Kid Connections

Children and Church

 

So here it is ... the Child Friendly Church guide, which is the most wonderful resource designed to help you reflect on how you intentionally welcome and include children in your congregation!  I heartily recommend it (but I'm biased!!!) as it will provide you with much to reflect and consider about how you do church and be church with children and their families!!

As our co-disciples we have a responsibility to nurture and grow our children and to help them discover their gifts from God ... the Child Friendly Church will help you begin to explore ways in which you may do this.

The strength of this guide is that it is designed with a broad Chruch in mind.  The programme is less about ticking boxes and more about reflection in your specific context.  Where is your location? What is your church community's wider culture? How do you see the sacraments of our denomination in relation to children?  How best might you, in your Faith community, affirm children?  All these questions are asked in the context of Biblical and theological reflection.

So get your copy now and get excited about what God is doing in our work with and for children and in us as we learn from them!

Women of influence

I've had some wonderful times this week with some awesome women of influence - specifically this woman and the woman behind this that I wrote this Child Friendly Church initiative with, not to mention this woman  and this woman who I am privileged to work with, and I am looking forward to meeting my friends and fellow children's champions later on, including this lovely lady.  I love the fact that even when you haven't seen someone for a while you still share a depth of friendship that is quite remarkable.  Praise God for His goodness! 

So cute!!!

It was a hectic day yesterday with our big party at church and our beautiful no1 daughter heading off to the USA!  She is now in sunny Boston and says it's really warm.  She is enjoying getting to know the folks there - including a girl from Uddingston and a boy from Pollock!  Us Scots get around!!

She's already been to the 'mall' where she saw a little puppy Chihuahua in a pet store window!  She loves little dogs and has been desperate for one for years.  I doubt she'd be able to bring one home though with all the quarantine requirements?  But no3 daughter has already decided that she should bring it home and has called it 'Sasha'.  So ... we may be welcoming a new addition to the family in 3 months!!!

Camp America

Our eldest daughter headed off to the States this morning!  It will be an amazing experience for her, working with children who are either day visitors or boarding at the camp in New Hampshire.  She'll be 6 hours behind us so will most probably be jet lagged tonight!!

Praying she has a safe journey and a wonderful time, but we'll really miss her :( 

CHERISH 2009

I'm just back from the Cherish Conference at Abundant Life Church in Bradford and it was fantastic, on many levels.  I love the extent of hospitality at the ALC.  Folks are always so welcoming and the facilities and surroundings are so comfortable and relaxing.  Teaching was wonderful, from Charlotte Gambill, Christine Caine and Di Wilson and the whole weekend was simply divine.  Can't wait until next year!!