When TCC developed the Belonging in Our Community campaign, one of the successful proposals that helped shape it came from our member group, St Mary’s Cathedral.

St Mary’s brings a particularly diverse community together. Its congregation includes strong links with Wrexham Africa Community C.I.C., Wrexham Filipino Society and Wrexham’s Indian community, alongside people from many other backgrounds.

That diversity is not simply something to recognise. For St Mary’s, it is something to celebrate and share.

The simple power of food

A significant part of St Mary’s approach to bringing people together is through food.

Food crosses boundaries remarkably easily. It provides a reason to stop, talk and share something with another person. It allows people to introduce others to their culture without needing a formal presentation or explanation.

That was reflected at Wrecsam Ffair.

Among the photographs from the day are members of the Filipino community together, one of the African Sisters and a particularly simple but meaningful moment – a woman offering food freely to anyone who wanted to share it.

It might seem like a small thing.

But it captures something important about belonging.

Creating opportunities to come together

The Belonging in Our Community campaign is about more than talking about diversity. It is about creating opportunities for people from different backgrounds to actually meet, spend time together and discover what they share.

St Mary’s contribution to Wrecsam Ffair demonstrated that beautifully.

There was no need for everyone to have the same background, culture or traditions. People could simply come together, enjoy food, talk and take part in the wider community.

That is one of the reasons Wrecsam Ffair worked so well as part of the campaign. Across three days, people were invited to participate in music, creativity, food, workshops, performances and activities alongside people they might not otherwise have met.