More Fun@4

At 4.0 p.m. on Sunday 29 April there was more fun@4 – a Christian activity for primary school age children, held in the church. There were games, Bible stories, teaching and food. This time, it came under the title: “‘The Great Escape’ featuring the story of the parting of the Red Sea. 

A good number of children and their parents came and we are so grateful for Derek and his team who organised it. 

If you have children or grandchildren, to look out for the next event. They occur about every six weeks

Fun@4

The latest of our Fun@4 activities was held on Sunday afternoon (at 4) 25 February. Twenty children, with adults, came for a programme of games, songs, Bible stories and refreshments. This is the latest of a series of such programmes, some in conjunction with other churches of CTO (Churches Together in Oadby).

Holiday Club

Three days this week (9-11 August) St Pauls rang the shouts of children as they took part in the holiday club activity. There was song, dancing and acting as they discovered the way that God had led Moses.

This theme was picked up again at the service on Sunday 13 August when some of the children and their parents also joined us. All those who had come to holiday club were also invited to the barbecue which took place afterwards.

 Thank you so much to all those who took part – the leaders, those who helped during the week, and all those who helped to put on the barbecue – and of course the children themselves.

 
If you missed out this year, do look for it in August 2018! Or, better still, come and enjoy the Supertrooper activities for primary school age children, every Sunday at 10 a.m.

Holiday Club

This week we held our summer Holiday Club 'Spy Kids' using the story of Moses. Here is a video from the week showing what we got up to.
Do join us tomorrow for our Celebration Service at 10am followed by a free BBQ!

Light Party

On Sunday 30th October Churches Together in Oadby hosted a Light Party at St Peter's.
Here are a few photo's of some of the activites they got up to as they focused on Jesus as the Light of the World.

All Age Service – Champions Challenge

At the All Age Service on Sunday, the champions challenge theme of the holiday club was continued. Steve, Lou, Gillian and Angie, who had taken part in the holiday club all the different parts of the service. The children who had been part of the holiday club were invited, and those who were present took part in various ways.

Near the end of the service, the congregation was shown a video of all the activities that had been occurring during the week. At the end, the congregation broke out with appreciative clapping. It was good that those who had put in so much effort were shown to be appreciated.

A Palm Sunday Donkey Procession!

To celebrate Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, Churches Together in Oadby, including St Paul’s, organised a procession with two donkeys. It was a reminder of how Jesus entered Jerusalem as the promised Messiah and received people’s praises – with shouts of “Hosanna!”

People (and two donkeys gathered at St Peter’s Church, where people made paper palm branches and saw a video recording the original events. The procession, singing: “wave your branches, Jesus is here” made its way through the streets of Oadby to The Parade, where the scriptural account was read,  and on to Trinity Methodist Church.

Within the Methodist Church there was a time of activity, fun and refreshments. Hopefully, this was a time of great fun, with a serious meaning that will be remembered by all the young people taking part, and their elders as well.

Let the Light Shine!

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned. Isaiah 9;2

Derek Bowering, who leads our Super Troopers (the Sunday School) has a wonderful ability to produce visual aids that illustrate Christian truths for the children. This Sunday, he provided the main materials for each child to make a manger, with a low voltage electric circuit, to illustrate the Christmas story. Only when a piece of wood carved with the name "God" was in place, did a star (lamp) light up the scene, to show that it was the presence of Jesus, God made man, in the stable that made the difference – he is the light of the world.

The verse associated with this was Isaiah 9:2 

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

Whenever Derek is on duty, he provides some similar model. One child has kept all of those that he has received on a shelf in his bedroom.

We are so grateful for Derek's ingenuity and for the time that he is willing to spend to help children understand God better.

Walking with The Needy

Sunday morning was our All Together and Parade Service, when we welcomed the Rainbows, Brownies, and Guides to our Family Service. After some very enthusiastic Christian songs led by Doug Tincello, our youth worker, Lou McGoldrick, spoke about how Jesus approached people in need, especially the father of a child with convulsions. She encouraged us to do the same.

In our prayers, Angie Bailey encouraged us to walk in prayer with those in need. Everyone had a cut out of a foot and was asked to write the name of the particular person or group of people in need on one side. On the other, we were asked to write what we were praying for. All the “feet” were placed on a strip of carpet and we offered these requests up in prayer. 

Holiday Club - Celebration Service

On Sunday we had a special service to celebrate all that we had done at Holiday Club. We invited the children and their families along and showed the whole church what we had been up to. Then everyone was invited to stay for a BBQ. Here are a few pictures...

The coloured ribbons represent our prayers and the robot is the mega machine we had been making through the week.
Thanks to everyone who came along and to all who helped make it such a success.
Thanks too to the lovely church family at St Paul's who also helped me celebrate my birthday which was during the week. I was overwhelmed by the card, kind gift and applause.

