Boys' Brigade's Bristol birthday bash

For the uninitiated, the Boys' Brigade is much like the Scouts, but with a strong Christian ethos.

It aims to instil a sense of faith and discipline in its charges and offer them opportunities they would not otherwise have.

The re-dedication of the battalion will also be performed during the service, as well as presentations of the Gillmore Carter cup and Queen's Badges, which will be made by battalion president Simon Blackwell.

There are a dozen companies in the Avon battalion, which has about 350 members.

The brigade has three age groups – Anchors are aged four to eight, Juniors are eight to 11 and the Company itself is for 11 to 18-year-olds.

The company meets weekly at Hanham Methodist Church on Thursday.

The brigade has access to the whole building, with each age group having its own room.

It starts at 6pm with the Anchors, who begin with show and tell, followed by drawing sessions and games.

The Company starts at 7.30pm, when acting captain Mike Vernon calls for the boys to fall in line to start the session.

Mike talks through what they have to look forward to, which included drills, learning about Fair Trade and a trip to Laser Quest at the weekend.

Some of the boys explained what it was about the brigade that keeps them coming back.

Richard Marelli, 13, has been a member for five years and loves it.

"I live just up the road and started coming when I was about eight," he said.

"I've made friends since I've come here, outside this company as well.

"We go out to sports events, bike riding and we've been able to do more since we've had more boys in the company – we used to have three.

"I definitely want to stay with the brigade when I'm older."

Gareth Pearce, 11, signed up six years ago.

"I like it because I see my friends from my old school," he said.

"We play a lot, I like the games and using the laptops and football.

"I like it more now I'm in the company, we get to do better things that are more exciting."

William Alexander Smith founded the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow on October 4, 1883, and there have been Boys Brigades in the Avon area for 119 years, with the local group celebrating its own 125th in 2014.

Meetings are run by volunteers, and the brigade is always on the lookout for anyone with a few spare hours a week to help out.

Mike, 51, of Kingswood, became involved 30 years ago and is due to be appointed Hanham Methodist captain in the coming weeks.

"I was asked to help out with the juniors and I ended up joining, once you're hooked they don't let you go," he said.

"The reward is to see children doing things they wouldn't normally do, and involving them in the church way of life.

"It's very rewarding to see them go through from Anchors to the Company in this day and age."

The brigade has groups for different types of Christian faith, with different brigades coming under Methodist, Baptist and URC.

The object of the Boys' Brigade is "The Advancement of Christ's Kingdom among boys and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-Respect and all that tends towards a true Christian Manliness".

Meetings start and end with prayers, but the organisation has an open door policy.

"Because we're a Christian based organisation we will introduce them to the message, and hope they will become a member of the church," said Mike.

"In the modern world it's difficult to get boys to do that but we try and get the message across.

"You don't have to be a Christian but you won't find many Muslims coming through the door.

"We would expect anyone who came along to take part in all the prayers, otherwise it would be chaos.

"But nothing is forced down there throat, if you do that they would be out the door fast."

Instead the emphasis is on the boys enjoying themselves and doing things they otherwise may not be able to.

Mike said: "I think we provide something for people who would normally be left out.

"At football, whatever your ability you can play, where as if you go to a football team if you're not good enough you wouldn't."

"We're trying to get them to do things they haven't done before, like pistol shooting in a controlled environment, rock climbing or contributing to the community."

Find out more about Boys' Brigade by calling the local HQ on 966 0650.