An update for children and families

Hi Parents and Carers,

Sorry that this update is later than I hoped. I hope that the various Easter eggs and treats were all well received by your children, and that you were able to share something of the Easter story with them. And that those of you with pre-school children have been dipping into the book we gave you - if you didn't get one, let us know.

Here's some headlines on what we've got planned:

• We'll be putting out an advert very soon for a full-time Children's Team Leader. This is a significant step up from when Lena and Rich did the equivalent job part-time. It's a step of faith by the Church Council - and a sign of how vital your children (and all the other children locally!) are to us as a church. Please help spread the word that we're on the lookout, and pray for excellent applicants!
• We're planning for some drop-in sessions for creche, Bubbles and Flames (ie 0 - yr 5) before the end of this term. We know it will take a while for the children (and some of the parents) to feel comfortable coming back into the church building, so we'll take things gently. Josh is already back up and running with yr 6+. 
• We've got a church focus on wellbeing this term. We'll be dropping round a booklet on Jesus and emotions to those of you with kids in yr2-6. Hopefully it will help you have conversations with your children, encouraging them to recognise and express their emotions in a healthy way. 
• Each Sunday, we're making links to the Cheeky Pandas videos and activity packs. These are a series of 11 good quality videos with a story exploring a theme, special guests and lively songs. All linked to an activity pack with games, crafts and prayer ideas to help you spend time with your children, encountering God together. All the info is available on the Cheeky Pandas website as well as on our online church webpage week by week. There's even an augmented reality phone app you can use with it!
• We're hoping to do an outdoor church service on 30th May, when we can gather in unrestricted numbers and worship together. We'll make it family-friendly. If you're not away for half term, put it in your diary. We'll confirm plans once we've got permissions from the City Council. 
• There's a chance we'll be able to re-start The Ark on a small scale, beginning with non-mobile babies - we feel so much for the new mums who haven't had any support groups for the last year. 

I'm so looking forward to welcoming children back in! It's a shame that we haven't been able to offer more over the last few months, but I know that you'll understand that we've been very stretched since Rich stepped down at Christmas. 

As we look to re-start groups, we will need more volunteers to help - some of our previous volunteers may be nervous about coming back on board. Helping at groups and events can be so rewarding - so please pray about whether you'd be willing to help out over the coming months. 

As restrictions continue to ease, do take the opportunity to meet up with other families - maybe particularly those who are newer to our church or on the fringes? Re-building community is going to take time and effort from all of us! 

Finally, back on the wellbeing theme, you might be interested in this webinar available this week only: building our children's emotional wellbeing - run by Care for the Family. 

​With my love and prayers,