Activate is a sport and activities-based ministry which seeks to enhance wellbeing and faith through fitness, health and community. The project aims to engage with people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to create fun, friendly activity with a community focused approach. It looks to help people become or maintain being active, while creating local relationships that provide encouragement and support. The project runs in the Deanery of Hampton within the Kensington Area of the Diocese of London.The initial activities have mainly been based in Teddington and have been supported by local churches. It is led by Rev Chris Kennedy who is passionate about building community through activity and invigorating faith.
On Sunday 15th March, National Sports Sunday, Activate launched Active! Church which is a service of worship through sport and dance. It is aimed at children, young people and their families, although it is open for anyone to attend. A young boy who attended the Active! Church launch service shared that he had not been able to take part in physical activity since receiving a cancer diagnosis. Coming along to Active! Church was an opportunity for him to return to gentle exercise in a fun and supportive environment.
Activate aims to engage with people of all ages and abilities. There are weekly Soup and Stretch sessions which support people with mobility difficulties and provide a sense of community. At the other end of the spectrum, Activate Dance was recently launched to offer street dance along to lively worship music for older children and young people.
As well as supporting physical wellbeing, a key focus for Activate is mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. The community café which is open to all members of the community has additional specialist sessions. ‘Tea and Empathy’ is a café session which supports people going through bereavement, while the ‘Memory Café’ is a session for people learning to live with memory loss. Activate works in collaboration with local schools, community groups and social prescribers to ensure that it reaches the people who need it most.
Whilst Activate welcomes people of any faith or none, it is rooted in the Christian faith. There are daily worship sessions which everyone is welcome to take part in. Psalms and Stretches (www.psalmsandstretches.co.uk) is a key part of this programme of worship and these classes perfectly fit Activate’s mission of enhancing wellbeing and developing faith. Psalms and Stretches is a movement class combining exercise with meditation on scripture from the book of Psalms.
It is hoped that the success of Activate will encourage other similar projects to start up around the Diocese of London and across the country so that people of all ages and backgrounds can become part of a community which supports physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
