MINISTRY AMONG CHILDREN

Our ministry among children is grounded in the concept of the “child in the midst”.  Jesus placed a child in the midst of them as a pattern of discipleship.  (Mark 9.36-37). 

The Children’s Officer aims to promote this ethos by:

• Providing training to educate, inform and empower those who work with children in parishes.
• Promoting the concept of a Child Friendly Church.
• Producing resources to inform those who work with children in the church context about current issues, new developments, good practice, relevant publications and ideas.

Training for children’s work

Core Skills for Children’s Work is a basic course of training for those who work with children in the church context.  The course covers six key areas:

• Child development
• Leadership skills
• Programme planning
• Children and community
• Pastoral awareness
• Spirituality and the Bible

Godly Play

Devised by Jerome Berryman, in the States, Godly Play is a method of telling the stories of our faith in a visual way – by placing artefacts on a story cloth or in some cases sand. Then, ‘wondering questions’ are asked to encourage the children to think about the story. This may be followed by a time of free creative response, using a variety of art materials.   In this process, the Godly Play room becomes a peaceful sacred space where the mystery of God may be experienced. The method is more than story telling, it is about spiritual formation – hence the name, Godly Play. 

 Diocesan Training is available in Godly Play. Holy Cross Church (West Cross) has used Godly Play for five years and seen growth within their children’s group. Below is a picture of their Godly Play classroom, dedicated in 2006

Open the Book 

Open the Book is a way of forging links between church and school. Primary School children are given the opportunity to hear the major stories of the bible over a three-year period.   A team of lay Christians from local churches is trained to present the stories in weekly assemblies.  Each presentation takes 10 minutes and includes an introduction, the story, a quiet moment of reflection and a prayer.  The initial stories are taken from The Lion Storytellers Bible.  The scheme is running successfully in the parishes of Morriston and Crickhowell.  (Contact Diane Richardson - Regional Coordinator, Tel:01792 517606, for further information)

The Child Friendly Church Award Scheme

The Child Friendly Church Award seeks to provide a safe, nurturing community for families. Participating churches receive a pack, which is used to do an audit, by ticking boxes. They look at things like child protection, health and safety, all age worship, the churches vision for children’s work - there are eight categories all together. On completion of the audit, the parish is visited to assess whether it should receive the award. A Church does not need to have children in the congregation to participate in this scheme.

Resources for Children’s work

Update on Children’s Work 

This is a quarterly newsletter, providing information on training, events, new publications, and includes resource ideas mainly linked to the Church Festivals. See left panel for download link to latest issue.  

Provincial resources 

Together with colleagues, on the Provincial Children’s Network, the Children’s Officer has produced a variety of resources:

• Play and Pray through Lent, Ed Kay Warrington, (BRF/Barnabas, 2005).
•  Play and Pray Advent, Lynn Chambers, Kay Warrington, Nia Williams, (BRF/Barnabas, 2008)
• A Christingle Resource Pack is produced annually to assist Parishes in their Christingle Fund raising.  The pack includes information on how to make a Christingle, a story and activities for children and the Christingle Service.

Year of the Child 2009.

2009 marks the 30^th Anniversary of the United Nations Year of the Child.

 Why not celebrate by introducing a new initiative to your parish?

For ideas, visit the website www.yearofthechild2009.co.uk