Rev Charlie gears up for Shavathon
"God teaches us we are all loved unconditionally," says Sharon.
Selcourt Methodist Church held a “shavathon” on Sunday for Coleen Gardiner, an eight-year-old girl who has stage three kidney cancer and had lost her hair a week ago after a chemo session.
Sharon Laas, office manager at the church says that the “shavathon” is to emphasise the need for awareness that cancer can affect anyone regardless of age, race and religion.
“It was not run as a fundraiser but purely as an awareness drive we are doing,” said Laas.
After Gardiner received chemo last week, on the drive home, her hair fell out in her hands and she believed she was no longer beautiful and Rev Charlie Wernich wanted to show his support in a way that made her comfortable with the changes in her life and to show her that we all are beautiful in God’s eyes.
Gardiner is a member of the Methodist Children’s Church, who is loved by everyone around her.
“We wanted her to know that we love her regardless of her hair but for what is inside,” says Laas.
Amongst the guests who took part was Michele Venter and Bronwyn Walker. Michele’s husband Piet shaved Charlie’s hair with a razor afterwards.
“We also had two of our youth running the spraying station. Schineque Wessels and Zane Becker had a lot of fun with their efforts,” says Laas.
“We would like to thank all who came out and supported this event,” Laas concluded.
