Summer Reflections | Love Coleraine 2025
This summer, Vineyard Compassion was delighted to join with Causeway Coast Vineyard for Love Coleraine, a five-day outreach where the church family came together to serve our community in practical ways.
While our Hope Centre operated with restricted hours and a skeleton staff, many of our team and volunteers rolled up their sleeves to get involved. It was inspiring to see the whole Causeway Coast Vineyard family united in gardening, building, painting and kids’ work across the town.
Throughout the week, there was a real hive of activity. Each morning in the church building, a large group of enthusiastic volunteers ran the kids club, Beyond. They hosted a fun-packed, weeklong programme for over 60 primary school children exploring the miracles of Jesus and discovering how He goes beyond our wildest dreams and can do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine.
Beyond the church building, three major projects took place across local schools. Each project had a team leader to keep things on track, but every day they were joined by a fresh group of volunteers who had signed up to give their time and energy:
Harpurs Hill Nursery – the team transformed the nursery’s outdoor space with painting and landscaping. The storage shed got a fresh coat of green paint, the herb planters were filled with mint, sage and even strawberries for next year, and our CEO Ricky had great fun with a turbo-charged leaf blower to clear the space after all the mucky jobs!
Macosquin Playground – our very own Miriam took the lead here, using her art college talents to brighten the playground with a colourful mural.
Coleraine College – this team had the heavy-duty task of installing new fencing around the school grounds, a project that called for plenty of brute strength and the help of power tools.
These projects not only improved the physical spaces for children to enjoy but also brought fresh life and colour to the local community. They created environments where children can play, learn, and grow, while showing teachers, parents, and residents that they are valued. More than fresh paint or new fencing, the work spoke of love in action. We were thrilled by the smiles and even some tears from the head teachers in response to seeing the spaces for the first time. It made all the mucky, sweaty work worth it all.
Mrs McElwee, Principal of Macosquin PS shared this:
“Thank you to every single one of the amazing volunteers. Your creativity and kindness has brought our Macosquin core values and shield to life in our playground. This act of generosity and love not only brightens the play space but also lets the children know they are part of caring and connected community - it’s a daily reminder that they are seen, supported and surrounded by people who believe in them. Thank you for your act of kindness, it’s so much more than a gift, it’s a lasting message of love, inspiration and community.”
For us at Vineyard Compassion, it was important to be part of Love Coleraine. It gave us a chance to take the heart of all we do at Compassion out into the local community to people who might never cross the door of the Hope Centre. As Miriam says,
“We got the chance to show up in our local neighbourhood and say that we care. Many people will remember what we did that week much more than anything we say about our charity on social media”
🌟 Want to learn more about volunteering?