'Sharing the Love of Jesus in Word and Action'
Children's & Youth Work
Our benefice is committed to children’s and youth work and believes that children are the church of today. We run activities that are either about serving our community or helping children and their families grow in the Christian faith.
As well as spiritual development, safety is our priority. All of our leaders are DBS checked and undergo regular training, and each church has a named safeguarding officer who reports to the Rector. We believe that safeguarding is a whole church activity and we ask that any concerns (no matter how small) be reported immediately. You can find out more about Safeguarding, and who to contact about any concerns, on our Safeguarding page.
Benefice Youth Group ‘FROGS’
FROGS = ‘Friends Relying On God’s Support’ - 10-18 year olds meet to explore Christian discipleship in today's world, with many activities, games and challenges.
We meet weekly at Cheswardine in term time on Tuesday’s 7.30pm – 9.00pm. Contact Rev. Becky Richards for more information.
FROGS are also involved in the organising of Youth Services and take residential trips away together throughout the year.
Family Services and Café Church
Most of our churches hold a family orientated service once a month. These services are aimed at the whole church family and we try to include something that will engage everyone, no matter what age they are! These services also contain worship which is more contemporary in nature. A typical service will include 3-4 songs, a story, an activity, a short talk and an opportunity for prayer.
At St Peter’s Stoke On Tern, St Oswald’s Hinstock and St Swithun's Cheswardine, our Family Services take the form of Café Church, where we sit around tables and enjoy tea and cakes whilst we have our service. At our other churches, light refreshments are served at the end of the service.
At St Luke’s Sambrook, our Village Service is our family orientated service.
At St Mary's Hales, we have irregular family services at seasonal times of the year.
Please Note: Children will be warmly welcomed at all our services, although our Family/Café Church services are specifically designed to be more relevant to those of a younger age.
Messy Church (St. Oswald's Hinstock)
Messy Church is a way of being church for families that is found across the world.
Its values are about being Christ-centred, for all ages, based on creativity, hospitality and celebration.
Each service involves craft, songs, stories and food. You can find out about one of our recent messy churches here.
Christ centred
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Messy Church is a church that helps people encounter Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
All age
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Messy Church is for adults and children to enjoy together. Every element aims to be relevant and accessible to all ages.
Creativity
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Messy Church reflects the creativity of God in its imaginative hands-on approach to being church together.
Hospitality
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Messy Church is outward facing, welcoming everybody to enjoy the hospitality and unconditional love of God.
Celebration
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Reflects a joy of God who wants his people to have life in all its fullness.
Safeguarding
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Everyone involved in Messy Church is responsible for the safeguarding of young people.
Messy Church is run at Hinstock Memorial Hall on an irregular basis during school holidays.
Keep an eye out for the next date on the website/in our newsletter, or contact Rev. Christine Simpson.
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Forest Church
Forest Church is a place where nature and church come together. Many people around us find that their most profoundly spiritual moments are when they are outdoors, in nature.
Each service involves outdoor crafts and a fire pit with songs, stories and food.
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Forest Church is for adults and children to enjoy together.
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Our Forest Church is guided by the seasons, by what is around us, the space we're in, making use of all five senses, paying attention to God’s presence in the world around us.
Safeguarding
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Everyone involved in Forest Church is responsible for the safeguarding of young people.
Forest Church utilises the outdoor spaces at our churches, (We occasionally have outings/walks away from the churches) about 6 sessions per year. They're held on Saturdays and will be advertised on the home page a few weeks before. Keep an eye out for the next date on the website or in our newsletter or contact Rev. Becky Richards
Sunday Schools
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St. Peter’s Stoke-On-Tern offers Sunday school and children’s activities during all their services.
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St. Michael's, Childs Ercall offer a thriving Sunday School on the second Sunday of each month at 9:30am
Schools Work
Our clergy run termly assemblies and RE lessons, host various school events in the church, and are actively involved in our three schools at Cheswardine, Hinstock and Stoke-On-Tern.