8000 kids attend praise party

Eight thousand primary school children and one thousand adults attended ALIVE 2023, a massive praise party organised by the Coventry Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) in partnership with Imagine Ministries and Feed the Hungry.

ALIVE 2023 took place at Taking place at the NAEC, Stoneleigh Park. It included four worship concerts and two mass picnics over the two days.

The diocese wanted the children to experience worship in a large setting having gone through the pandemic where they were unable to visit churches or have external groups visit schools.

Children from the family of 76 Church of England primary schools in the Diocese of Coventry were invited. The children and their teachers were treated to live performances from a variety of contributors. iSingPOP brought life and energy with their incredibly catchy ‘iSingPOP Praise’ songs, Chip Kendall and his Orbitron International Space Crew took 9,000 people on an intergalactic worship adventure and Shell Perris’s ‘World Changers’ anthem raised the roof! iSingPOP explored ‘how to be a world changer’ in Classroom Worship LIVE, Feed the Hungry shared their vision to see hungry people fed one meal at a time, Diocesan Director of Education, April Gold, told the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 and the Bishop of Coventry blessed everyone.

Together, the DBE, Imagine Ministries and Feed the Hungry recruited over 100 staff, contractors and volunteers to help ensure the day was a success. Many volunteers were local clergy and church members.

Rt Rev Dr Christopher Cocksworth, Bishop of Coventry, said: “The Church of England’s vision for education is that children and young people will have ‘life in all its fullness’.

“ALIVE 2023 gave thousands of children a chance to sing and dance, listen, laugh and learn, to be loud and to be silent, and discover the fullness of life that comes from being world changers – people who have caught the vision of the sort of world of peace, kindness and justice that Jesus saw, and who decide to work with God for a better world for all.”

(Picture Courtesy: Diocese of Coventry)