Summer 2015 Children and Youth

Summer Sunshine for Children and Youth

It’s been a busy summer for St Paul’s children and youth. From parties to camp they have loved every second of their time together, building friendships and growing in their faith in God.

The Children:

The summer began for the children with the Decathlon on Friday nights ran by Su Gill (Kingdom Kids and Children’s work leader). The 10 weeks that it ran for consisted of an opening ceremony, a number of sporting events and a different event each week, including volleyball, shotput, gymnastics and relays. These events encouraged the children to work in teams but also to work individually, for fun, to make friends and for them to enjoy.

Seven leaders and some Quest team members helped make Friday nights’ fun and they were able to enjoy them with all the children- not one refused to join in! Running from 6:00-7:30 in the evening the children could make their own healthy snack as the evenings were based around healthy living. They would also warm up, join in activities, warm down and sit in the coach’s corner learning about health and good values for their lives. They also made their own set of rules for the 10 week decathlon.

After the ten weeks, on the final evening before the summer holidays, The Big Event took place inside church, inviting the children and their families to come along for an evening of events, activities, awards and social time with each other. The children were given rosettes each with badges on for every event they turned up to in the past 10 weeks.

On this night they also discussed what will be starting this September. The theme for Fridays is now Monsters, where the children will learn about how they can face fear in their lives. They will learn about their personal, mental, emotional and spiritual strengths.  Fridays will include movies, parties, games and activities for the children to enjoy and build their friendships. 

Su Gill said: “The attitude towards each other has grown… It was fantastic! The kids have a safe place to come to, they can find friends and help… It was far more fun than I expected it to be!”

If you would like to find out more about Friday nights St. Paul's or Kingdom Kids please contact Su info@stpaulschurch.co.uk

Fusion Youth:

The end of the summer term saw a sad goodbye for the Fusion youth to the two youth leaders who have dedicated years into the church’s’ youths’ lives, David and Abigail Shirley. But, as usual the youth ended the term with a bang and celebrated a year ending with a big party.

It wasn't the end of Fusion with Dave and Abi for some of the youth; they were able to spend the week with them and two other Worcestershire churches at Newday, a Christian festival in Norfolk. Alongside, Hope Church Worcester and Gracechurch Bromsgrove, the Fusion youth and leaders became part of 70 people camping in a small pitch on Norfolk showground surrounded by thousands of youth groups across the country.

Throughout the week the youth were able to make friendships with others from different churches, develop their faith and knowledge about God, meet with God during worship and teachings and enjoy the sunshine that the week had to offer. There were cafes open through the day, sporting activities, workshops and a Newday shop; however, nothing beat the taste of the home-made milkshakes at The Cow Shed- A fantastic milkshake shop!

The youth were able to meet with God in amazing ways, the Holy Spirit, prayer, the gospel and fellowship with other young people.

“Newday was a fantastic experience not only for the young people but for us too! It was amazing to see God at work and doing some amazing miracles in those around us! There was a load going on from milkshake huts to skate parks! It was fab to see our young people engage in the whole event. The teaching was grounded in the Bible and we had some really engaging speakers sharing on a whole range of topics. The Newday band was pretty awesome and got everyone jumping on many occasions! We were super blessed to run our site with Hope Church and Gracechurch Bromsgrove, so it was great for us and the young people to get to know other Christians in the local area. A definite recommendation for next year!!” said Abi Shirley.

A youth member Martha Davis commented: “Newday was a great experience for me. I met with God personally and I was moved by the power of his spirit in my life and everyone’s lives around me. It was so much fun and I had a great time with great people!”

Amy Nash, a youth member also said: "New day was such an amazing week where I met new friends and hung out with those I knew from St Paul's! It was amazing chilling out with an amazing group of people. I loved the music and the meetings were great. Definitely want to go next year!"

“It was an amazing week with amazing people and I wish I could do it all over again!”

"I loved Newday and made a great new friend from Hope Church Worcester!" said Jamie Westwood.

If you would like to find out more about Fusion youth group, please email info@stpaulschurch.co.uk or if you want to find out more about Newday please visit http://newdaygeneration.org/

WHAT IF?

June- WHAT IF?

June has ended and now we look towards the summer and where God leads us; however, it’s also time to reflect on what has happened in the church over the past month. June saw the start of WHAT IF? Here, David Warren gives an overview about WHAT IF? and it’s aim.

“WHAT IF? is all about describing what the future of St Paul's, Worcester could look like in the light of biblical principles, history and heritage of the church and the prophetic call on the church.” 

“The Vision Team have tried to communicate the best we can through sermons, teaching and presentation evenings what this vision looks like so we can together begin to take steps to see it actually happen.” 

“The steps include: the development of a clearly defined Pastoral Team, further improvements to the building so we can properly serve more people, looking at ways of growing our children's and youth work. We asked people to think and pray about how they might be able to contribute to all this through giving of time, talents and finances.”

“Our hope is that all those who have heard or read our WHAT IF? material will have a clear idea of where we together, as a community, are heading.  We don't know how long some things will take.  It's really all about painting a picture of the potential there is. We also outlined our desire and commitment to continue to serve the city through Citycare.”

If you would like to know more about WHAT IF? then catch Dave at church on Sundays or email info@stpaulschurch.co.uk

Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge

Men Verses Mountains

The challenge has been completed and the mountains are defeated!

On Friday 29^th- Sunday 31^st May a group of 20 men from church, ages ranging from 16-72 set off to face the 3 Peaks Challenge in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire. Climbing Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, just over 24 miles in total, the men accomplished the challenge in separate groups but both groups completing it under twelve hours. Being together with beautiful surrounding scenery meant that the group made new friendships and encouraged each other along the way.

Tim Dolding said:  “It was great to spend time with a bunch of guys encouraging each other on and chatting about life. It was a great opportunity for guys of all ages to have a great fellowship together with a common goal.”

They set off Friday morning, arrived at the campsite and helped each other set up the tents. Not long after they explored the surrounding area and village of Settle nearby and like most men would, they settled down for the evening in the local pub for a carvery.

The next morning saw the group up bright and early at 6:00am and each tucked into a warm bowl of porridge before setting off at 6:45 for a warm up walk and 7:00am for the first mountain which took over an hour to reach the top. The day saw them climb all three peaks. Tim also said: “It’s not for the faint hearted but a great day none the less.”

“I would absolutely do it again as soon as I can feel my legs!” said James Simpson. Looks like some are eager to get back up there. Some of the men even set up donation pages and Tim Dolding has raised £221 to date for cancer research. Not only has it brought the men closer together but it has raised money for such worthy causes.

“It was amazing. One thing I learnt is that I now know I could do a full marathon!” commented Alex Doodey.

To all those who took part we congratulate you on your fantastic achievement. We look forward to seeing what other challenges you will face in the future.

The group before the climb

At the campsite

Starting the walk