Students start holidays at church

Students start holidays at church

Event shows kids, parents ‘we care,’ says priest

On the last day of school in June, about 60 students from King Albert Public School in Lindsay headed over to St. Paul, Lindsay for a couple hours of games and refreshments before starting their summer holidays. The outdoor celebration was hosted by St. Paul’s and four other local churches.

“It was a way to celebrate the end of school and say to the families of the children that the churches are here for you, we care about you, and we’re available to talk about God and faith if you want to,” said the Rev. Dr. Warren Leibovitch, incumbent of St. Paul’s. “It’s also a way for families can get to know who we are and be a little less intimidated about coming into the church and checking us out.”

Students, parents and volunteers enjoy the festivities outside St. Paul, Lindsay.

King Albert, located behind the church, is considered an inner-city school and many of the families are dependent on some form of social assistance. The kids, from Kindergarten to Grade 6, were accompanied by their parents to the celebration.

The event featured a barbecue, a bouncy castle, games and “summer survival kits” for the kids that included sunscreen and toothpaste. Volunteers from the churches helped out, bringing the total number of people to about 140. St. Paul’s received a $500 grant from the Trent-Durham Area Council to help defray the costs.

Mr. Leibovitch said the celebration was both an outreach initiative and an ecumenical opportunity. “Coming together as a group of churches is always good for showing that we’re in solidarity and we want to do something positive for the community, that we’re available to people. This event allows us to have direct contact with families that we don’t normally see.”

Volunteers get ready to provide lunch.

It’s the second year that St. Paul’s has hosted the end-of-school celebration. The other Lindsay churches taking part were Bethel Church, Centre Church, Cambridge Street Baptist Church and People’s Full Gospel Church.

Mr. Leibovitch said the parents were happy with the event. “They were very grateful that the churches would think about them and their children.”

The churches are thinking about holding an event in the fall at St. Paul’s to welcome the children back to school. For the past several years, the church has been hosting Christmas and Easter events for the kids.