Often seen in the hands of students, locals, and commuters in Nottingham is a cup of coffee. There is a kind of forward-moving element to coffee, helping drinkers through the various endeavours of their days. 

As such, students including myself from the local church, Holy Trinity in Lenton, have been taking out a coffee cart most weeks into Lenton to give out free coffee. We aim to exist as a hopeful presence that people can engage with on their way to lectures, work, a walk, or even things like hospital appointments. 

It has proven to have such an impact on both those receiving and giving out the coffee; far more than we ever imagined as a church. The idea began when Daniel Bocchetti, 33, originally from Naples, Italy, and the curate at Holy Trinity felt it would be good, as he says, "...to have an outreach community activity to bless the student community; to let them know that we as a church are here for them; that there is someone in the community that is thinking of them - because church isn’t somewhere that you would just walk into."

Daniel clearly states the importance of church visibility in Lenton, and, to emphasise the church’s warm reception of local students, it soon became clear that students should be the ones running the coffee cart. “I wanted students to see the fruits of it [the coffee cart] themselves,’ says Daniel. ‘Doing it is a different story than hearing it.”

Sam Ross-Russell, 21, a fourth-year veterinary medicine student, was one of the students at Holy Trinity to become involved, and he says that doing so "...has changed, just in general, my view of who is in Lenton; the elderly; the lady with the dog; homeless people.” He adds that “Church can seem so generational,” and that “this God that claims to be real is actually for you - not some God that has written you off.” Church activities like this strive to live out the belief that we do not limit joy to just ourselves, but spread it to the wider community. I have discovered in running the cart that doing something as simple as giving out a coffee can really contribute something poignant to the spirit of the community. It shows the wider community that actually, as Sam’s expresses, “...we are a deeply kind and generous generation”.

Scarlett Reeve, 19, originally from Sheffield and a nursing student, who visited the coffee cart comments that “It was really helpful to just have a chat with a stranger and just that small interaction helped a lot… it creates an open space where people can stay and chat or simply get a pick-me-up throughout their day; it can make the biggest difference.”

And through getting to know Scarlett, I realised that her story reveals the importance of faithfulness, dedication and commitment. Without us returning to the same spot just outside Jubilee Campus every week, we simply would not have got to know Scarlett; and this is not meant in the sense that we have done an exceptional thing. Her feelings just show that the simplicity in having a genuine chat with someone can go a long way. Faithfulness is, also, not necessarily a word people use to describe students; resident resentment towards students in their living areas is not uncommon, and for valid reasons. This gives us even more reason to want to change this rhetoric.

The coffee cart helps locals to see that students do indeed care for the wider community, beyond boozing. We are faithful. And I believe that it not only shows our community that there are people who care for others outside of their immediate circles, but that the church is driving them in this endeavour for our community. The possibility for positive movement that churches bring is essential, with a hope and joy that feels a little more long-lasting.

Beyond the Campus, students are striving for the greater good of our community stretching further than their own concerns and endeavours. The coffee cart is a microcosm of the hope that we are indeed a loving age group, and we have not forgotten about the community in which we study.