Bringing the community together

At the end of one of Family Fun Afternoons organised by St Peter’s Church, Camerton this summer, a child reflected, “Oh, I wish I could come to your church.” Those words helped inspire a special Community Action Day and Children’s Holiday Club in Camerton this half term, bringing together residents, the church, local organisations and businesses. St Peter’s, Camerton, is part of the multi-parish Benefice of Timsbury with Priston, Camerton, Dunkerton and Englishcombe.

The Community Action Day is a neighbourhood get-together and clean-up, organised by Churchwarden Steve Glazebrook, working together with local Housing Association, Curo. Steve has helped organised skips to use for clearing up rubbish and litter. The team will work together with local residents to tidy shared local spaces and help people clear and tidy their gardens. There will be refreshments available, and lots of time for people to meet and chat. The community litter pick will also have prizes for the children taking part. Steve said, “We’re delighted to be coming together in this way and are grateful for the support we’ve had from local people, businesses and organisations. We’re especially grateful to Travis Perkins, which has an outlet in the village, for giving us lots of hi-vis jackets and protective gloves.”

Teaming up with representatives from Curo, as well as Bath and North East Somerset Council, Steve has also invited local police and local councillors who will take part in the event alongside the team from St Peter’s. Local youth worker Jane van Haaps, who has known many local residents from the Daglands Estate and Cam Brook Close for many years and supported a number of them when they were younger, will also be present. Jane’s connection with the community now spans generations, as many of those she has known over the years have since started families of their own.

The Community Action Day comes after three wonderful (very hot) summer afternoons in the local park where children and families enjoyed crafts, cricket, games and refreshments. Those sessions have also led to plans for a Holiday Club at St Peter’s on the Thursday and Friday of half term.

Revd Lindsay Glazebrook, Curate at St Peter’s, said she is excited to be running the holiday club in half term, “The previous year, we had a fun afternoon in the local park. It was really successful, but it was just the one. This summer, we followed it up with three afternoons, and they just grew in popularity with some people attending every session and others dropping in as they were able. It was great fun for everyone and some of the children took away books of Bible stories to read at home along with their crafts.

“The St Peter’s team provided refreshments and we had a gazebo, which offered very welcome shade. We brought craft materials along, played cricket, had teams getting very enthusiastic about junk modelling and enjoyed other fun activities. Rector, Revd Martin Blewett, brought along his puppet, Burt, who was universally popular. Lots of children came and on the final day all the children enjoyed ice creams as a visit from a local ice cream van was kindly sponsored by a church member. The children really enjoyed the afternoons, and the parents enjoyed it as well. It was about making those contacts, chatting and spending time with each other.”

At the end of the final afternoon, one child said to Lindsay, “Oh, I wish I could come to your church.” Lindsay said, “It made me think, ‘What is there at our church that we can offer these families?’”
This led to the idea for this half term’s Holiday Club giving children two more days to meet, take part in activities and continue the connections started during the summer.

Lindsay believes this is a great place to start. “We wanted to give people hope and encourage them, let them know we are here and want to get to know them, but without imposing anything on them that they don’t want.”

For Lindsay, the events are part of the church’s desire to walk alongside its community, by turning up, listening and building relationships. She said, “There’s a verse in Ezekiel where the prophet is called to ‘stand in the gap’, and that is really at the heart of our efforts.”

She added, “It’s about doing something with people where they are, not asking very much of them. We’re making a start by going to them. We just want to open up lines of communication, as much as anything, to begin with, and hope to build lasting friendships and trust between the church and the people of the various hamlets which make up the parish of Camerton.”