Families are welcome in all the Benefice churches at every service and there are special groups, services and events throughout the year designed with families in mind.
CAMEO
Come And Meet Each Other and play, every Monday morning from 09.30 - 11.30am in St Peter & St Paul. Parents, grandparents or other carers can have a much needed coffee or tea whilst youngsters get to play!
This is very much a free play session so there is no need to book, just pop in, enjoy a few refreshments and a chat. There’s no charge and no obligation to stay for the whole session.
We run this Stay and Play morning all year round, including the holidays when older siblings are welcome to come along too.
SUNDAY CLUB
Sunday Club, for children aged 3-12 years, runs through the year usually on the second and fourth Sundays of the month, except for Summer school holidays.
At each session there are two leaders from the team of six, all of whom are Disclosure and Barring Service checked and have completed appropriate Safeguarding training courses. The children meet in church at 9.30am and sit with Leaders until it is time to move to the church vestry at the beginning of the service.
The children are escorted back into church to join the congregation for Holy Communion and again the children are encouraged to sit together with the Leaders, to help them feel part of the service. Following Holy Communion the children collectively tell the congregation what they have learned in Sunday Club.
Typical activities include Bible stories, projects and craft activities. Occasionally there are activities in addition to those on a Sunday, for example taking part in the Nativity at the Christmas Eve Crib Service and going to the pantomime once a year.
The children may bring some money for the offertory each week and this money is used to support two charities:
- Hand in Hand in Ethiopia, a charity working to change the lives of children in Addis Ababa through relieving poverty, providing education and promoting good health. We sponsor a young boy, Yonathan Darge, supporting his education through the charity’s centre. We receive letters from Yonathan and regular updates on his progress.
- Toy Box, a charity working with street children in Latin America. We purchase Toy Box crosses from the charity as a gift to present to newly baptised children.
Children in school Year 3 have the opportunity to be prepared for First Communion, if both child and parents are agreeable.
Contact Glenda Winfield for more details at glendawinfield@gmail.com
SPECIAL SERVICES AND EVENTS
Throughout the year, particularly in Advent and Christmas we do hold services that are particularly geared towards children.
We hold a Christingle Service and the Sunday Club always put together an entertaining Crib Service that is very well attended.
The Benefice is also involved in a ‘Finding the Nativity’ event organised by the CTNP (Churches together in Newport Pagnell) where children have to track down the Nativity characters in the High Street whilst learning a little about the story.
Harvest
is another time of the year that children and families enjoy and the Rogation Services held in the country churches are always interesting for the young. This is when the congregations walks around the parish and the crops and animals are blessed.