Thanks to the generosity of members and their friends, Stanborough Park church, Watford, was again holding its Annual Toy Service, providing toys and games for the children of families in the local area experiencing severe hardship this year.
According to representatives of local charities and school family support workers who attended the service – and were to be found selecting toys for their clients from the display after the service, families would gratefully receive the toys they took away on their caseload, who could not afford presents for their children and give them the sort of Christmas that their peers would enjoy. After they left, the remaining toys and games with toiletries packs for mums were gathered together and delivered during the following week to benefiting charities and children's centres in the area in time for distribution before Christmas.
This year, 10 December, saw the 61st Annual Toy Service held at Stanborough Park Seventh-day Adventist church in Garston. Founded by the late Alf Kelly MBE, dubbed 'Watford's Father Christmas' by the Watford Observer many years ago, the service has continued without interruption ever since. Most of the toys were arranged at the front of the church the previous afternoon by Audrey Balderstone, displaying her customary artistic talents and her team, but during the service, even more toys were placed in waiting sacks by the children in the congregation.
Advertising for the event began early, and the response was phenomenal, with organisers saying that this year there were more toys donated than ever. It was also lovely to see the church almost full again after the disruption caused by Covid closures. By the end of the week, there were 256 recorded viewings of the service through the livestream broadcast on the church website, with more viewings through the church's YouTube channel.
After Mr Kelly's death, his daughter, Pat Walton, continued this annual tradition. She also runs the church's highly-regarded and well-patronised Welfare Service. Although Mr Kelly used to deliver many of the toys personally, child protection rules and confidentiality mean they must hand all the toys to local charities and social workers to pass to their fortunate recipients.
Attending the service was the Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, who accepted the toys on behalf of the people of the town, continuing the long-standing tradition of the Mayor or Council Chairman attending the service. He has been attending the service since his election. A practising Christian himself, he regards the service as a highlight of his year. In his acceptance speech, he told a couple of stories against himself, including when some children mistook him for Boris Johnson during a visit to a local school despite there being no physical resemblance!
During the service, the children and young people played an active part. The Youth Orchestra accompanied congregational singing and played when children brought their gifts to place in the sacks at the front of the church. Other musical items were provided by handbell and chime ensembles, and Lydia Simplicio's Young Choir and Sang Bin Jung's Junior Choir provided songs. Pastor Audrey Andersson, General Conference Vice President and a well-known figure to Stanborough members, delivered the sermon.
Andersson drew our attention to the fact that with the busyness and stress of organising Christmas, it is easy to forget its real meaning. She reminds us by reading J B Phillip's fable 'The Visited Planet', where an experienced angel takes an apprentice on a tour of the universe, explaining the uniqueness of Earth, the planet where Jesus made His home for a season – and a reason.
Tim Whittaker from the Watford and Three Rivers Refugee Partnership was among those found looking through the donated toys after the service. He has been coming every year for some time and explained that his charity caters to 100 families, with 80% having two or more children. Many of them are struggling to cope, he said, especially those without access to public funding. The aim is to give them a little something 'just to keep them going'. Although his charity receives toys from two other local churches at Christmas, 'the lion's share', he says, comes from Stanborough Park church.
Also to be found sifting through the gifts were two family support workers from local schools, who asserted that the toys they took away would make an 'incredible' difference to the families they dealt with and would bring 'smiles to children's faces' this Christmas. One of them, who works with a north Watford school, is a regular caller at the church's Welfare Centre and described organiser Mrs Walton as 'a wonderful human being who is always available and a pleasure to work with'.