No date set for next party in the park

Love event is hailed a big success

Hundreds enjoy free party event thanks to churches

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It rained, but we had a great day!

So despite the rain we had a fantastic day at Love Oswestry.

Unfortunately we had to cancel some of the events, including the hot air balloon, cage football and bouncy castles; but the barbecue proved very popular with queues stretching out of the marquee, the face painters were kept busy all afternoon, and the live music kept the crowd entertained.

Thank you to everyone who helped out!

Throw things at a vicar!

If you're too old for bouncy castles but still want something fun to do during the day, we'd recommend trying out the cage football that we're going to bring into the park.

Play 2v2 against your friends, or take on another team to see if you can come out on top in the cage!

Once you've done that, why not test your skills on the bike balance challenge. How long can you balance without touching the floor without pedalling?

And finally, if you've always wanted to throw something at a vicar, or get your own back for all the boring sermons you've listened to, why not play 'plaster the pastor'? Throw wet sponges at the pastors (that's like a vicar who runs a church that isn't a Church of England church) from around Oswestry and see how quickly you can drench them!

Not just fun and games

Money is tight for everyone at the moment, which is why we decided to throw a free event!

But if you're feeling the pinch more than most and are having problems with debt, the Jubilee Money Advice Centre will be at Love Oswestry to offer some free advice on getting your finances back on track. They will also be offering appointments at later dates to get more detailed advice and help.

If you're intrigued by Christianity, or just want to know a bit more about what Christians believe, there will be opportunities to find out about Alpha courses (going through the basics of being a Christian), Christianity Explored (does what it says on the tin!), or Just 10 (a look at Christianity through the 10 commandments).

And if anyone visiting the park wants prayer for anything in particular we will have a prayer tent for you to drop into and share your request with one of our friendly pray-ers.

Live music in the park!

During the afternoon we'll have live music and activities on the bandstand in the middle of the park.


12pm - Join in a Zumba session led by instructor Lorna Sykes and the ladies from Cornerstone Baptist Church

12.30pm - TBA

1pm - Music from Phil Nankivell

1.30pm - Music from local band Bottom Line

2pm - Oswestry singer/songwriter Zanna Orton
  
2.30pm - Magician Jason Fell will amaze the crowd!

3pm - Oswestry's own gospel choir Joyful Noise
  
3.30pm - Music from Chris Lewis

* All times and acts subject to change

Get crafty!

If bouncy castles seem too energetic, there will be a chance to get the creative juices flowing in a craft tent at Love Oswestry.


The tent will have squares of material for people to embellish with an assortment of ribbons, beads, shapes, and other trinkets to represent 'What is love?'

At the end of the day the squares will be stitched together to make a large patchwork which will be put on display in the town.

Princesses, pirates and parrots

If you're bringing children to the park, they will be able to join in the fun as well!

We will have a face painter, ready to transform kids into princesses or pirates (or whatever else your imagination and their paintbrushes can come up with), bouncy castles to play on and a parrot hunt with prizes if you can find all the parrots hidden around the park.

Danger - chainsaws!

Have you ever wanted to find out how they create those amazing sculpture out of wood? well now's your chance to find out! We will have a chainsaw carver creating a masterpiece in Cae Glas Park during Love Oswestry, turning a block of wood into a beautiful piece of art.

Why not take a look right at the start of the afternoon and see if you can guess what he's going to make, then come back later and see if you were right?

We'll try to get some pictures of the process to pop up here after the event, but it's much more fun to watch it happen live!

Food, glorious food!

When you're having an event that goes over lunchtime you need to have something to eat! We're expecting a lovely summer day, and so that calls for a barbecue!

Sausages and burgers will be on offer* - and all FREE! We've also got an army of bakers getting ready to offer free cakes, as well as cups of tea and coffee, and squash.

* Only one burger or sausage per person.

Five weeks to go

With just over five weeks to go, things are starting to come together for the big day.

Lots of people have volunteered to help man the bouncy castles, paint faces, serve teas and coffees, cook the barbecue and set up the park - although we still need more people to make cakes!

Next week we'll be having the public launch of Love Oswestry, and then it will be just one month to go - keep praying for good weather!

