The Parish of Ockbrook & Borrowash
January 2025 – Youth & Children update
Youth & Children’s update – January 2025
Rise and Shine: This group now meets in the church before the service begins from 10.45am, which has been successful in welcoming new children. We have 8 regular attendees and recently have welcomed 3 new children to the group. We continue to invite any children who may be visiting church with their families and would like to join us for a one off. We have a small team of volunteers. I am present each week and then we rotate so that each helper is their 1 in 3 weeks. Last term we looked at the sermon on the mount and this term we are looking at the Christian Lifestyle starting with the Hope we can have in Jesus.
Shining Stars: Both the Monday morning and Wednesday afternoon sessions continue to be well supported. Monday is our busiest session with up to 70 attending (carers & children combined). Wednesday afternoons we have up to 30 attending. This session is where we advertise more widely the Breastfeeding support on offer through Issie and her work with the Breast-Feeding network. It is rewarding to see Mum’s come especially to access that support.
Sunday Night Saints: This group has 9 members, and we enjoy a mix of games and Bible study. Last term we worked through a prayer course aimed at young people called Origins from the 24/7 prayer movement. We finished the term with a great Christmas party. We have just begun Alpha Youth, which has been relaunched for this generation. It’s a fantastic resource and week 1 began on 12th January with Donuts and Hot Chocolate.
Youth Café: The Youth Café continues to be a popular venue for children from year 5 upwards in our community. We offer games, table tennis, table football, pool, craft activities and the very popular tuck shop with toast, pop, sweets, crisps and chocolate. We have now been donated a full-size table tennis table and just need to arrange delivery. We have a core 4 helpers, with others offering ad-hoc support. It has been wonderful to have some our year 7’s volunteer their time to run the tuck shop.
Schools Work: The schools worked continued as before up until the October/November half term break with me attending on a weekly break to provide a listening ear. In November and December, I took a step back from this and offered church visits and attended each school in the community to give an assembly. Moving forward into 2025 I will be offering group work with Ashbrook Junior School and Assemblies and Church visits to both Ashbrook Infants and Redhill primary. It is brilliant to be a part of these school communities and id helpful in building relationships.
Christmas: Comfort and Joy
It was wonderful for me to be part of the team that put into place many new things for Christmas 2024. As the Youth and Children’s coordinator it was wonderful to share the Posada story with the schools and the weekly groups. We advertised all of the Christmas services and events within all the weekly groups, and I was pleased to see and hear that people from our groups attended additional events and services such as the Christmas Café, All Saints and St Stephen’s Christingles, Carols by candlelight and the Christmas Day family service. I hope to keep this connection as we move into 2025.
4ALL
Up until December, we held 4All services at 11am on the first Sunday of each month. While these services were always well received, the team has noticed a decline in attendance from children and visiting families.
For 2025, we aim to refresh and rejuvenate these services with a new approach. Instead of monthly services, we will trial four special 4All services on the following dates:
30th March – Mothering Sunday
15th June – Father’s Day
5th October – Harvest
7th December – Christingle
We hope these special services will engage and inspire our community in new ways.
Rise & Shine Breakfast Service
As we consider new ways to engage and inspire our community we will be offering a brand-new service on February 2nd, 9.15am at All Saints’ Church, Ockbrook. This is the Rise & Shine Breakfast service. It will be 45 minutes and aimed at families with young children ( ages 10 and under) but everyone is warmly welcome to join and participate.
As we start this new year, I kindly ask for your continued prayers for the children, young people, and volunteers who support me in my role. Please also remember me in your prayers as I take time to reflect on the past and prepare for the upcoming term.
If you’re able to offer any time to assist with these groups, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. None of this would be possible without the commitment and dedication of our incredible volunteers, for whom I am deeply grateful.
Thank you so much,
Nat
January 17th, 2025
