Jorge Maria
Shawville Aug. 5, 2021
Last Thursday, the New Hope Christian Fellowship church in Shawville held a New Hope Family Fun Night.
Due to COVID-19, the church’s annual Vacation Bible School (VBS) was cancelled for the second year in a row. Last year virtual events were held but this year the church pastor, Stuart Marpels, and others in the congregation thought they could do something different with pandemic restrictions easing across the province.
VBS is for children, so the church decided they would do something for families, Marpels said.
There was no lack of things for parents and their children to do. There was a bouncy castle and a dinosaur dig, in which kids dug for “dinosaur bones.” There was also a variety of games, such as three-legged-races, sack races, an obstacle course. Participants were even given the chance to name a newborn calf.
To spread the word, they decided to do something personal. “We aren’t going to publicly announce this on social media, I want you to get out and invite people,” Marpeles told parishioners.
“We are big believers in the church giving back to the community, so everything is free,” Marpels added.
Billy T’s Food Truck was on hand giving out free pizza and burgers.
Pastor Marpels had only positive things to say about the day’s turnout. “We are delighted,” he said.
