I have been a parish based youth worker in Tunbridge Wells for the past 10 years working with  a wide range of young people in a wide range of contexts. I had the privilege of working with an incredible team of volunteers and look forward to doing what i can to resource and support those in similar contexts seeking to bring Jesus and young people together!

Do keep checking the blog…God Bless!

There is someone new coming in on a part time basis from September 1st. So, please do keep coming back for lots more ideas and resources. Of course there is the archive and I have created a Downloads page with a few things to keep you going.

This blog will take a break for August – have a great summer and may God bless you in all your work with children and young people.

Thanks for reading!

John H Westerhoff in `Living the Faith Community’ (p. 78)

• Someone like Sam
• The best book to read?
• Real Life, Real Children, Real Church
• Manifesto for Children
• Takeover Day 2009
• Off the Bookshelf

Someone like Sam

Based on a book called The Godmother, Someone like Sam develops the story to explore the themes of love, identity, relationship, strength, vocation and more. The pack contains a set of full-colour pictures with conversation starters on the back of each one. The accompanying CD has 12 downloadable sessions for use with children and adults in churches which explore baptism, belonging to the faith community, vocation and more! The pictures and full story text are on the CD, so they could be projected if you wanted to use the material with a large group or as part of an all-age service. There are also lesson plans for use with KS1, Year 3 & Year 6 linking in with RE, PSHE and SEAL. A very versatile, imaginative resource.

The best book to read?

According to this article from The Independent, Bible knowledge in Britain is decreasing, even though most people own a Bible! How Bible literate are the children in your group? Here are some resources which are designed to help children and families read and think about a small part of the Bible each day:

Snapshots from Scripture Union

TOPZ from CWR

XTB from The Good Book Company

Must Know Bible Stories from Scripture Union

Real Life, Real Children, Real Church

The European Conference of Christian Educators (ECCE) is held every three years, bringing together people from denominations across Europe to share experiences and good practice in nurturing children’s faith. If you’re interested in attending the 2010 Conference (which will be held in Paris) all the details are on the ECCE website.

Manifesto for Children

The Children’s Society continues to develop its work based on the findings of the Good Childhood Inquiry. The latest is to publish a Manifesto for Children which calls on all the political parties to make a clear commitment to improving children’s lives in any new administration they form. Click on the link to read more and view a copy of the document.

Takeover Day 2009

Takeover Day is an initiative of the Children’s Commissioner for England. The idea is to invite children into workplaces and organisations to `takeover’ for a day – and those who been involved in the past two years have found it an eye-opening and beneficial experience. The official date for this year is Friday 6th November, so why not invite children to `takeover’ one of your church services or activities that weekend?

Off the Bookshelf

The All Age Service Annual

Scripture Union has just published the third volume of their All Age Service Annual. Divided into two sections, it has a series of 52 `service starters’, designed to use when children are with the whole church community before going to groups and 15 fully worked out all-age services. The service-starter themes fit with SU’s LIGHT curriculum.

The All Age Service Annual

Pub. SU ISBN: 978 1 84427 381 2 £11.99

Teaching Godly Play

Teaching Godly Play – The Sunday Morning Handbook was my first introduction to the theory and practicalities behind Godly Play. Jerome Berryman has now completely revised and expanded it to provide an essential handbook for people who have perhaps only experienced taster or introductory sessions of Godly Play. Starting with an introduction `Why Play?’ It goes on to look at each section of a Godly Play session, giving practical, adaptable advice. It finishes with two chapters exploring the how both children and leaders can grow spiritually through Godly Play. I’m enjoying the chance to revisit these basics (though I’m not over-keen on some of the line drawings!).

Teaching Godly Play

By Jerome W. Berryman

Pub. Morehouse Education Resources ISBN: 978-1-60674-048-4 £16.81

The Book of Books

Trevor Dennis retells the story of the Bible for adults and children to read together. Each of the 12 chapters contains stories woven together and told to fire the imagination. Introductions link the chapters showing the sweep of Scripture and the thread of God through it all.

The Book of Books

By Trevor Dennis

Pub. Lion ISBN: 9-780745-969121 £9.99

My DAVE counterpart in Southwark Diocese is hosting a conference on death and bereavement for those who work with young peoplpe and children. It will be  on Saturday 17th October in Southwark Cathedral. You can download a flyer from here and a booking form from here.

It really does look like it will be an incredible day raising big questions on this fundamental issue.

