Christians gathered in Priory Memorial Gardens in Royston for Churches Together s Hope Family Fun Day. Local bands MBC and Resonant Clay were joined by visiting troubadours Voyager Project for performances at the event on Sunday, which was arranged to cel

Christians gathered in Priory Memorial Gardens in Royston for Churches Together's Hope Family Fun Day.

Local bands MBC and Resonant Clay were joined by visiting troubadours Voyager Project for performances at the event on Sunday, which was arranged to celebrate the nationwide Hope 08 initiative.

Paul Brown, from Royston and District Churches Together, said: "The purpose of Hope 08 is to encourage churches to join together in sharing a message of hope with their communities in all sorts of practical and creative ways.

"This was our way of saying to Royston and district that our God cares about you. Our aim was not to raise money but to be a blessing to the whole community.

"And I feel we achieved that on Sunday - I was very pleased with the way it all went and the number of people who came, even though the sun didn't shine."

Alongside the music, a barbecue and Hope Cafe did a roaring trade, giving away food and drinks free of charge.

Events for children included a bouncy castle and fairground attractions.

There was also a range of commercial and charity stalls from local organisations including Love Royston, Tear Fund and Royston Time Bank.

In between the bands on the main stage, crowds gathered for a puppet show and organised games.

The afternoon concluded with a short service.

Mr Brown said: "Other Hope 08 events are being planned for later this year.

"One of the ongoing projects is a survey of Royston residents that was launched at the Fun Day and which will be carried out over the next couple of months.

"The purpose of the survey is to discover if there are needs in the local community that could be met in practical ways by the churches."

You can take part in the survey on-line at www.ct-royston.org.uk/hope.