Beach life came to St Alban’s in Swaythling over the Summer, giving local families a chance to get out and enjoy a day at the seaside while in the centre of the city.
Organiser Sarah Dockree said, “When one of our volunteers wondered if would be nice to have a beach outside the church this summer, as it isn’t always easy for local families to get out and enjoy days at the seaside, it would have been easy to dismiss the idea as rather impractical. Instead plans and measurements were made, timber sourced, sand ordered and a large octagonal sandpit created and filled outside the front of St Alban’s in Swaythling.”
The trough outside the community room was lined with tarpaulin and filled with water; windbreaks, chairs and blankets were borrowed and a beach was created.
Over four Tuesdays in the summer holidays, the church welcomed between 70 and 100 people each week, enjoying the sand and water, exploring a different Bible story each week through a trail and crafts, playing giant games on the grass and enjoying a picnic lunch at the end of the morning.
Sarah continued, “It was such a joy to be outside the church, chatting with passers-by and to welcome many families we hadn’t met before. One parent of a child with additional needs said how surprised she was they had been able to stay for as long as they had and how much her child had enjoyed it. Another said their child had been asking all week when the next one was!
“At the beginning of September, we celebrated all we had shared together in a special service, bringing together the different Bible stories and thinking about Jesus being with us in all the new chapters, steps and challenges we might be facing this month. We are so grateful to have seen this vision come to life and are already looking forward to next year!”
