Holiday Club, the children’s club run by Churches Together in Histon & Impington, will not run this summer – after organisers decided to “pause for reflection”.
The Christian summer club, aimed at primary school-aged children, has been run by staff and volunteers from local churches at the Baptist Church for over a decade, but the group of local church leaders and ministers have issued a statement saying that they feel this is the “right time to pause Holiday Club for summer 2025”.
According to the group, the move is “to give space for reflection, review, and discernment about how to best serve children and families in our community in the years ahead”.
Fun and Games
With sessions themed around Bible stories, Holiday Club has previously welcomed up to 200 children for sessions over five mornings at the start of the summer holidays. Children take part in crafts, sports and activities, singing and drama sessions as well as ‘messy challenges’ – facilitated by volunteer adult leaders and young helpers.
Unlike other, often more expensive, activities offered to children in the school holidays, parents of children attending Holiday Club are only asked for a donation of whatever they can afford towards running costs.
A time of transition
Children’s Worker at Saint Andrew’s, Histon, Tim Blake – who has coordinated and fronted Holiday Club for many years – is stepping down from his role at the church this May, and this has played a part in organisers deciding to put the club on hiatus for the year.
In the Churches Together statement, James Blandford Baker said: “We want to take this opportunity to offer a huge and heartfelt thank you to Tim for his extraordinary commitment and leadership. Holiday Club simply wouldn’t have been the same without him”.
A further factor in the decision to pause is the organisers’ struggle to recruit enough volunteers to run the club safely and sustainably. James said: “We are so grateful to everyone who has contributed to Holiday Club over the years. It has been a beautiful expression of our life together as Churches Together, and we treasure all that it has meant”.
Faithful future
Churches Together ministers are planning to host a day of “listening and discernment”, with the help of an outside facilitator to consider the future of Holiday Club.
Organisers believe that this will provide a chance for everyone involved to, “explore together what God might be calling us to in the future — whether that includes Holiday Club in a new form, something different altogether, or a refreshed vision of our shared work with children and families”.
HI HUB will share news of any updates on this, as soon as they become available.