An hour-long ''pancake party'' is being held on Tuesday from 5.30pm to celebrate Shrove Tuesday. While they have been held by the church in the past they were limited to the congregation, but this year the party is being opened up to anyone who wants to attend.
St Luke's vicar, the Rev Tim Hurd, said English-speaking communities marked the beginning of Lent (the weeks before Easter) by using up their eggs and fat by holding a party.
The event is called Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) in some parts of the world, but ''perhaps the British were a bit more reserved, and in place of feathers and dancing settled on the idea of pancakes''.
Pancakes with all the trimmings will be on offer at the party, which is a free event and will be held in the church hall'' As well as pancakes aplenty, there'll be crafts for children, a story time and that most quirky of English pastimes, racing with pancakes.
''It's not quite the Winter Olympics, but there's a healthy spirit of competition, and a gold medal or two to be won,'' he said.
''Above all, it will be a fun time for all.''
Shrove Tuesday was a enjoyable way of marking the onset of autumn, and a chance to share food and time together in a way people of any or no faith could relate to.
It was ''a chance to kick up your heels, before the more subdued season, and weather, of Lent,'' Mr Hurd said, adding it was hoped it would become an annual event.
