Church Life on show at Thorney Together
“Church Life” was creatively put on show recently at Thorney Together, a Network Peterborough supported event that took place at Bedford Hall, Thorney on Saturday 17th September. This was a cross congregational meeting organised by and involving the three churches in the village,
Thorney Abbey, the Methodist Chapel and
Fenlands Family Church.
The Churches, who have worked together in the past on smaller and informal events, were keen to demonstrate what they are really about and avoid any preconceived notions the local community may have about what they offer.
Each church displayed information that showed what they do, along with details of their mission and the community involvement and support they provide, as well as when they meet. There were also delicious cake stalls and handmade crafts. Refreshments were given free of charge and available throughout the event.
The day also included plenty of children’s activities that included face painting, a bouncy castle, helium balloons and a children’s story time.
On stage were examples of different styles of Christian music, ranging from rock to something softer, along with a humorous and witty drama about “church life”.
Paula Thacker MBE, the Mayor of Peterborough and Councilor Ray Dobbs came and gave their support to this community based church initiative with the mayor making a short speech in which she talked about growing up as a local and how keen she was to see successful events like Thorney Together being effective and bringing the village together.
The event ended with worship time involving representatives from all the churches involved, followed by each of the local church leaders giving a short message to those gathered about the churches vision for Thorney village and breaking down the barriers that can sometimes exist.
Thorney Together was a success and there were new people in the crowd as well as opportunity to connect with the new faces with many positive conversations. The organisers were happy with how it went and confident that with a few tweaks 2012’s Thorney Together will be even better, bringing the community closer together.
