Female rugby player takes up internship with Notts churches
A rugby player from Carlton in Nottingham has been appointed as an intern to work with churches across Nottinghamshire in the run-up to the Olympics and Paralympics.
Rachel King (21), who attended Carlton Le Willows School in Gedling, and recently graduated with a BSc graduate in Radiotherapy and Oncology from Sheffield Hallam University, will take up the post in September 2011 for a year. She will work alongside the Sport Ambassador for the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham Tim Friend, with the aim of helping churches engage with the 2012 Games through organising events and linking with their local schools and communities.
Rachel said, “I am passionate about sport, particularly women’s rugby, and am excited to combine my passions for sport and evangelism, to give my own team-mates opportunities to hear and ask questions about God. I am excited about the opportunities that we will have in Britain over the next year, leading up to and including the Olympics and Paralympics, and even afterwards too, to use sport and sports-related events to point people towards God.”
Rachel captained her university rugby team and also plays for Chesterfield Ladies. She led the student Christians in Sport group at university, organising sport-linked events for students and encouraging Christians to get involved by inviting their teammates. Rachel also plays piano, guitar and clarinet and often leads the music in church services.
Sport Ambassador Tim Friend said: “I’m really pleased to have Rachel on board to help churches engage with the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. This is an excellent opportunity for topical mission and ministry and we need all the help we can get to respond effectively. Rachel has a particular interest to help enable communities, not just individual sportspeople, to build a bridge between the world of church and the world of sport. As a Christian who is well established in the ‘clubhouse’, Rachel’s enthusiasm and experience will be a great, additional resource to the Ministry of Sport.”
The internship has been set up through the charity ‘Time for God ‘ which has more than 40 years of experience offering quality volunteering opportunities to people of all ages - both in the UK and abroad. ‘Time For 2012’ is a new project set up by ‘Time For God’ and inspired by the opportunities created by London's hosting of the Olympics and Paralympic Games. They aim to help Christian communities in using the excitement created by the Games to stimulate projects in their local area by linking them with a full-time volunteer. At the same time they offer willing volunteers a stretching and rewarding experience.
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