The Methodist Church: Children's Workers' E-News

www.methodistchildren.org.uk

Welcome to the December 2006 Children's Workers' newsletter.

Christmas Resources on-line!

Image of a present It's that wonderful time of year again where we at MethodistChildren offer you some inspiration for a Christmas All Age service! Last year we delighted you with Narnia and we know that was appreciated (even enjoying the service ourselves in a few churches!) but this year we take a slightly different direction, offering you three different ideas. The first service is based around a 'Story Sack', the second around a 'Sound Story' and the third uses Prayer to offer the Christmas story. All three services are now available on the website. The sound story has accompanying mp3 files to download and each service can be printed off separately in pdf format.

Visit the Christmas All Age Service for 2006 by clicking here!

Also on line are our updated Christmas Resource pages which feature books, resources, and websites that will help you make the most of the Christmas season in Church with children!

Visit the Christmas Resource pages by clicking here!

Looking for a new song for Christmas? Ruth Thomas has produced a new Christmas song entitled 'When He Grows Up'. The song is available to purchase on cd with full musical accompaniment from Songbird, PO Box 24407, London, W5 1YN. You can hear part of the song by downloading the mp3 here or read the lyrics on a pdf download here!

Building Strong Towers

Strong Towers leaflet Upcoming in the New Year is a wonderful tour being organised by Scripture Union, the United Reformed Church, NCH, the Church of England, and MethodistChildren.
The tour is built around the SU publication 'The Strong Tower' which offers stories about children in the Bible who went through difficult times as well as resources and advice for those reading the book with children on how to deal with some of the issues children face today. The tour aims to build on this resource and will utilise the expertise of storytellers, NCH trained staff and SU Schools workers. Each evening will offer four workshops - How to tell Bible stories creatively and with interaction, How to use 'The Strong Tower' book and resources, How to support children who are bullied/life in school, and How to support children in families.
The Tour covers seven locations - Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Hillingdon, Cambridge, Darlington, Bristol, and Preston. The cost for the evening is £10 per person or £5 unwaged. Each event will have a resource marketplace and a bookstall.
You can download a booking form here or contact trainman@scriptureunion.org.uk

Download the Information and Booking Form here!

JMA Indiblog

Photo of Indian boys roller-skating JMA recently made an overseas visit to India to develop partnership work for our upcoming Peacebuilders project which will be launched in the Spring of next year. During our time there we visited many cities and worked with different groups who are trying to change children's lives for the better. We have written a weblog, or an Indiblog, and put it up on the Children's Section of the website. Encourage the children you work with to read this and also utilise it with the India material that will feature in January's Rainbow.

Read the Indiblog here.

If you would like to order free copies of Rainbow then mail us at children@methodistchurch.org.uk

Children's Church Groups and OFSTED

Over the next few weeks there should be news from OFSTED about a new voluntary scheme for providers who want to be registered with OFSTED. The details of the new scheme are yet to be released but it will feature the Common Core Skills for Workers and other Health, Safety and Safeguarding issues. This will be a voluntary scheme for those providers who may be considered as childcare. More information will follow from OFSTED and the DfES in the near future. Keep an eye on both websites, www.ofsted.gov.uk and www.dfes.gov.uk

For all those working with children in churches it is crucial that as part of planning for the future all are aware of the Children's and Young People's plans for your Local Authority. This plan will spell out where the priorities are for the Local Authority and the links to the Every Child Matters programme. You can view all the Local Authorities' Children's and Young People's plans by clicking on to this website! Consider getting in touch with the responsible Officers in your area and having a discussion about where they hope children's work will go and what part we in the faith sector can play in this.

Hard Times

Have you heard about Save the Children's new campaign to end child poverty in the UK? New research shows that the poorest families are struggling to make ends meet and their children are missing out on basics such as warm coats and proper food. In the first phase of the campaign, Save the Children is calling for Seasonal grants to help low-income families at the most difficult times of year, particularly in the winter. Today 3.4 million children still live in poverty in the UK. A million live in severe poverty. Save the Children calculates that Seasonal grants would help lift 440,000 children out of poverty. The campaign aims to persuade the Chancellor to act. Save the Children is asking everyone to send a campaign card to their MP.
Take this action online by clicking here

Order campaign cards to distribute to friends, family and work colleagues from j.smith@savethechildren.org.uk

Christmas Crackers!

Cover of Family Activity Calendar

SU Activity Calendar 2007 - we have been given five of these wonderful Activity Calendars to give away to the readers of our e-news. This family activity organiser is full of many exciting and useful activities. Seven activities to do a week - a Biblical passage, Tearfund story, prayer, church, learn and remember activity. Packed full of creative prayer ideas, quizzes and puzzles focused on God, with space for the family to personalise their scrapbook and record their thoughts and discoveries. Also available to buy at £9.99 from the SU online bookshop.
To win a copy of the calendar be one of the first to send us the answer to this question at the usual address, children@methodistchurch.org.uk:

On what date in January do you traditionally have to take all the Christmas decorations down by?

