Faith award honours Gainford school and church link

A NATIONAL award has been presented to Gainford’s community, church and school by the Bishop of Durham.
The school and church are the first in the Durham diocese to receive the Growing Faith Foundation’s Partnership Award.
A celebration service was held in St Mary’s Church on Monday last week, where the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Revd Paul Butler presented the award.
It recognises the close relationship between the church and school to grow faith in their community.
Bishop Paul described all the different activities organised between the church and school as fantastic and amazing.
He added: “You should be very proud of yourselves. This is the first time we have been able to award one of these in this diocese, and you are one of the first in the country, so it is brilliant to be able to do this [presentation].
“You are the first from 107 of all of my schools from the River Tweed in Northumberland all the way down to the Tees.
“I love doing things like this because this is what it is all about. It is so nice to be with you children.
“My job is the best job in the world because my job is about you; and seeing you flourish, seeing you happy and hearing your stories today makes my day. It has been a privilege to be here today and hear how much, children, you are doing for your community.”
During the service children spoke about their various faith activities ranging from a community group bringing Bible stories to life through special videos and the creation of a messy church, to making collections for local foodbanks.