How often have we heard the plaintive complaint of a child during the school holidays, ‘There’s nothing to do!’? Children seem to have a low boredom threshold, and this does not always disappear with age! Local residents often complain that there is nothing to do in our area, that we are somehow unfortunate in living in a place where activities are limited, but actually, these complaints are often based on ignorance. There is an incredible amount of things happening in Goldthorpe and the surrounding villages and it’s up to us to decide what we want to be involved in or to find out what is available. Maybe God has something new for you to do!
There are many organisations working in Goldthorpe and a lot of the activities they host are free. Crisis, a charity which works with the homeless or those struggling with housing issues, is hosting a series of textiles sessions, teaching people how to sew and mend, at our church on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. for the next few weeks until 8th April. If there is enough interest in the area, these may well continue beyond then. Come along if you’re interested and talk to Linda, the tutor.
The Mums & Toddlers Group at our church (Fridays, 9 -11 a.m.) has been having fun with craft sessions and healthy eating sessions run by other groups which work in the area. Last week, the toddlers made healthy cheesecakes and workers are coming to make fruit smoothies this Friday.
The Salvation Army hosts a job club every Monday and Friday at their church and from 7th April a charity called Creative Recovery (which works using the arts to promote wellbeing) is hosting ‘Live Arts Cafe’ there from 4-7 p.m. each Tuesday. Live music, art projects (the first session involves batik, an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing to whole cloth) and a light supper will feature each week, so if you’re wanting to use creativity to bring about social change, grow community spirit and boost well-being, this is the place to be!
The parish church has re-started its lunch club on Tuesdays at Goldthorpe Parish Hall. For the value price of £3.50, you can enjoy good food, good fellowship and the opportunity to meet people from other churches.
Furlong Road Methodist Church will be running healing services once a month on Friday evenings shortly.
These are just some of the things going on in Goldthorpe. Events and courses are also hosted at the library (including a Readers’ group, a Story and Rhyme session for children and holiday activities for children), at the Dearne Enterprise Centre and at the Community Shop. If you want to get involved in something as a volunteer or learn new skills or simply meet new people, there are plenty of opportunities out there. There really is a lot you can do if you want to!