Vicars Talk Feb 2009

Dear friends,

Do you ever catch yourself saying; ‘It wasn’t like that when I was young(er)?’

I went to a Secondary School Parents evening the other day and a lot of what I saw was familiar to me- having been a teacher (some 15 or so years ago now- ‘ouch!’)

The teacher waits to receive the nervous student with the anxious parent by her side…
Or the parent and child go away ‘glowing’ having received a good report…
And the queue never seems to go down!

But a lot was unfamiliar too; for example the use of internet to help with Maths, the % of marks which are dependent on coursework and the fact that there’s now general ‘Science’ instead of the individual subjects of Physics, Biology and Chemistry! Yes, I know I’m really showing my age!

If I compare my childhood with today’s children a lot has changed too…as I’m sure you who are reading this article are more than aware of ! It’s hard to keep up with the modern trends and stories and music, and I was so glad for ‘Mama Mia’ recently that seemed to unite and enthuse all generations for a while!!!

In the porch of All Saint’s Church we have a poster that says we are: ‘A child friendly Church’. Unlike a lot of Village Churches in this day and age we can boast a modest Sunday School with some great enthusiastic teachers and a monthly Family service.( If you are a parent of a child at Braunston School you may wish to ask your child what we get up to in Assemblies on a Wednesday morning!)

Christingle and the Crib Service are great for attracting families…we miss children at other times and maybe part of the reason is a) there are a lot of things to cram in at the w/e or b) there isn’t a felt need for Church or c) there’s a feeling that church is ‘out of touch’ with today’s child.

We would love to hear from you…

If you are a grandparent or parent I wonder if you would just take a few moments to help us by sharing some questions with your grandchild or child? But we would like responses from both of you!!!
Tell me three things you most like /liked doing as a child.
Who is your best friend and why?
Why do/don't you go to church? Why is /is it not fun?
If you were the boss of a church how would you make it better for children to understand what it was all about?
Does what you learn at church and or school make you a better person ? how?
Please send your responses to ‘The Rectory, 71 High Street, Braunston. NN11 7HS’ by Wednesday 18th February or put it in the shoe box at the back of Church, or take it to the Secretary at Braunston School. Pictures to help with your responses would be great too! There’s no need to write your names down, unless you want to, but ages and gender of both of you would be very helpful! Thankyou!

Wisdom comes from listening and then doing something to make a difference…please help us to listen by taking the time to send your responses into us! We will endeavour to reflect on your responses and incorporate some of your ideas in the way we run our family worship and ‘All Saints’ Kids Club!’

Below you will find the times we have All Saints’ Kids Club (Sunday School), Little Fishers (Pre-School) and the Family Service- all Child Friendly and for your benefit. Please come and join us whenever you can!

God bless,

Revd Claire