Jesus said that Christians should be like a city on a hill and should be seen by all around. One of the churches that I am vicar of – St Michael’s and All Angels (Newburn) – is on a hill but can’t be seen from any distance, because of buildings and trees between the church and the road. This was highlighted to me when a couple who live in the parish told me that they were getting married elsewhere: because they hadn’t realised that there was a church close to them.
So we decided that it was important to hold an event that would let the community know where the church was and that we are great group of people. We opted for an open fun day with a focus on families, on the day when we would normally hold Messy Church and was the day after the Olympics started.
Extensive planning, publicising and church cleaning took place in preparation for the day, but the rain came teaming down all morning. Thankfully, it didn’t put people off and the church was packed. We were joined by two VIP’s Bishop Helen-Ann and our new Labour MP Joe Morris. Tours of the bell tower were sold out, the choir sang and Bishop Helen-Ann spoke about being part of a team. She rang the mini bells and sang in the choir as well as having conversations with many of the people there. The children took part in crafts and games, refreshments were served and even our dog Bailey was part of the entertainment, happily soaking up all the attention the children gave him.
The climax to the afternoon was a teddy bear parachute competition. Every child was given a knitted teddy that was knitted by people from the Parish but mainly one person - Sandra Hope. Bishop Helen-Ann loved the special teddy knitted in her image. Everyone was invited to make a parachute for their teddy and they were dropped from the top of the bell tower, with the aim being for it to take as long as possible for it to reach the ground. Isaac McClurg was a worthy winner of the competition, with a brilliantly designed parachute which caused his teddy to sway from side to side as it slowly made its way from the top of the tower. Bishop Helen-Ann and I were a long way down the field.
So a good time was had by all. We would, of course, like people to join us every week as part of a worshipping community. But at least they now know where we are, which is a big step in the right direction. We are already planning to open the church over the Heritage Weekend where people can go up the tower and enjoy some nice coffee and cake.
Written by the Revd Allison Harding, Newburn Parish