children's church

on Sundays

We welcome children of all ages. Every Sunday there is a Sunday School for the children. The children gather at the front after the first hymn and continue their worship in the new vestry area. They join the main congregation again during the notices, just before the sharing of the Peace, when they show the main congregation what they have done in their age related worship. Normally they then stay in with their families for the Eucharist.

There is a team of very enthusiastic and competent leaders and helpers, so that all the sessions are led and supervised by two adults. We use material based on the ROOTS series of extensive material for Sunday Schools. There is a fortnightly Sunday evening youth club (over 8s) where the older children can relax with their friends. This includes drama games, sports games, craft activities and sometimes a themed evening, such as our Victorian Christmas Party.

The children not only receive spiritual nourishment at their own level in the Sunday School, they are also actively involved in leading our main service, which gives the services an informal and friendly atmosphere. Many children are keen servers, trained and supervised by Roy Philips, our head server. The children have their own wooden procession cross, they carry the Lectionary and the Service Book during the main procession and they are our acolytes. During some main services children read the lesson or lead the intercessions. Babies stay with their families and their occasional vocal contributions are warmly welcomed too! There is an area at the back of the church with some toys and books. We also have a Children's Service every last Sunday of the month at 4pm; at this we listen to s story, sing songs, do activities and have drinks and cake!

Special Services/Events

Every year many special events and services are geared specifically towards the children. In the Autumn there is the Harvest Festival, which also involves the local brownies and guides.

At the beginning of December we have a Lantern Festival to celebrate St Nicholas Day. We start with a workshop in the Community Centre to make lanterns and to learn some St Nicholas Songs. We then process with our lighted lanterns through the dark streets of Littlemore to the College (Sisters of the Work) and end up in our church for more stories and songs. At the end it turns out that St Nicholas has paid a visit during our time in the church, because the carrots in our shoes, left there for his white mare, have been replaced by big chocolate letters and sweets!

During the Christmas season our local schools hold their carol services in church. There is also a Christingle Service, which includes the nativity story acted by children from the primary school and church, a Crib Blessing Service on Christmas Eve with a real-life baby in the crib and the main service on Christmas Day.

Clergy Involvement in Local Schools

The clergy take regular assemblies in our local schools: John Henry Newman CE Primary School (325 pupils), Peers School (comprehensive upper school, 1000 pupils), and the Mabel Pritchard School (for children with special needs). The governing bodies of each school has clergy representation. The clergy are asked to come into school for specific topics such as "baptism" or "the job of a vicar", and occasionally classes visit the church for project work. The previous vicar, the Revd Bernhard Schunemann, taught classes on Christianity in the local IQRA Muslim school for girls (click here).

In recent years we have run an after-school club "Godly Play" which is based on the idea that children enter a sacred space where their spirituality can be explored and nurtured. Children listen to a story that is told with wooden figures, which takes the attention away from the storyteller to the actual story. The children are asked "wondering questions" which stimulates engagement with the story at their own personal level. They can then react to the story in their own creative way, using a variety of paints, crayons, pencils, clay or tissue paper. The session ends with prayer and "the feast" - biscuits and juice.

Wider Community Involvement

The church also has an active role in the wider youth provision in the community of Littlemore. We liaise with the local youth worker, and are active members of two youth orientated committees in Littlemore: Littlemore Youth Action Group, which consists of the Youth Service, the Church, Parish, City and County Councillors and representatives from the community. There is very little youth provision in Littlemore, which has been a concern in the community for some time. Youth roam the streets without having anywhere to go and therefore a number of them have got into trouble. Gradually sessions have been set up to provide constructive and enjoyable youth work. There are now regular holiday schemes for the under 12s, as well as Community Fun Days and various community parties. Another major undertaking with involvement of the clergy has been the upgrading of a local run-down playground (this project has nearly finished).

If you have any questions about our children's work please contact the vicar, the Rev Margreet Armitstead.