Fourteen-year-old James Ineichen, from United Reformed Church Mersey Synod, has been named June’s recipient of the Lundie Memorial Award.
James, who was nominated by Susan Frowe, an Elder and Messy Church leader at Christchurch Port Sunlight in the Wirral.
Susan describes James as having natural teaching skills.
“James is someone the children love working with,” she says, “and it is clear that James enjoys working with them.”
James, who has been helping out at Messy Church for some time, attends early to help set up and helps the children with the activities, and helps make crafts for children so that they have something to take home to remind them of the session.
Susan says that James’s “caring, helpful and polite attitude is evident and is often commented on by parents and helpers”.
James says he enjoys attending Messy Church and seeing everyone have fun, he says attending helps strengthen his bond with the community. His skills extend beyond the scope of Messy Church. He can often be found helping with the tech team on the church’s weekly zoom service, having quickly learnt the skills necessary to be independent in this role.
When asked of his initial reaction to being June’s Lundie winner, James said: “To be told I was the winner felt really good. I was very happy to get nominated and to win was an amazing thing.”
James, who would love others his age to get involved with the life of the church, has this advice: “Getting involved with the church doesn’t just help you know the community around you but opens you up to new opportunities and is something you can always keep for the future.”
Each recipient of the Lundie award receives £100. James isn’t fully sure of what to spend the money on but knows that the church needs new pencils and colouring pencils so that’s top of his agenda. He will also consult others at the church before deciding.
Learn more about the Lundie Memorial Award and how to nominate a young person.