From Enough to Excellence, Playtime! at St Philip’s Church Avondale Square
By Revd Helen Harknett
Six years ago, I arrived at St Philip’s, Avondale Square, in the midst of the Covid pandemic. Ours was a church that had experienced its fair share of challenges and disappointments, but also a deep faithfulness that had kept hope alive.
A few weeks later, as Christmas approached, I asked my churchwarden what we usually did for a Christmas tree.
“We’ve got one in the cupboard,” she told me. “It was donated by ASDA about ten years ago.”
When I asked to see it, she produced a five-foot white tinsel and wire tree. Three branches were broken and held together with Sellotape.
“What do you think of it?” I asked.
“It’s good enough for us.”
The tree itself was not really the issue. It was what it seemed to say about the expectations we had come to carry. After years of making things work with limited resources, perhaps we had become used to asking what was possible with what we had, rather than imagining what might be.
That Christmas, we bought a real tree and invited people to purchase wooden angels to hang on it in memory of loved ones or in prayer for those affected by Covid. It was a small thing, but it was an early statement that beauty, dignity, hope and glory mattered here.
When I later told my spiritual director the story, he said something that has stayed with me ever since:
“You all need to create something you can be proud of.”
Over the years that followed, that thought kept returning.
For many years we served local families through Pip’s, our Tuesday baby and toddler group. Like many church toddler groups, it was sustained by extraordinary dedication and generosity. Volunteers gave their time faithfully week after week, and families valued it deeply. Yet, like many long-running community projects, it also reflected the reality of limited resources. Toys were well loved. Books were worn. Cars were missing doors and steering wheels.
When we announced that Pip’s would be ending and that something new was coming, the reaction was understandably cautious. Families loved Pip’s. Volunteers loved Pip’s. Why change something that mattered so much?
The answer arrived this September.
Thanks to support from the Diocesan Investment Programme, and with the encouragement, expertise and practical help of our Hub Church partner, St John the Evangelist, Upper Norwood, we launched Playtime!
Every Friday during term time, the church is transformed.
One team of volunteers arrives on Wednesday evening to move the pews. Another comes before Mass on Thursday morning to create themed sensory, craft and play stations. Every activity is carefully planned around the story of the day. So far we have explored themes of welcome, inclusion, belonging, creation and Baptism. At the end of each session we gather to hear the story and sing together. 
The care, imagination and attention that go into these spaces are extraordinary. Every detail communicates value. Nothing feels hurried or accidental. Instead, each week feels like we are preparing for a celebration. Together, we are setting a table of abundance for God’s children.
Other volunteers welcome families, serve refreshments, support activities and help restore the church at the end of the session.
It is a huge undertaking. Each session represents around eight hours of work, alongside all the planning and comms work that happens throughout the week. Making this happen has required some determined reshuffling of parish life.
It is worth every minute.
In just six weeks, Playtime! has welcomed a remarkable number of local families. The final session before half term saw 89 people through our doors, a significant increase from the twenty-odd adults and children who attended our previous toddler group. 
More importantly, families are discovering that church is not strange, intimidating or ‘other’. It is becoming a place where they enjoy spending time, where they belong, and where they are known. 
One of the most encouraging aspects of Playtime! has been the response from families with neurodivergent children. The thoughtful design of the sessions and sensory activities has created an environment where children can participate, flourish and be themselves.
One parent told us:
“This is so important and so special. They have never felt like they fitted in anywhere, have felt isolated and different from everyone else. We appreciate you and your amazing team and what you are providing in this place. It is the best playgroup we have ever been to.”
Alongside the launch of Playtime!, our PCC undertook some considerable financial gymnastics to appoint our new Children and Youth Work Apprentice, Sarah Newbery, who has already become an enormous blessing. Supported by the team at St John’s Upper Norwood and working alongside clergy and volunteers here, Sarah has helped ensure that our Sunday children’s ministry is not only consistent, but consistently excellent.
The impact is already visible. Children are receiving imaginative, engaging teaching week after week, and the ministry continues to grow. Last Sunday alone we received nine baptism enquiries and seven sign-ups for First Holy Communion preparation.
What has surprised me most, however, is the effect on our volunteers. 
There is joy. There is energy. There is confidence.
People are discovering gifts they never knew they had or had forgotten about. They are serving with commitment and imagination. They are taking ownership of the vision, asking difficult questions and refusing to settle. Recently I overheard one volunteer saying to another as they prepared the refreshments table: “Yes, but is it excellent?”
That question made me smile.
Six years ago, a broken Christmas tree told a story about a community that had learned to make do with what was available.
Today, thanks to the prayers prayed, the chances taken, the partnerships forged and the blessings received, the story is different. 
At St Philip’s we are learning, together, that “good enough” is not good enough for God’s people. We are creating something we are proud of.
More importantly, we are creating spaces where all children and families discover that they are loved, valued and welcomed by God.
And, by God’s grace, this feels like only the beginning.
