CoolyRocksOn the week of the June long weekend - along with everything else will be resumed in 2021 with Covid 19 travel restrictions. This includes the CoolyRocksOn Church Service.
The CoolyRocksOn Church Service was initiated in the Coolangatta Anglican church adjacent to the main shopping complex. Then it was found to have asbestosis and closed. That was 2008.
On the way home from another mission trip, my wife and I in the Tweed Heads / Gold Coast taxi, where we are well known as ‘the chaplain’ – the taxi driver was a board member of CoolyRoksOn and asked whether I would resurrect the CoolyRocksOn Church Service.
Bob Newman the then CEO of CoolyRocksOn and I got together and with the organisation having a massive marque in Coolangatta Park – it was agreed to host the CoolyRocksOn Church Service. With the CV as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years, every stop was pulled to make this work.
They put the Church Service in the CoolyRocksOn booklet distributed far and wide, and on their Facebook page, and announced it with welcome arms.
In 2011 the CoolyRocksOn Church Service was re-initiated in the big marque, and prayed up for the special occasion, we were delighted, the big marque was filled.
The following years
The next few years the same thing happened – an amazing crowd – great singing, terrific music by the Son Chasers band, and it was growing in stature as an annual southern Gold Coast Christian event.
The Tweed Heads Chamber of Commerce made mention of this annual Christian Service and the great preaching (as a member of the Chamber this was not orchestrated). It was a delightful recognition.
Organisers then decided – as a cost saving mechanism – the do away with the big marque and the CoolyRocksOn church service was assigned adjacent to the Coolangatta Surf Club - that entire weekend was drenched and every outdoor CoolyRocksOn event was cancelled.
The leaders of the CoolyRocksOn Church Service met in a café opposite the venue – it poured and poured and poured.
The following two years, after the big wet – and under new management, there was no venue indoor or outdoor for the CoolyRocksOn Church Service so the Twin Towns Uniting Church opened their doors.
2020 Covid 19
After such a hectic number of years running CoolyRocksOn Church Service and at 68 going on 69, I handed it to a young minister – then Covid 19 struck and we all know what this meant.
So to 2021 ……
Dr Mark Tronson - a 4 min video
Chairman – Well-Being Australia
Baptist Minister 45 years
- 1984 - Australian cricket team chaplain 17 years (Ret)
- 2001 - Life After Cricket (18 years Ret)
- 2009 - Olympic Ministry Medal – presented by Carl Lewis
- 2019 - The Gutenberg - (ARPA Christian Media premier award)
Gutenberg video - 2min 14sec
Married to Delma for 45 years with 4 children and 6 grand children
