For many churches, holiday clubs of various types and sizes are a much loved annual tradition.
At St Catherine's Church Tilehurst, this year's holiday club was the 33rd organised by the church. Despite having around 100 people on its electoral roll, the church welcomed 42 children and 30 volunteers. The highest attendance since before the pandemic.
Using Scripture Union's Deep Sea Divers resources as a starting point, the team created its own scripts and activities, combining learning about the ocean and marine life with stories from the life of Jesus, including his baptism, walking on water, death and resurrection. See a slideshow video of the club on the church's YouTube channel.
“We punch above our weight when it comes to our children’s ministry,” said Carol Atkins, Curate. “It was so much fun. The children learnt lots about the sea and different fish that are in the ocean as well as about Jesus.”
The children also learnt Ephesians 3:17–18 together, with many able to recite the verse from memory by the third day. The week ended with a special holiday club service, where children and parents joined the wider congregation to celebrate and share what they had experienced.
The success of the week depended on a team of volunteers, including Emma, who leads the holiday club each year, working alongside the parish safeguarding officer and others who support the planning, governance and safer recruitment.
Please pray for the children, families, churches and volunteers involved in holiday clubs across the diocese, and for the relationships and seeds of faith that will continue to grow as children settle back in school.