Diocesan News
Jelly Tots celebrates first birthday party
A Church of Ireland parent and toddler group in Omagh celebrated its first anniversary last week, with a party for more than 50 children, their parents, guardians and grandparents.
Jelly Tots, which is attached to St Columba’s Parish Church, in Omagh, was formed in January 2017 by Amanda Linton, whose husband, the Rev Ian Linton, is Rector of Drumragh with Mountfield. The occasion was marked with the usual pomp and ceremony – special balloons and a birthday cake, complete with candles.
Mr Linton says his wife, Amanda, identified a need in the community for a group that would provide an opportunity for social interaction not just for children, but for mums, dads, grandmothers and grandfathers. The parish put a team of volunteers together to deliver activities and provide refreshments in the parish hall every Tuesday during term–time.
“The Select Vestry was very good in helping to get us off the ground,” the Rector says. “They gave us a grant to get us going. The great thing about the group is that it’s for all the community, so we’re seeing folks here not just from our own church – in fact, the majority of folks who are here probably aren’t from our own church – some come from other churches, and some from no church at all. We’ve got a mixture of nationalities here, as well, so it’s a real melting pot.”
Amanda Linton says the huge support the parent and toddler group enjoys – it regularly attracts around 50 children, with adults in tow – shows there’s a demand for what they’re doing. “I love to see the Church serving the community,” Amanda says. “You can see how many children there are. There’s obviously a need for something like this. I know that parenting can be a very lonely thing for some people and it’s important for the Church to be God’s hands and God’s voice in trying to show his love to people in Omagh, so that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to develop relationships with people so that we might have opportunities to talk to them about God and invite them into church.”
Only last Christmas, the parish held its first Jelly Tots activity in the church building itself. Amanda says the nativity event was well–attended and that, for some of the grown–ups present, it was their first time ever to set foot in St Columba’s Church. “I think there is definitely an openness to hearing more about God,” she says. “One of the things that’s been really good is that we put a box on a table for prayer requests and we’ve had people every week putting in requests for themselves and their families; that shows there’s an openness to wanting more of God in their lives.”
The Jelly Tots group obviously provides parenting support for young mothers and fathers, and an opportunity for fellowship among people of all ages. But the Rector says it’s a really practical expression of the Gospel for him and his colleagues: “It’s our way of saying to the wider community, ‘We care about you. We love you. We love families. We want to help and encourage family life within the town of Omagh, and here’s just one way that we can do that.’”
For further information please contact:
Diocesan Communications Officer, Derry & Raphoe
Mr Paul McFadden
028 7126 2440
07525 826290
press@derryandraphoe.org