'Let the little children come to me.' Matthew 19:14 Dear friends, Youth ministry is important to me. However, it can seem like a problem for many rural Churches because we don’t see many children at our Sunday morning services. Times have changed and children don’t attend Church services every week with their families in the way they would have done in the past. When I was on the Foundations for Ministry training, the fall in numbers looked gloomy. However, I think the rock on which children’s faith is built on is in their Church School community. Amazing things are happening in these places. Church is happening. It is just happening differently. I am a teacher at Smallwood Church of England Primary School. This year I have been teaching Religious Education to children in Year 3 and 4. I write to you with good news! Year 3 are a joy. They are a very enthusiastic group and they have loads of questions. We have been exploring the questions, ‘What shapes faith?’ and ‘How do people show their faith?’ This has meant we have looked at The Lord’s Prayer, The Ten Commandments, the Easter Story and teachings of how Jesus lived his life and some of the Parables. We have had some excellent discussions and ‘Ahh I get it now!’ moments about why Jesus was sent to us. They have reflected on people they know and themselves. Some of the comments have been really interesting. One student remarked, ‘Well, I am a Christian but I don’t go to Church because my mum and dad don’t go, but that is okay I still pray’, another one said, ‘I believe in God but people might not know from how I dress, I don’t wear a cross’, to which another child said, ‘It doesn’t really matter if you show it with a symbol or not, or if you go to Church, it is how you live your life that matters.’ At the end of this session, one student came to me and said, ‘Mrs Molyneux, when will we get our own Bibles? It is just I really, really want one and we don’t have one at home.’ Last week, Year 4 were exploring mission and charity in faith. We looked at Islam and Christianity and various faith-based charities. We began with a task where I gave them a list of values (love, faith, trust, friendship, hope, generosity, truth, kindness, forgiveness, courage, humility, stewardship and service) and I asked them to rank these in order from the most important to the least for creating a fairer world or ‘God’s Kingdom’. They had to be prepared to give reasons why they had come up with their choice. If I am honest, I underestimated how sophisticated their reasoning would be. They all did a brilliant job of arguing for their choices and they had taken on board the work we had done about Easter and Jesus’ teachings as many of them chose ‘love’, ‘service’ and ‘forgiveness’. Excellent, this meant I could tick off the Diocesan assessment criteria they were meant to have hit! However, one student really made me think. Out of 26 children, she was the only one who had chosen ‘Hope’. She said, ‘Mrs Molyneux, the answer has to be hope, because without it everything else is pointless and people wouldn’t do anything else because they would think, ‘What’s the point?’’. During Lent, I ran a Lent group based on the film Wicked. I was overwhelmed when 14 young people at school had signed up to take part instead of playing outside at lunch time. These children were serious about their faith and want to know more. They had a really clear understanding of how they can make a difference in a world which is full of power, exploitation and consumerism. They want to do thing differently. Many children joined in with ‘40 Acts’ during Lent. They want to live the Gospel. They don’t do Church how I did it when I was 8 but it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Their world is different. It is changing dramatically in ever shorter spans of time. They may not go to church on Sundays but they often visit the church building every couple of weeks with school. Some go to their own Churches near to their homes in Congleton, Sandbach and Alsager. At school we are still ‘doing Church’. We are a Church. We participate in prayer, reflection and fellowship every day. We have whole school worship each day and a service weekly with Rev Heather. We use holding crosses and prayer stations. We all know the Lord’s Prayer and its meaning. We love, forgive, serve others, and learn how to be caretakers of creation. We teach them to be ‘Courageous Advocates’ and walk in Jesus’ footsteps. They can tell you how they can ‘Let their light shine’ and why it matters. The children are overflowing with hope and enthusiasm. They start life with a Kingdom mindset already in their hearts. Sophie Molyneux
Welcome our new Rose King and Rose Queen, and say thanks to our outgoing Rose Team.The procession starts at St John's at 11:30am.The Coronation Service begins at Smallwood Village Fete, at Day House Green Farm, at 12 noon.Address: Day House Green Farm, Off Congleton Road Smallwood, CW11 2UY
The Easter season begins on Easter Sunday and lasts 50 days, until the Day of Pentecost. This is a joyful and hope-filled time in the Church calendar. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, and the new life that his rising brings to the world. During these weeks, we reflect on the meaning of the resurrection and what it means to live as ‘Easter people’. We hear Bible readings about Jesus’ appearances, and the growth of the early Church. During this season of joy, we often say the praise word “Alleluia!” 40 days after Easter, we mark Ascension Day – when Jesus returned to heaven. We remember that Jesus is still with us, but in a new way. Ascension Day will be marked with a special service at 7:30pm on Thursday 14 May at St John’s. The Easter season concludes with Pentecost, 10 days later. The Church remembers the outpouring of the gift of the Holy Spirit on us. Our Pentecost service at St John’s is at 9:30am on Sunday 24 May. Everyone is welcome at all of our services through the Easter season at beyond: Sundays at 9:30am. Please see the Services pages for more details.The story of Ascension Day and Pentecost are told in chapters 1 and 2 of the New Testament book, the Acts of the Apostles.
This is Holy Week before we mark Jesus' rising on Easter Day. Everyone is welcome.Thursday 2 AprilMaundy Thursday7:30pm - Holy Communion with Stripping of the Altar. We meet for Holy Communion as we remember Jesus sharing the Last Supper with his disciples before his death on Good Friday.Sunday 5 AprilEaster Day9:30am - Easter Celebration with Holy Communion, followed by Easter Egg Hunt.
