Olympic Frome

In October 2010 I attended a national meeting about how the Church could respond to the Olympics; I came back fired up and determined that we would do something in Frome. More Than Gold is the national organisation backed by all the major Churches to help us engage with the Olympic and Paralympic Games.


I began talking about it and Frome Area Christians Together agreed to register as a group rather than as individual churches, which was a first nationally and meant that we already had a structure in place for publicity and planning. Over the next year, an orga nisation formed called More Than Gold Frome which, while led by the Churches, is a collaborative project between Christians and a range of sports and community groups in the area.


This project has been a breath of fresh air and seems to capture the imagination of everyone who gets involved. It hasn't been hard since we went public in September to get groups outside the Churches on board and we are now at the point where they are approaching us to be part of it.


So what have we planned? Firstly a load of fundraising, as we want everything to be free of charge next summer. Things planned vary from a charity calendar featuring local people with a 1948 Olympic torch to quiz nights, skittles evenings and a St Patrick's night celebration. We have a church service planned for the start of the Olympic Truce period which will not only highlight the issue of peace but also celebrate the role which sport plays in our communities.


During the Games, we will be opening a Big Screen Coffee Shop in St Catharine's Hall from 8am to 10pm daily showing action live from London and serving free Fairtrade drinks and food at cost price. We are holding a two day sports and community Festival during the Games. The torch relay is coming to town giving another opportunity to focus on More Than Gold's mission of "Outreach, Hospitality and Service".


It's not too late to arrange something in your area; this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

David Brinn david.brinn a_t stcatharines d_o_t co d_o_t uk