Christ Church reading buddies host jolly celebration

The reading buddies of Christ Church, Presbyterian of Longboat Key, and the 13th Avenue Dream Center were rewarded for their hard work Dec. 13.

On Thursday evening, about 50 students visited the church to have a Christmas Party with their adult reading buddies. The pairs meet throughout the school year to work on reading, but the party was all for play.

First, the buddies read and sang during a short service in the church, which concluded with the crowd singing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus as a cake was rolled in, then they all moved to the fellowship hall where Santa Claus made a special appearance.

Before any festivities began though, the Rev. Norman Pritchard made sure to tell the students how special they were to the church members. He said while the students might be glad to be at this celebration, the church members were even happier.

“When you come, you’re always so bright and happy…,” he said.

After every child got a gift bag from Santa, the reading buddies and their families enjoyed a spaghetti dinner.