Foundations 21 logo A solid present suggestion for adults working with children- You may remember that a few months ago we mentioned the new Bible study resource from BRF? It is a new way of practising discipleship and continuing on our lifelong journey of faith. For those people who are unable to manage to attend a regular Bible study or fellowship group in their own Church it offers you the chance to undertake Bible study in a way that you will have never thought possible. With a massive on-line library of video, images, and words, it can help you to discover a world that you have never seen before! With all the latest on-line technology you can be part of a e-community and keep a journal as you journey. This is a perfect Christmas present for those working with children. Contact www.foundations21.org.uk

CORE update - if you are thinking of running a CORE course then you can register your course on line on the www.coreskillsforchurches website and you will receive a free copy of the book! There will be a CORE session being run at the Children's Ministry Conference, Eastbourne, 26-28 January 2007, book online at www.childrensministry.co.uk

Children's rights - telling the Government what children really think!

For the first time ever, the Government is running an online children's rights survey to find out the views and experiences of children and young people (under 18 year-olds) in England.
The survey results will be included in the Government's next children's rights report to the United Nations. There are questions about children's and young people's health, education, experience of violence and discrimination, and the right to be heard and taken seriously.
The survey is anonymous and should take about 10 minutes to complete online (longer for young children). It closes at midnight on January 31st 2007.
CRAE (Children's Rights Alliance for England) want children and young people all over the country to take part - HAVE YOUR SAY NOW! Visit http://www.direct.gov.uk/youngpeoplerights

Visit CRAE at http://www.crae.org.uk for information on all their work and also on the Ready Steady Change Training Programme!

You can now buy copies of new CRAE materials for children and young people on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (activity book - pack of five for £15; children's human rights booklet - pack of five for £10). Contact Sue Marris on 020 7278 8222 ext 20 or smarris@crae.org.uk

Methodist Youth and Children's Workers Conference
21st-23rd February 2007 Conference leaflet cover High Leigh Conference Centre

A joint conference from MAYC and Methodist Children primarily for full and part-time workers with children and young people. If you know of any workers who would benefit from this conference please let them know all about it!
The theme of this year's conference is Management: Ourselves as Managers, Working with your Manager/Management Team, Managing Others, and many other areas. There will be opportunities to explore these issues in different ways and a chance to network with other children's and youth workers. A key element to this Conference is a chance to meet and build relationships
The cost of this residential is £110.00 per person. We recommend that you apply to your church, project or circuit for funding to attend.

Download the Information and Booking form here.

Communicating the Bible today: a conversation

Storykeepers image Sector minister, Brian D Brown, of the Oxford circuit, has since his retirement as Head of the Television Research Unit at the former Oxford Polytechnic (now Oxford Brookes University), devoted his ministry to communicating the gospels and other Bible stories to children on mainstream television. He spent over seven years devising and co-creating the ITV children’s hit The StoryKeepers and more recently has created another major series, the first 13 episodes of 39 of which are due to be released in the autumn/winter of 2006. Brian believes the time has come to explore with churches at district, circuit or local level the implications for our common mission of the issues he has encountered in creating these series. The discussions will centre on the biblical and theological issues raised by seeking to reach out to the biblically illiterate with stories from the New and Old Testaments. The concern is mission and with the Church’s outreach to the millions who may watch television but never meet to hear sermons. The objective is to begin a conversation to enable all to learn and to fulfil our calling to the world.
There will be a seminar at Methodist Church House in London on Thursday 25th January from 1300 to 1700. Contact Lindiwe Marimirofa for further information and booking.

Especially for 9-13s

‘Gab on Da Blab’
There are loads of resources and discussion points on Da Blab Bulletin Board
Get your group involved and talking on Da Blab they can post their points of view, start a debate share what is going on. The more people who use it the better it becomes.

Create your own online community visit Da Blab bulletin board on www.methodistchildren.org.uk

EXODUS 20 is designed as a resource for teachers of RE working with students aged 11–14. The material could easily be adapted for use in your youth group or club or in a worship setting. Listed below are some of the materials provided that could be used in your local setting.
The material could be adapted and used as a basis for discussion groups on a residential weekend for 11-14s, it could be used in a weekly group or perhaps developed as part of a holiday club.
The resource consists of ten short films (each between 5 and 10 minutes long) which were written and acted by school children of varying ages in Sunderland and County Durham. Each film takes one of the Ten Commandments as its theme and presents an interpretation of the Commandment relevant to the lives of young people today. The films are of a high quality and raise many thought-provoking issues which are sure to stimulate discussion.
Each film also comes with accompanying teaching materials:

background issues to help Leaders to understand the Commandment and teach the material sensitively.
questions to promote discussion, both specifically about the storyline of the film and more generally about issues arising from it.
a range of further suggestions from which a follow-up lesson may be formed. These are classified under Debate/Media, Art/Craft, Music/Poetry and Dance/Drama to provide easy choice of type of activity required.
suggestions for how some of the activities could form the basis for Collective Worship.

There is also an introductory lesson on the Ten Commandments which can be used as background before you start using the other resources. The films may then be used in any order.

Cost £40.00 from www.exodus20.org.uk

If you require any further information please contact us on children@methodistchurch.org.uk

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Penny Fuller, Steve Pearce, Mary Roseweir, Doug Swanney
MethodistChildren