Tower and Town, April 2025 (view the full edition)Life ExhibitionLast February Robert de Berry emailed the local clergy saying that Pewsey Church was holding a 'Life Exhibition' and inviting us to go and have a look one lunchtime. I was interested but suspected I would be busy. However, having finished writing my sermon on the relevant Thursday, I had what I can only describe as a sharp prompt and so off I set to Pewsey.
So, the church council met and we decided to book in the Life Exhibition for Marlborough. Our primary school was the anchor booking, and so we went with dates in January that worked well for them. Members of St Mary's and Christchurch were duly recruited and trained and then one Sunday night the van arrived. The organisers have run this exhibition umpteen times before and so everything was very slick and ran like clockwork. Bit by bit St Mary's was transformed into a vibrant, modern, exhibition space. Over the week 268 children came along from 9 schools, spending about 70 minutes going on a pathway through all the zones. I'm very grateful to the 32 volunteers who gave of their time and talents to keep the show on the road. We also opened our doors to adults on Friday morning and welcomed 21 people. And all this was calmly and warmly overseen by Penny Reader who seemed in her element. Overall, the week was a huge success and we thank God for that. Somehow Counties Life have trodden the line between presenting the facts of the Christian faith without putting anyone under pressure to believe. The sensitivity of their approach enabled the schools to bring children with confidence and anticipation. Perhaps the last word should go to a teacher from Oare, 'What a fantastic interactive experience! Really immersive and captured the children's imagination.' We hope to welcome the Life Exhibition again in early 2027. Chris Smith |
In the church were many huge brightly coloured tented canopies with excited children with headphones on holding ipads. I was shown around the different zones whereby children in years 5 and 6 could look at Jesus' fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, his words, his miracles and finally his death and resurrection. The children were then offered drinks and a snack while engaging in an interactive hi tech vote. The thing that surprised me most was that I had never heard of Counties Life, the charity, nor the Life Exhibition. It was the best presentation of the Christian faith to young people I had seen in years.