“Holiday @ St Mary’s”, Basingstoke
More than 80 people attended ‘Holiday @ St Mary’s’ in Basingstoke which is a joyous three day event for people over the age of 60 years old. It has been running for many years at St Mary’s Church, in the centre of the town, and offers fun, food, companionship and a chance to explore the bible.
Inside the church, a range of activities were laid out including crafts such as biscuit decorating, colouring, making fridge magnets, cards or bookmarks.
Sitting at the card making table were Lorraine and Julie. Lorraine said, “I love the crafts, the company, the food and everything. I love that people are getting to know me.”
Julie adds, “Normally you do these activities with your children and grandchildren, but you never get a chance to do it yourself, so it’s fun!”
There was an area with board games, quizzes and jigsaws or a place for people to sit and read the newspaper.
Eileen Edmunds, who was enjoying a word search, has attended the holiday club in the past. She said, “You have such a lovely time. You meet others and do interesting things. The team work so hard.”
Sitting alongside, Anne Moore added, “Everybody is lovely. It’s a chance to chat and try different things. I’ve been coming to the church since 1976, and this gives you time to talk to people you might not normally see each week.”
Elsewhere, another room offered table tennis, boules, miniature golf, and even a sandcastle competition. The theme of this year’s club was Egypt, with many of the activities related to the country. A TV was set up with a film of a Nile cruise, along with a photo booth and dressing up costumes.
Peter Gibbs said, “It’s a wonderful socialising event, to meet new friends. I’ve been attending for about 7 years. The helpers act out a story and there’s a talk. They put in so much effort and it’s good to see the church in this area is so strong.”
At midday, the activities stop, and a bible drama is performed, which this year focussed on the story of Joseph. It was followed by a lunch and another table activity in the afternoon.
Lis Perry is one of the organising committee, and said, “Foremost our aim is that the gospel is made known, particularly to our older folk, so that they can know and hear the good news, but also some people never go on holiday, so we offer the three day club as a means of combining both. It’s combating loneliness, having a lovely meal, having fellowship with other people, but also serving and showing Jesus’ love.”
The holiday club is an extension of the church’s fortnightly lunch club for the over 60s. It requires a large team of volunteers to organise the activities, cook and serve the food, and chat with the guests. Young people from the church also help out.
Another organiser Denise Allen said, “We are so blessed here at St Mary’s because we’ve got a great facility. We’ve got lots of people with different gifts and talents and a lot of people give financially. Everything that we buy at St Mary’s comes from within the church because we all want to give to the work that goes on here.
“Holidays at St Mary’s is the highlight of some of these people’s year because some of them don’t have family, some of them don’t have much money and some of them are lonely so they really look forward to it. Lots of people who wouldn’t come to church on a Sunday will come to this. So, they hear about Jesus here and then eventually some of them may come to church too.”
“Guardians of Ancora”, All Saints, Odiham
During the first week in August, All Saints Odiham Church was transformed into an exciting holiday club for more than 130 children and young people.
The church collaborated with local schools and sports clubs to give a varied programme. They rolled woods at the bowls club, hit aces at the tennis courts and scored goals on Mayhill and Buryfields school field.
Helen Chatfield, Children and Youth Outreach Pastor for the North Hampshire Downs Benefice, said, “This year was a first for us, as we evolved from our long-established tent in Upton Grey to the church building in Odiham, for a week based on Scripture Union’s Guardians of Ancora. This made logistics a lot easier, as well as allowing us to grow and invite even more children along. It was so exciting to be able to involve the whole of the community – local cafes helped us with craft supplies, the local council supported us with our creche area and nearly 40 volunteers gave up their time, to make sure this was a week the children won’t forget!
“The week ended with a family picnic with inflatables and an ice cream van, as well as an exciting service for all the family, where people were invited to choose how they responded to the Bible reading in the heart, mind, soul and strength zones – and it was such a joy to see people experiment with how they joined in.
“The new school year is starting, and we’re following up with a Guardians of Ancora Club in a local school, as well as after school clubs and youth groups – and recovering in time for next year!”
(Photo credit: Oksana Sokolova)
“Let’s Go to the Jungle”, Andover Parish
Andover Parishes holiday club was entitled ‘Let’s Go….. to the Jungle!’ with children invited to set their sights on exploring the deep dark Jungle of Andoveria!
Over 100 children with the help of 48 volunteers, took part in games, crafts, songs and Bible teaching.
