A joyous celebration showing all are welcome at WMC
On Saturday 21st Withington High Street welcomed a diverse crowd of local people to celebrate Withington Pride.
There was a parade held, that ended outside Withington Library and shortly after, an intimate service was held at Withington Methodist Church. The service, lead by our own Nick Palfreyman, was attended by 11 folk and one canine friend. It was lovely to have a time of reflection and peace during a busy and joyful day. In typical Methodist tradition, we shared in tea and cake after the service and got to know some of the unfamiliar faces.
Later in the evening, WMC was used as the venue for a Ceilidh which was an overwhelming success with about 250 young people in the building during the course of the two hour session. A queue formed outside very quickly and a ‘one in one out’ policy had to be put in place. The Ceilidh had a five- piece bank and was advertised as a Sober Space.We hope to be able to have a similar event next year. Many of those who came in were looking with interest at the embroidery on the corner upstairs near the lift. Perhaps we can think about what we might do next year to represent further what we believe in and what we stand for. It was wonderful to see our church play such an inclusive role in the community and to see so many people cross the threshold of our church that may not have previously felt welcome in a religious setting.
One of those present told us: “We’ve just been talking about how truly special the Ceilidh felt, and it feels so grassroots because it belongs to everyone, you know what I mean? And how special is it that you let us use the church as well, because I’ve not been to church for years, and it was just so nice. It felt properly radical, and about community.”
Written by Caroline Fielding.
