Lee-Anne Southon serves as a Churchwarden at Holy Trinity Church (pictured), North Ormesby, Middlesbrough.
Young mum Lee-Anne started going to church with her Grandma and came to know it as a place of friendship where people would check that she was OK – but over time the church became her family too.
So when she moved to North Ormesby three years ago it was only natural to check out Holy Trinity, and it soon became her home church.
There she learned that God isn’t just her Sunday God, but someone who is there with her every single day.
“God made me believe in myself more, and then Trinity Church believed in me.
“I joined the Godly Play group and helped to lead Godly Play – there was this confidence I didn’t know I had.
“A year ago I became Churchwarden, which was incredibly overwhelming.”
Because Lee-Anne lives in the community she will pop round to see young mums and others to let them know what’s going on in the Trinity Centre, welcoming new people when they come to church, and “Just loving people.”
In the past year Holy Trinity has set up ‘Family Fridays’, a safe place where Lee-Anne can invite young mums to come along and have a cup of tea, and most of them came to this year’s Mothers’ Day service.
“I just want more people to love God like we do, and start that journey. I want to see more people start that journey and stand alongside them.”