By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
COMMUNITY is one of the most important things to Father Abanoub Attalla.
It’s why Father Attalla from St Mina and St Marina Coptic Orthodox Church in Hallam helps run the church’s Hallam Spring Festival which is being held on the weekend of 15 and 16 November.
“It came about because we wanted to invite the community to come and share with us the celebration and have the community day and also open the doors of the church to all our neighbours,” Father Attalla said.
“The church has been around for a long time but now we’ve opened it to a wider community.
“Part of the Christian virtue is to share our own love and our own generosity towards others and invite others in.”
The Hallam Spring Festival, heartily supported by Holt MP Anthony Byrne, will feature a range of activities for children and their parents to get involved in across the two days.
This will also include a special video presentation explaining the history between ancient Egypt and the Coptic Church.
“We wanted to have a family day, it means a lot to the families to have a fun day together and share in that community spirit,” Father Attalla said.
The festival will include various fair rides, a dunk tank, face painting, hair colouring, clowns, church tours and a kebab barbecue, among many other things.
“The festival has grown and it follows something we did last year which was very special where we had another celebration called Santa Comes to Hallam and we opened up the church free of charge for photos,” Father Attalla said.
“Hopefully the spring festival will be just as amazing. I know there’s a lot of people who will want to see the church.”
The Hallam Spring Festival will be held at the St Mina and St Marina Coptic Orthodox Church, 41-59 Saffron Drive, Hallam, from 10am to 5pm.