Holiday Club - Friday

Today was our last day together and we focused on the story of Jesus on the Cross, His great love for us as it was most visibly shown. Here are a few pictures from today...

It has been a great week with fantastic kids and a brilliant bunch of leaders. Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to make this Holiday Club a success. Come and join us for our celebration service followed by a BBQ at 10am on Sunday.

Holiday Club

This week St Paul's is putting on a Holiday Club using the Scripture Union material Mega Makers.
Here are some photo's from Wednesday & Thursday...

We have more on Friday and then a celebration service on Sunday at 10am followed by a BBQ!

Holiday Club -- Mega-Makers - Coming Soon!

Holiday Club is coming soon! It may be for primary school aged children but we also have our young people helping to lead this exciting new project! We’ll be looking at different stories of Jesus about his power, his love and his selflessness in saving us. We’ll have songs, sports, creative activities, fun and drama to enjoy.
It’s free.

Wednesday 5th August – Friday 7th August 9:15am-12pm

We also have a special all together service on the Sunday (9th) to celebrate and share all that we’ve done with a BBQ open to all afterwards :)

If you would like to sign up email: spyouth3@gmail.com for a form

FUN@4

FUN@4

Using real bay trees

Eating wonderful food

Playing Rolling games 

and making money bags

This is how our children and their friends learned about Zacchaeus and his meeting with Jesus. FUN@4 continues to provide a good filling to a Sunday afternoon. Parents and children joined in to make a very special time.

Leicester's children are "happiest in Britain"

According to an article in the Leicester Mercury, research at De Montfort University shows that Leicester's children are a relatively happy bunch.

One theory, reported in the article, is that children in our city tend to spend less time in structured activities such as clubs and groups, than children elsewhere. It's suggested that this freedom from over-organised social lives leaves more time to be with friends.

It's a good news story worth celebrating, and while the central lesson that friendship leads to happiness shouldn't surprise anyone, it helps us think about the way we work with children in the groups that we provide at church.

Simply providing structured activities isn't enough. Church is essentially relational - about the way that people relate with each other and with God. We're less interested in people "attending our activities" than in deepening friendships and growing as disciples.

Where are the children?

We're thankful to God that St Paul's is a growing church. We're seeing more people join us each year and it's wonderful that people are finding faith and encouragement here.

But behind the overall figures, we're concerned that the number of children in our church has fallen substantially. So we're reflecting carefully and praying in order to understand more clearly the reasons for the change and also to seek God's leading in response.

The attendances at our all-age worship service last Sunday, and on the corresponding Sunday in 2003, illustrate the point really well. The proportion of adults is shown on these charts in red, children in blue.

The District Church Council (DCC) has been considering these issues and has committed to two one-hour prayer meetings, to which the whole church is invited. These are on 4 November, from 7.30 to 8.30pm in the Barnabas Centre, and on 22 November, from 6.30 to 7.30pm in the Church.

You can also read the full analysis that the DCC is exploring.

Baptism of Children at St Paul's (sometimes called "Christening")

Are you interested in having your child baptised or perhaps having a special service of thanksgiving for her or his life?

We’re delighted that you are considering a baptism or thanksgiving service for your child. At such an important time in life, these services are a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and pray with family, friends and the wider church community for God’s blessing, support and protection.

Baptism is a sign of the beginning of a journey with God which continues for the rest of our lives. For all involved, particularly the candidates, parents and godparents, it is a joyful moment when we rejoice in what God has done in Christ, and respond in repentance and faith.

You can expect a warm welcome when you enquire about baptism for your child. To find out more, please contact Simon on 0116 271 0519 or at simon@sjharvey.org.uk.

It's not just babies who are baptised. Call us for details on baptism of adults and older children.

Make a present for your mum for Mothering Sunday

We're running a craft morning for children from 10.00-12.00 on Saturday 7 March in the Barnabas Centre, to make cards and presents for Mothering Sunday. Under-fives should bring dad, granny or grandad (i.e. someone to look after you, but not your mum if it's to be a surprise).

Date for Hooray Day 29 is set for 25 April 2009

Many of you like to plan long term, so I thought it would be good to confirm that our next Hooray Day, the twenty-ninth that we've held at St Paul's, has been set for 25 April 2009.

Hooray Days are for children in school years 1 to 5 (those aged 5-10). For more information, send us an email.

Hooray Day 28 - Wastewatchers 2

The teams to run our next event on 22 November are in place and we have started our training sessions. We're asking the church to pray that 'these five loaves and two fishes' that we are offering to the Lord will be successful in reaching children for the Kingdom. We anticipate that there will be at least 20 'teenagers' helping who also need God in their lives. We're also praying for the adult leaders and helpers that they would cope with the challenges of the day and show the love of Christ in all that they say and do.

For more information or to book a place, contact Derek Bowering on 0116 271 5765.