Plum Project gets creative with children’s holiday club at Uniting Church in Garden Lane

Plum Project gets creative with children’s holiday club at Uniting Church in Garden Lane

The Uniting Church in Garden Lane recently ran a creative After School Club during Lent through its Plum Project with twenty children from Bluecoat CE Primary School. They created a song and performance based on the theme of ‘Hope’. 

The theme of 'Hope’ emerged because it reflected that sense of walking through Lent to Easter; quite often life throws up challenges and difficulties and we live in the ‘Hope’ of better ways and new possibilities.

The Plum Project launched during the pandemic in 2020, a unique alliance between the Church and the community with a joint mission to build an exciting, sustainable future for the Uniting Church and the neighbourhood.  Plum Project Committee member, Matt Baker, created a tune and a chorus, and the children added in their hopes and dreams- including playing in a world cup winning team and even going to Paris.

A Small Mission Grant from Synod was used to fund the artists: the musician; the actor and the illustrator. 

Revd Christine M Jones explained: “The children created the song lyrics and actions and also did artwork which served as a backdrop for their performance to parents. For four weeks, they came to Plum from school, had a quick ‘tea’ and then got down to the creative fun for two hours.”

 A teacher at Bluecoat CE Primary School said: “I have never seen some of these children throw their heads back with joy and laughter. It was a roaring success. They loved it!”

The Uniting Church in Garden Lane has strong links with the local community and is considered as being at the heart of the local Garden Quarter. The Church already works closely with Bluecoat CE Primary School on other community projects. It is a  School of Sanctuary and being a neighbour to the Uniting Church creates opportunities to develop relationships which support local people who are seeking sanctuary, including offering support to refugees through Church projects: Uniting churches and their communities: The Uniting Church in Garden Lane   — URC Mersey (urcmerseysynod.org.uk)

Synod Mission Funds 

The Synod has set aside £75,000 a year and churches can apply for a large grant of up to £25,000 a project or, using the small grant scheme, for up to £2,500 as many times as required.  There are even options for smaller amounts of around £100. Grants are for mission projects, not building projects. 

Grants and Funding — URC Mersey (urcmerseysynod.org.uk)