Today has made it crystal clear to me (pun intended after all that crystal art, ably managed by the superb Kathy Multi Tasker for whose skills I simply could never muster enough praise) that even when you hold an anniversary celebration to thank God for giving us the building we currently use, church is really all about people.
We’re so grateful to have this building as a base; we’re so grateful for all the organisations who support us. But it’s always the people who make life worth living and church worth doing! (After God, of course!! I really can’t thank HIM enough!!)
Thank you to the people who came today. Thank you to Lynn Utting from Coalfields Regeneration Trust who works tirelessly in our community, offering real, practical help to community organisations like ours.
Thank you to Grimethorpe Pastor Joy who has supported Garry and me over very many years and who turns up smiling at so many community events. Her persistence, love, faithfulness and encouragement are precious beyond words.
Thank you to former church members who came along. We appreciate your support.
Thank you to current church members who worked so hard (baking, preparing, serving drinks, washing up, tidying away, mopping floors, taking photos… the list is endless!) We really couldn’t do this without you and never want to. Your partnership matters so much to us.
Thank you to the children who came. Seeing their fascination with the photos was really amazing.
Thank you to local residents who attend groups we run who turned up (armed with buns – thank you, Beverley Wassell), smiles, and the willoingness to give up precious Saturday time to be with us. Your support means more to us than we can ever say and we want you to know how important you are to us!
Thank you to all who couldn’t come but who sent messages of encouragement and support. That matters a lot.
Thank you to Sam Batley for allowing us to screen ‘The Town I Love So Well’. We had 26 people watch this stunning documentary about Barnsley creativity, culture and community and it was so wonderful to see Goldthorpe locations feature in the film!
We showed over 1100 photos of the past 15 years, and whilst food featured in a fair number of them (we like to eat!), people featured in even more. That’s because people matter. They matter to us and they matter to God. Words like ‘family’, ‘love’, ‘community’. ‘friendship’, ‘acceptance’ were used today to describe the past fifteen years. Our thanks to you all for reminding us what church looks like. People working together. People who love God loving their community. We belong here; we belong together, and we’re very, very grateful.