Sixty primary school age children from Eynsham , Cassington, Hanborough and Yarnton joined with over thirty pensioners, grandparents, parents, students and teenagers for the fourth Eynsham Churches Holiday Club in the first full week of the primary school holidays (July 29-August 2).
It took place in St Leonard’s Church for the first time. (Earlier ones have been in the Primary School and Village Hall). With recently installed moveable chairs the main church was ideal for the assemblies. The theme was “Athens: Paul’s Dangerous Journey to share the truth”. Gazebos with lights were erected in the aisles to be tents where children gathered in six groups.
Games were held on the recently acquired land next to the church which became Athens Arena for Olympic Games, led by the vicar, Duncan Fraser dressed as a gladiator.
Tom, the manager at the Red Lion kindly made their function room available for the story and drama sessions, and their kitchens helped out with ice cream for the children at the final session, and warming pizzas for the team as they cleared up afterwards.
Support was also provided from the Bartholomew Educational Trust and an Eynsham Parish Council Community Grant. The chairman of the parish council, Gordon Beach visited on the Friday morning and saw the various activities and the use of the Bartholomew Room as a “Green Room” for rest and refreshment for the team during the morning.
The Sunday 1045 Service at St Leonard’s was the Final Holiday Club event, with a story and crafts section, a chariot race down the main aisle and the memory verse eliminator feature all part of the service. One regular member of the congregation wrote: “This morning was Jesus-honouring . . . and fun, in the very best sense.” It was followed by a bar-b-que on the newly purchased land next to the church. It ended with pie-facing for a few more leaders, including our vicar!
One family wrote: A massive thank you from our family. You have worked so hard and made every effort to give the kids a great time. It’s the first time Bible verses have stuck."Another parent wrote “My daughter had the most wonderful week at holiday club”. And another: "Blank is loving it. The pie-face is a genius idea. I appreciate the care taken over checking allergies for snacks." To explain - the team who won the most points during the day got to choose leaders in whose faces they could push a plate of cream. On the last full day, the chosen leaders were doused with water.
Songs from the Holiday Club can be found on the St Leonard’s Church website here. http://stleonardseynsham.org.uk/holiday-club/
One parent reported that her daughter insisted on playing them on returning home each lunchtime.