Church is still planning on making a noise this Easter

Every Easter The Beacon treats its town to a big family festival, but the event’s impact continues to cause ripples out all year round. Chris Rolfe reports

If you’d been in Thundersley over the Easter weekend any time in the past 15 years you could have joined 400 locals at The Beacon’s ‘The Noise Arts Festival’.

This family fun day, packed with inflatables, workshops and activities, is a firm favourite in the Essex town which helps build connections between the church - also known as Thundersley Congregational Church - and its community.

“We run The Noise Arts Festival as part of our community programme,” says Richard Keeler, who joined the church as schools worker 20 years ago and now has a wider community role as associate minister.

“It brings hundreds of people along to enjoy the event itself, but it’s also a platform for us to talk about our faith and our other activities and events.

“We’re actually changing its name to ‘The Beacon Festival’ this year so we can really help people understand this is a church thing.”

Connections

The festival’s impact on its area won’t end when the tents come down, however. Richard explains that the Easter event is one of two which take place every year.

“We have a full week in the October half-term too. There are events in the church, in community spaces like schools, pubs, streets and local businesses. There are different things each day, like comedy, music, workshops and treasure hunts, and it’s been going really well.”

The Beacon is keen to build on connections made at the festival and so runs an annual Alpha course off the back of it.

“We’ve just finished the course from last year’s October event and we had the most people ever attending. We baptised four people in February from this. It’s the most successful Alpha we’ve done so far and that’s all come from conversations we had at the different activities at the festival.

“New kids have joined our kids and youth group too, and across the board schools, PTAs and businesses are happy for us to use their facilities or to get involved themselves.

“It’s putting the church out into the community and they are really receptive to that.”

Conversations

Over the years, the festival has sparked ideas for new ways The Beacon can support its area too.

“We’ve tested a few things there and if they go well we look to do them throughout the year,” explains Richard.

This is how ‘blessing boxes’ came into being, for example. One Easter, 100 boxes were packed and delivered to chosen streets in the town. Those who delivered them prayed over them and left them on doorsteps or had conversations with people they met as they distributed them.

“It was so well received we continued to do it,” says Richard.

“We’ve tied it to Easter or October in previous years, but more recently we gave a blessing box to every member of staff in two of our local primary schools. We asked people in church to pray, then write a positive note or choose a Bible verse for each box. We packed them with cakes, sweets and literature and things from the church too.

“We’ve had emails back from teachers saying the notes they received were really positive or the timing of the box was perfect. That encourages the church members who prayed over the boxes too.”

Concerned

The Beacon has plenty of other ideas for helping its town, another being the food boxes it has set up around the area.

“We were told there wasn’t a need for a food bank around here or that it wouldn’t be supported, but we knew some people were struggling so we set up mini food pantries around the town.

“These are boxes from which people can take food, toiletries, baby products etc or drop donations into. We make sure the church keeps them stocked up.”

Richard tells the story of a mum from the church’s toddler group who found nappies to take home in one of the boxes.

“On that occasion she was blessed in that way, but what was also great was that after we’d seen her need we were able to talk with her and help provide for her in a more ongoing way.”

Community

Similarly, The Beacon has also set up seven mini libraries in schools and public places across Thundersley.

This book-borrowing scheme helps get the church’s name out, says Richard, but it’s also another way for the church to be a blessing.

“We hope people would miss us if we weren’t here doing what we’re doing,” he says.

“For us, it’s asking ourselves what we can give to our area.

“We do a lot of activities throughout the year because our heart is that our church is central to our community.”

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.