Dates for prayer meetings

* Please note that the time on May 1st is half an hour later.

Volunteers needed!

We want to show people in the town God loves them by serving them in practical ways throughout the day.

We need to volunteers to set-up (and pack down) the site, offer people refreshments, run the activities and so on. This is no small task.

We are also planning to hold regular prayer meetings in the three months leading up to Love Oswestry, roughly once a fortnight. In prayer we are pleading for God to do what we cannot do alone: open people’s eyes to good news of God’s love in Christ, and glorify His name in the town

Please come and join in with these meetings - dates will be published soon.

Church launch this Saturday (17th March)

This Saturday there will be a church prayer launch for Love Oswestry at Cabin Lane Church from 9.30am.

All Christian Church members are invited to attend and find out more about the main event programme, and to gather together for a period of focused prayer for the event.

People will also be able to find out more about how to help on the day, or ways that can help with the pre-event organisation.

Following on from the event there will be a series of fortnightly prayer meetings at different venues to cover the main event on June 16^th. Other prayer meetings and prayer walks will also be taking place in conjunction with the Border Prayer Rooms project at Cornerstone Baptist Church.

The public launch event will take place in May - more details to follow...

What can I do to help?

An easy way to help is to invite everyone you know to enjoy the afternoon with us!

When people ask what Love Oswestry is, tell them: it is a fun day being organised by the churches for the whole town; it is free of charge; and there is a hot air balloon they can have a ride in.

If people ask why we are doing it, tell them: we believe God loves this town and its people; we believe this is worth celebrating; and we want everyone to discover for themselves God’s love in Christ.

Oswestry and district is home to nearly 20,000 people, and we expect that over 1000 people will come through the park that afternoon.

Running an event like this for free does not come cheap: a gift of £4 enables us to invite 20 people; let’s pray we see at least one of those on the day.

What is going to happen?

The centrepiece of the event will be a hot air balloon, in which people can take a ride.

But there is plenty more planned!

There will be uplifting music on the bandstand from a variety of performers, including the Joyful Noise gospel choir, bands and soloists.

Fun activities are set to include bouncy castles and face-painting, a cage-football tournament, and the opportunity to ‘plaster-the-pastor’ with wet sponges.

We will be serving tasty food in the main marquee, such as burgers and sausages freshly barbequed over lunch time, and with homemade cake and other refreshments available all afternoon.

There will also be engaging demonstrations from local Christian artists, a magician, and puppeteers, all of whom (among others) will share the message of God’s love in Christ.

Local Christian organisations will also each have their own stand, ready to talk about their work and what motivates it.

Plus, people will be able to receive prayer ministry and sign up for locally-run Alpha or Christianity Explored (etc) courses.
Finally, after the event officially finishes at 4pm, there will be a short service to thank God for all He will have done.

What is the big idea?

We want to connect with people of all ages who would otherwise never come near a church.

We believe people will be drawn by our centre-piece: a tethered hot air balloon, on which they can take a ride.

Decorated with banners, it will rise over the park and be visible across the town. It symbolises what Love Oswestry is about: raising God’s love in Christ as a banner over the town.

We want to bring Oswestry’s churches together under this banner in our common calling to witness to Jesus in a way no single church could achieve alone.

Save the date!

The official launch of Love Oswestry will be held on March 17.

More details to follow...

Puppet Show confirmed!

We had another planning meeting this week and we have confirmed a puppet show for Love Oswestry!

If you have young children, or are just young at heart yourself, come along to watch the show while you enjoy a drink in the refreshments tent.

What is Love Oswestry?

In a nutshell, Love Oswestry is a free & friendly fun day of uplifting music, tasty food, fun activities, and engaging demonstrations open to everyone in the town.

It is hosted by Churches Together in Oswestry & District and will take place on Saturday 16 June in Cae Glas Park from 12pm till 4pm.

We hope to have barbecues, refreshments, live music on the bandstand, bouncy castles, chainsaw wood carving, a football cage and much, much, more!

The event is being run by local churches in Cae Glas Park, Oswestry, and is free for everyone to drop in and enjoy the day.