Antonette Weir, Children’s and Schools Pastor, said, “We shared key messages of how Jesus sees them, strengthens them, saves them and sends them out with good news! We offered a thrilling unique experience by inviting along an animal expert with exotic animals, we saw a scorpion, a python, a tortoise and so much more! The expert did a fantastic job of teaching the children about God’s creation and care for all creatures.
“We feel truly blessed to be able to offer this wonderful opportunity to the children in Andover and surrounding areas,” she added. “Our prayer is that through this holiday club we are able to provide a space where children can learn and grow in their faith and develop a deeper understanding of God’s love.”
“Overboard”, Hedge End, West End & Botley Churches
During the summer holidays, members of 6 churches from the HEWEB (Hedge End, West End & Botley) Churches Together group and beyond, went on an adventure.
Revd Linda Galvin writes, “Alongside us were 30+ children excited about an around the world trip, with our first stop at Sydney, Australia. However, despite the brilliant sunshine that the summer gave us, there was a huge storm that left us shipwrecked and stranded on a remote island. And thus, the adventures began!
“Using the story of Jonah as our biblical basis, we searched for treasure, and found messages in bottles, on fish, in doughnuts and in whale vomit! We made Cartesian diving bottles; which sent Jonah to the bottom and back up to the top; we raced to carry water in leaking bottles, sponges and water balloons. We created boats that floated and boats that sank as well as blue Jonah jellies. But most of all we had great fun and learnt a lot about God’s mercy and grace.
“Accompanying those shipwrecked were two suspect characters called Bill and Ted – who looked suspiciously like Revd Linda Galvin, who unfortunately kept getting locked in a box full of doughnuts. It’s hard work being a church leader, but someone has to sacrifice themselves! The HEWEB Holiday Bible Club has become a popular annual event, bringing together children and adults from lots of different churches and beyond to share the Good News of Jesus and show the fruits of inclusivity and mutual respect. Bring on 2026!”
“Wonder Zone”, Dibden Churches
St Andrew’s Church in Dibden Purlieu runs a holiday club each summer, and the theme for 2025 was Wonder Zone. Each of the three mornings had a new ‘Jesus is my…’ theme: Jesus is my Maker, Jesus is my Light and Jesus is my Friend. Over 40 local children attended.
Volunteer leaders, including 15 teenagers, led children with messy challenges, worship songs, outdoor games, craft activities and onstage dramas. They created a Mission Control stage set with working TV screen and alarm buttons, a time machine, and a splatboard for messy challenges. The drama team used the time machine to meet Bible characters, the splatboard featured a pair of astronauts with spaces for faces – ready for shaving-foam pies – and the main theme and content was sourced from Scripture Union.
Each day’s theme was linked to creative activities. Glitter imitated the stardust of creation; bubble making helped children to see that Jesus is our light. On Sunday 31st August, the holiday club celebration service was attended by about 240 people (173 adults and 68 children), which was a huge encouragement for the church and holiday club leaders. The service featured children’s worship songs, a messy challenge and a short talk.
Youth Minister James Willett said, “We began preparing for Wonder Zone at the start of 2025 and we’re delighted with how everything has come together. Thank you to the amazing team of volunteers for all of your hard work and servant-hearted leadership.
“The Holiday Club is one of the high points of the year for us as a church, and a number of the children have come back after last year’s club, but it is also encouraging to have received bookings from many families who are new to us. Jesus is our Maker, our Light and our Friend, and we’d want everyone to have a chance to know that.”
(Photo Credit: Ben Pennells)
“The Rooted Squad”, Christ Church, Chineham
Christ Church Chineham’s Rooted Squad holiday club was 3 days of learning from the Bible, based on the theme of Colossians 2:7.
Adejumoke Juliana Akinbusoye, Children, Youth & Families Leader, said, “Our learning was about being rooted and built up in Jesus Christ, our firm foundation. We felt it was important that we held a Club not just to give parents a break or to provide holiday fun but to help our children understand in more detail what it means to grow their roots deeper in Christ as they walk daily with Him.
“The organizing team, volunteers and participants had a great time planning and participating in games, crafts, singing, acting and praying. We witnessed God’s presence with us and had great testimonies from the team, children and parents of how impactful the Rooted Squad experience was. We thank God for blessing us with all that was needed to make it a success and we thank all the wonderful people who supported us in one way or another.”
