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Welcome to the November 2006 Children's Workers' newsletter. |
It is so hard to believe that the clocks have been turned back and that winter is upon us. This year has been such a busy one that it seems to have disappeared in a flash but we hope that you can see just how much has been achieved in the last year in your ministry. At MethodistChildren it would seem that the whole of our workload has trebled and that we are dealing with more work day to day. This is all a fantastic sign that there is such growth in children's work and that many children continue to walk the spiritual journey with adults across the whole country. We hope that this edition of the e-news helps you to resource your work with children.
Children's Strategy and Audit results released Hot off the press is a Press Release all about our new Strategy for Children's work in the Methodist Church, it reads - An online survey conducted by MethodistChildren has found that children prefer to participate in the fun, fellowship and community offered by churches during the week and in summer holidays than on Sundays. Steve Pearce, Children’s Secretary, says, “Midweek groups are almost 100% bigger than Sunday groups. Many churches are doing great work on Sundays, but it’s clear from our results that children want church to be more than just that - they want to go to activities during the week. Which is great, because 43% of the churches that work with children already provide mid-week activities, with an average of 38 children attending each group.” This is particularly the case for the 9-13 age group and MethodistChildren hopes to see the work of the Church serving children’s needs throughout the week. Steve says; “Sundays are special, but we’re called to be Christians every day of the week and this survey shows that children and young people have a 24/7 spirituality that needs to be fed all the time. We are already supporting this in a variety of ways through services such as the MethodistChildren website and free weekly texting service. We are also involved in various online church projects for those of all ages, but there’s always more room for growth.” Doug Swanney, Children’s Work Development Officer, comments that; “This strengthens the case for churches to develop work on days other than Sunday and to try one-off events and holiday clubs. It shows the opportunity churches now have for partnership with schools and clubs as they develop their extended services.” Children’s workers across Britain are adapting to this trend and the survey highlights their most pressing needs as wanting a local forum to discuss ideas and encouragement, more resources and more training. MethodistChildren has responded with a new resource, The MethodistChildren Journey, which is being sent to all churches this week (see below for details). Doug comments; “The most significant finding of the survey is that when churches do something new, it usually works. Churches need to be ready to take the risk of trying new things – they might just surprise themselves with how successful they are.” The results of the survey are all available on our website. Also just released from MethodistChildren is our new Strategy Document - The Journey. One copy is in the process of being sent to every church through the Link mailing. If you do not receive this mailing and you would like a copy you can either download it here or you can contact us for a paper copy by e-mailing us at children@methodistchurch.org.uk |
Texting success New texters are joining everyday, they simply have to text join to 07786205203 to receive free weekly texts. Promotional wallet cards are available from mph free of charge call 01733 325002, hand them out to your groups or why not pass them onto other groups in the area.
‘’It is like getting a hug sent to you’’ Get involved in Da Blab bulletin board on www.methodistchildren.org.uk your groups can post their comments, thoughts and ideas on this page. Have your say and share in the community. |
Here are some quotes from our texting community:November Goodies! Christmas may be a few weeks away but here at MethodistChildren we are starting the season of giving a little early! This month we have not one, not two, but three wonderful titles to give away to you! Just answer the question below related to the title you would like to win and we will select the winners and notify you by e-mail. Please include your postal address in the answer. All answers to be sent to children@methodistchurch.org.uk
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Together for a Season - another fabulous publication from our friends at Church House Publishing. Together for a Season is a practical travelling companion to the Church year and Common Worship. It offers practical ideas for services for both church use and for outreach to the rest of the community. The book comes with a cd-rom which contains illustrations, photos, and a full text of the services. A valuable resource for anyone planning worship with children in any tradition. This first of three volumes looks at Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. The Book is now available price £22.50 from 
Companions in Christ - we have been trailing the arrival of this new resource for a while now and we are delighted to announce that it is available now from MPH! This first of four volumes of resources will help groups of children on their spiritual journey. This is an ideal resource to use with a small group of children for a special seasonal focus. This first volume offers material for a weekly meeting in Advent to enable children to really engage with what this special time of year means. Accompanied by a cd rom with all the material you need to set up your Companions in Christ group with additional support material available in the form of an @home booklet to enable those at home with the children to particiapte in the journey. The Leaders Guide is £9.99 and the @home booklets are £1 and are also available in packs of five for £4.50. Further details can be found on our 
Family Advent Calendar- this brilliant calendar from Scripture Union is the perfect way for the family to work through Advent together, ideal if you are looking for something with more content than simply chocolate. At the fabulous price of £3.99 you really can't be without one through the Advent season! We've got ours at MethodistChildren! You can buy these on line from Your Church could be a part of Heritage Open Days 2007 For more ideas and activities for children, young people and all age check out our webpages |
Methodist Youth and Children's Workers Conference 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! Download the Information and Booking form here. |
Christmas is coming!
We have also updated the Christmas resource pages on the MethodistChildren website to feature new resources and some popular ones from last year! |
We are now just weeks away from the beginning of Advent and we are sure that there are many preparations underway in your local church!New JMA materials For those of you involved in JMA you will have noticed a gradual change in the look of the JMA materials - first it was Rainbow magazine and now we are delighted to announce a whole set of new JMA support materials. |
JMA and MethodistChildren leaflet - this new version of the 'JMA is...' leaflet is expanded and features all the work that is done by MethodistChildren for both children and adults as well as a special focus on JMA. Ideal for including in JMA services or for placing in Church magazines or leaflet areas.A Christingle Christmas!
If you have never had a Christingle service then visit www.christingle.org
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A wealth of resources for worship during |
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you require any further information please contact us on children@methodistchurch.org.uk MethodistChildren is part of the Connexional Team of the |
