"Getting people of common interests together makes worship more meaningful" says Tom Campbell, lay preacher for North Avon Parish, Christchurch. That was the reason for St Columba Church hosting a special West Coast service. The service has been an annual event now for the past five years and each year it gets bigger.

The little church was packed for this years service and was abuzz with noise, not just from the excited chatter of friends catching up but also from the fountain erected on the alter especially to evoke the Coast's bush environment.

Even though many hadn't lived on the Coast for decades they still considered themselves 'Coasters' at heart and enjoyed the chance to catch up with familiar faces from their Coast days. They came from all over the show - Ross, Westport, Greymouth, Hokitika, Karamea, Hari Hari, Franz Josef and the list goes on - and were invited to stand during a roll call to proclaim their Coast roots.

Not all those gathered were now residing in Christchurch either. Some people had come from Nelson, Wanaka and Milton to be there and celebrate.

The event was a chance for thanksgiving and fellowship. Reading and songs had been carefully chosen to suit the service and the theme of "the Rivers of Life" - which was the title of the message given by Rev. Kim Bathgate, a past minister of the Central Westland Parish, based at Runanga.

Tom Campbell read extracts from the log of his great grandfather, a ship's cook, dating back to 1886, written while at the Buller River and also played a tape of Coast sounds to aid reflection and prayer.

It was Tom's idea to get the service going. "It is about opening the doors to others. We are facilitating people with common interests to get together to worship. It is their common interests which make the worship more meaningful."

Tom says he would always put his trust in a Coaster and his mother says what makes Coasters special is that "everybody helps each other, like one big family".

"Coasters have a different way of looking at things," said Mrs Pammet.