Sunday Morning Worship at Christ Church is never the same two weeks running and Activity Week is no exception. Our Sunday All Age Worship included refreshments throughout and the opportunity to centre ourselves on Jesus. Our Bible reading was from Hebrews 11.29 – 12.2 and our preacher was Revd Colin Resch. The service was led by Alison White and the prayers by Kat Jenkins. A team effort on the last day of our Summer 25 week of activities.

On Saturday afternoon, we opened the gates to our Muddy Church and welcomed regulars and newbies into the orchard for a ‘bug-themed’ afternoon of fun and worship. We went hunting for bugs (real and fake), painted bugs, created shadow pictures, played in the dirt, toasted crumpets over the fire and created smores (marshmallows and chocolate biscuits). Drinks were on offer and simply the chance to relax in God’s creation exploring the beauty of the natural world. Thanks Kat for you fantastic organisation and preparation.

Saturday morning came and we opened the doors of Christ Church for our Children’s Cinema. Families gathered to watch the very popular Lilo & Stitch movie. There were snacks and drinks available free of charge and a chance to sit back and relax.

Friday evening brought some poignant sophistication to our week with our Summer Concert at St Peter’s which included some items especially selected to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day. The concert was well attended. The programme included piano music, songs for soloists and duets, poetry recitals and there was even the opportunity for audience participation as everyone joined in with some well known songs from the war-time era. During the interval, cheese and wine was offered and there was the opportunity to donate to two charities: Alex’s Wish and the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. Our thanks go to our performers Michael Lessiter, Susie Lockyer, Mel Rowley, John Strange & Diana Vivian.

What a fun afternoon we had at our Chips & Bingo event. There were plenty of prizes on offer and a bag of chips for everyone who came. There was even a Bingo game done in German (or a fair attempt at it) as well as a round based around the buses of Birmingham – you had to be there! As each line prize and full-house prize was claimed, another one was also selected to go into our final round hamper prize. Many people were present and here’s just a few photos of the event.

It’s Friday morning and time for our regular weekly Coffee Morning slot. This week we opened it up with plenty of board games to play. Families gathered alongside our regular attendees and joined in with the games on offer. As usual, there was plenty of cake, tea and coffee on offer with opportunity for conversation and fun.

Thursday evening came around and we opened up our Youth Mocktail Bar. There was a whole range of ingredients for the young people to build their own mocktails – either following a set recipe or imaginatively creating their own mixes. There was plenty of food on offer and fruit/marshmallows to dip into the chocolate fountain. At the end of the night everyone went home happy and full of sugar (good luck parents).

The weather remained great for Thursday afternoon’s afternoon tea in the peace and quiet of St Peter’s Churchyard. Guests were treated to a generous selection of finger sandwiches, cakes and a freshly baked scone with cream and jam. Like all of our events this week, the afternoon tea was offered free of charge but donations were received in aid of Alex’s Wish – a local charity working to eradicate Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Thursday morning, and we welcomed our youngest members back for two sessions of Under 5’s Soft Play. A huge inflatable obstacle course was accompanied by an equally large inflatable play den with ball pit. This was a great space for the children to play while parents and carers joined in or sat and chatted.

On Wednesday, the seaside came to town as the Churchyard at Christ Church was transformed by giant inflatable Slides, paddling pools, sand-pits, ice-cream van, fish & chip van, mini golf, craft activities and lots more.

Over two hundred people came and enjoyed the fun. The sun shone down upon us. Nick, our first-aider was relived that he didn’t have too much to do.