Easter Holiday Clubs Across the Diocese
It’s been exciting to hear about the holiday clubs for children and families which have taken place across our diocese over the past few weeks. These events have been filled with fun activities, plenty of food and, most importantly, opportunities to learn more about the good news of Jesus!
Woven St Margaret’s Egg-cellent Easter Trail event!
The Egg-cellent Easter Trail event at the beginning of the Easter holidays was a huge success, marking the biggest outreach event of the year for St Margaret’s. The church was open for a fun-filled afternoon of Easter activities, crafts, a bouncy castle, soft play, balloon modelling, a café and much more, including this year’s exciting Easter Trail.
A total of 225 goody bags were given away, and an estimated 475 people visited throughout the day. It was a joyful occasion, welcoming the local community into the church. Many families attended from nearby primary schools, toddler groups, and the surrounding area – including those who had never been to the church before.
The Easter story was shared through the interactive trail, and each goody bag included invitations to Alpha, as well as details about upcoming church events and services. The day was filled with so many wonderful conversations and meaningful connections.
St Mary Magdalene, Sutton in Ashfield
The children and families team at St Mary’s hosted their first-ever holiday club at the beginning of the Easter holidays. Using Scripture Union’s Restoration Station as a foundation, the team created two full days packed with fun, learning and worship.
A total of 38 children took part, supported by 13 volunteer leaders, including four inspiring young leaders who helped the days run smoothly.
Day one was all about getting messy with slime, baking, painting and outdoor activities, while exploring the theme of life’s messiness: feeling broken, unworthy or facing unplanned situations. The story of the Centurion’s servant from Matthew 8 served as a focal point for reflection and discussion.
On the second day, attention turned to rebuilding and restoring. Activities included making clay hearts, junk-modelling crosses and engaging in drama workshops. Children also took part in the Easter Experience in church, walking through the events of Holy Week. There was powerful conversation around Jesus taking life’s messiness and brokenness to the cross, and how restoration is found through His sacrifice, with a special focus on John 21 and the restoration of Peter.
Over both days it was fantastic to see the children worshipping together, praying for each other and really engaging in the discussions around each Bible extract. Young leaders excelled, showing amazing leadership skills, drama skills, compassion and confidence in sharing their faith with the younger children.
Feedback from volunteers, children, and parents has been overwhelmingly positive. Many children recalled the events of Holy Week, valued the worship and prayer time, and every feedback response expressed interest in attending a future holiday club.
One parent shared: “So grateful for a holiday club that is free!! We can’t really afford to send our child to expensive clubs so he sometimes misses out on time with friends. He loved this club! Thank you so much!“
Trinity Church Nottingham Holiday Clubs
At Trinity Church Nottingham, Easter holiday clubs took place over 3 days with 60 children and youth joining for creative arts or football. They had so much fun playing games, making new friends, and journeying through the Easter story. At the end of the week 5 young people gave their lives to Jesus – an amazing testimony for the season and beyond!
St Nic’s Church, Nottingham – Jungle Quest
St Nic’s Church ran their annual Easter holiday club, with this year’s theme – Jungle Quest! They welcomed 60 children into the church for crafts, games, food, drama, worship and much more! In their daily drama the children were introduced to characters from the Bible as they journeyed through the Jungle Quest map and then did activities based on this! It was a fantastic 3 days sharing the love of Jesus with the children and allowing the parents a break during the Easter holidays.
