Sydney Anglican churches are easing the pupil-free-day headache for families with Monday Fundays and Supadays.
Churches running these activities are saying that the events are providing excellent opportunities to connect with parents and children who do not normally come to church.
St Paul’s, Castle Hill’s twice-yearly Supaday attracted 218 children from at least 34 different schools, with activities such as craft, dance and a jumping castle slide on the program.
Children's minister Katie McSeveny says Supaday attracted a large number of children - over 40 per cent of the total crowd - for whom church was a new experience.
"It was exciting to be up the front and say "Put your hand up if you go to church' and you really had to look to see the hands," she says,
"And we had lots of positive comments from parents as they picked their kids up."
Parents dropping off and picking up their children were offered coffee, while showbags containing information about weekly children’s events were handed out to kids.
Volunteers of all ages had been called on to help on the day " and the more-than-60 who turned up included retirees, uni students, senior school students and full-time workers who took the day off work.
"We prayed that God would bring 200 kids and he did, then we prayed and prayed for more leaders and we got them," Ms McSeveny recalls.
She adds that having well-organised activities is key to gaining parents' confidence and encouraging families to bring children back next time.
"When they can walk up and can see that things are organised and safe, and there are plenty of leaders, they don't hesitate to trust us with their kids," she says.
"Lots of families have already booked in for the next Supaday " about 70 or so!”
Turning Mondayitis into Fundayitis
Meanwhile, 75 children were spending their pupil-free day at Sylvania Anglican Church, which has been running its Monday Funday activities on pupil-free days for the past four years.
Organisers put up a parachute in the church building and arranged chairs in a ring to create a circus big-top effect, says children's minister, Linda Greenwood.
Activities included a sideshow alley, with a ring toss, tin-can throwing, facepainting and tattoos, craft projects based on the theme of forgiveness and a puppet show and talk put on by Hilaireous Productions, the company behind children’s character, Hamish Macwolf.
"It fits very comfortably into the suite of things we're doing for Connect09 and it gets people into the church building and happily so," says rector, the Rev Paul Sampson.
"But more importantly, we're making real connections with them and that's what the thrust of Connect09 is all about."
Coffee and tea were put on for parents, who were invited in for the last 15 minutes of the program and invited to hear their children perform a song learnt on the day at this Sunday's church service.
Sylvania also handed out showbags were also handed to the children, including information about regular children's activities such as Thursday afternoon kids club and Breakfast club " a new initiative in which years 4-to-6 kids have breakfast and Bible study together before being walked to the local school gate.
"This is helping us to connect with the community so that when the time comes for us to hand out Scriptures (for Connect 09), we will have made those contacts already,” says Mrs Greenwood.
Mr Sampson says the church’s current contact with many of the kids through teaching Scripture at the local primary schools, means "they know us and trust us”.
"We haven't seen that instantly translate into a lot of people coming to church, but certainly there have been some.
