christmas dinner together.

Each of us was responsible for a different element of the meal. It was a manic cooking experience as we overloaded the oven and prayed that everything would be edible at the end!

So much of our student lives are spent with others. We live with friends for the first time; we host parties; we arrange to catch up over coffee. The people we spend our time with act as our family and are special to us. They’re our community.

It’s a blessing and a privilege to live in community. It’s biblical:

“Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them...” Acts 4: 32- 34.

We live in a world that’s obsessed with the self. What do I have? What do I need? What can I do? Yet the early Church flourished when they shared everything together. The result was equality and no person was in need. What a beautiful picture.

The early church was a true collective; united by their shared faith and passion. As Christian Aid Collective, we’ve been inspired by their example and have been challenged to think about what community means today. Because we can’t end poverty on our own, and because we have to do it together, we’re realising that our community is really important. What would it look like if we joined with our friends to start thinking about injustice? What if we started to think about these issues seriously?

Our world is one large community; we’ve never been more interconnected. Our clothes are made in different countries; our food is grown across continents. So often, we forget to appreciate that. We live in a culture that believes manners are important, but how do we say thank you to those people across the globe who provide for us?

Perhaps we need to start thinking about our global community and recognising that the world is unequal. How come 1.4 billion people today still live in extreme poverty? We don’t believe it has to be this way; not on our watch. So…

…we’re hosting dinner all around the country to start thinking about some of these issues. We’d love you to come and join us, or to host your own with your community. Just as my friends and I united over Christmas dinner, we can come together to share food and thoughts. To start thinking about how we can end poverty. It’s ambitious, but it’s necessary. The food’s not important; it’s the people you share it with.

Are you in?

 Jo is interning for our friends @TheCAcollective. You can follow her on twitter here; @Joanna_Cal