How churches can support parents in raising children who love Jesus from Children’s Ministry

“It is imperative that we understand God’s expectations of how children should be nurtured. The local church is crucial in the process but a child’s family is central. Gaining a proper perspective on the partnership between parent and church in the mutual effort to raise God-loving and God-fearing children is paramount.” George Barna (Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions)

Raising children who grow up loving Jesus and wanting to serve God is a goal of most churches and many parents. Several denominations and organisations that produce resources to support ministries are working together to try and improve the materials that are available for churches to encourage and equip parents and for family use at home. Help us understand what is needed by taking part in our survey.

I’m also delighted that George Barna will be one of the key speakers, addressing this issue, at the Children’s Ministry and Family Ministry conference next January. Bookings will open in August – more on that in the next email in two weeks.

September is a popular time for churches to offer parenting courses. The Family Time courses: Parenting Children and Parenting Teenagers are ideal for outreach to families that you are in contact with through toddler groups, Messy Church, similar fresh expressions or just to advertise in your locality. Revolutionary Parenting is a course for families that want to explore how to build a solid foundation of faith in their children. “

The Children’s Society has issued a Manifesto for a Good Childhood in which they are identifying three key areas that political parties ought to put at the centre of children’s well-being.

You can download the six page document here.

It is at 6pm and ends at 8pm, it’s for young people in the secondary school age bracket and of course it’s FREE! There will be a cafe as usual, so you may wish to bring some money for that!

We had a planning meeting yesterday and I can’t tell you how excited I am about this next event! We have some fantastic surprises up our sleeve for this next one!

John Pridmore in Through the Eyes of a Child (p.193)

This week

• Play Altars
• Take This!
• St Nicholas’ Day
• Harvest Ideas
• Hands up!
• Children and Parents
• Off the Bookshelf

Play Altars
Maria Montessori knew that children needed to be able to play in order to learn. As part of her original Montessori Classroom she had a children’s chapel – with child-sized altar, lectern and pews. Here’s an American blogger who has a Play Altar in her Children’s Church. An idea worth considering?

Take This!
Take This! is a monthly puzzle sheet written and produced by the children of Hexham Abbey for distribution to children across the country. They have created a special Year of the Child 2009 edition. If you’d like to get hold of copies for your church or school, all the details are here.

St Nicholas’ Day
Sunday 6th December is St Nicholas’ Day – the patron saint of children! On that day the 2009 Godly Play Lecture will be given by John Pridmore in Newcastle Cathedral. But if you can’t get to that, why not keep that Sunday as a Year of the Child 2009 celebration in your church. There will be ideas and resources for services on the Year of the Child 2009 website.

Harvest Ideas
To help you with your planning for the autumn, here are some websites which are offering Harvest resources to use with children:

Must-Have Gifts
Download the catalogue and ask your group to choose what they would like to be able to give as a gift this Harvest. They’ll have to think practically about how the money can be raised – but that might produce some very innovative ideas!!!

World Vision
World Vision’s theme for 2009 is Food not Famine.

Christian Aid
Christian Aid are focussing on the drought in India.

Tear Fund
Tear Fund’s Make life flow resources are focussing on drought-stricken countries.

USPG
USPG’s focus is the Amazon Rainforest.

Water Aid
Water Aid has a range of materials for nursery, primary and secondary schools.

MRDF
The resources from the Methodist Relief and Development Fund focus on India.

CMS
CMS is focussing on Nepal

Together for a Season – Volume 3
And if you just want worship ideas without a hint of fund-raising, Together for a Season volume 3 has a whole section on Celebrating God’s Providence, including a Harvest Eucharist, a Rogatiotide walk and a Pagaent of the Seasons!

Hands Up!
For a good news read, take a look at the Evangelical Alliance’s report Young People Matter. 14 – 17 year olds spend an average of 4 hours a month volunteering, and if they are actively involved in a faith community they are likely to do much more. Teenagers are usually portrayed negatively in the press, so it’s good to read a corrective view!

Children and Parents
Last week I was at the excellent Changing Childhood Conference, hosted by the Diocese of Chichester, Chichester University and the Children’s Society. One of the key note speakers was Marcia Bunge, editor of The Child in Christian Thought and The Child in the Bible. One of her talks was about the relationship between parent and child, and the best family practices which help a child grow in the Christian faith. I’ve tracked down an on-line version of her handout if you’d like to see what she said. There’s a fuller version in the first chapter of The Vocation of the Child.

Off the Bookshelf

Lion Publishing
The latest Lion Hudson Publishing catalogue is now available online, featuring the books for children to be published this autumn. There are lots of new titles, and several reprints of old favourites, including The Three Trees and The Very Worried Sparrow.

The Lion Hudson Catalogue