In recent weeks, we’ve been surrounded by stories of Olympic heroes, all vying to be crowned champions of their chosen sport. At the same time in Caversham, I was surrounded by a different type of hero – the red t-shirted volunteers from Churches Together in Caversham (CTC). That could only mean one thing… it was time for this year’s Olympic-themed CTC HOLIDAY CLUB!
With songs written and produced by local teenager, Joel Wilson, around 160 children, 25 teenagers and 50 adult volunteers joined together at St Anne’s Primary School to celebrate Jesus as the one true champion. Over the course of the week, we considered how true athletes have direction, dedication, determination and must avoid distraction to eventually be awarded decoration as they climb the podium to receive their prize.
With each of these “d” words we explored a story from the Bible that helped us see how the Christian life is like a race in which we have to avoid distraction and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, whilst also showing dedication and determination as we look forward to receive the ultimate prize – the gift of eternal life. Unlike at the Olympics, the good news is that this prize is not just for the people on the podium, but for EVERYONE who believes and trusts in Jesus! As Paul writes to Timothy in the Bible: “He [God] will give that crown not only to me but to all those who have waited with love for him to come again” (1 Timothy 4: 8). What amazing news we have to share!
And it’s the belief in this amazing news that motivated the volunteers from churches across Caversham to come together and give of their time and energy (a lot of it!) to run this club. We may not know the impact that we’ve had on someone’s life in this lifetime, but we serve knowing that our faithful God will water the seeds we plant.
To all the red t-shirted heroes from Churches Together in Caversham – THANK YOU! Thanks must also go to the sports providers who enabled us to run afternoon activities including archery, fencing, tennis, hockey and dancing; to the anonymous Caversham Bridge reader who donated funds allowing us to purchase a laser tag set which was immensely popular with the children at holiday club; and to Tamsyn and Richard Wilson for their superb leadership of the club.
Until 2025…!
