From the Churches Together Family & Children's Worker
Jane Smith

from the July 2010 Parish magazine
Messy Church Messy Church will be a monthly event, on a weekday afternoon, after school. It will be for families with younger children - from babies and toddlers up to the top end of Primary School. It will be for children and adults to come to together.
At Messy Church, we will:

I hope to start Messy Church as soon as possible after the summer holidays, but to do that, I will need a team! There will be many jobs to do - some are very hands on, others are in the background. Some require lots of time - others hardly any. We will need people that are good with a hoover or a computer or a musical instrument or a pair of scissors. And people that can cook, serve or clear away. We will also need those that just love to chat and can make people feel welcome while others hare around making sure it’s all going to plan!

This is a Uniting Churches project and I want to draw a team from all three churches as an expression of our working together to build relationships with families in the town. There will be more information over the next few weeks, but if you like the sound of it, please pick up the phone and let me know. Jane Smith (see magazine for contact info)

from the June 2010 Parish magazine
Ecumenical Family and Children's Work
May always seems to be a "thinking" month. As I write, Year 6 children are coming to the end of their SATs tests, teachers are writing reports, older students are doing important exams. At the same time, there seems to be a myriad of conferences and training sessions for me to choose from, to support my thinking about how to develop our three churches' work with families and younger children.

Yesterday I spent the day at the Christian Resources Exhibition, learning about Messy Church and hearing from churches who are using this model to appeal to families who are disenchanted with conventional "neat and tidy"??? Sunday morning Church. It's a model I'm very interested in trying, as part of our relationship with families who are connected to the church through school, holiday club, toddler groups and uniformed organisations, but not generally through Sunday worship. Watch this space.

I'm also looking forward to a day at Creating Sparks; the excellent children's work conference run by Guildford Diocese. It will be really good to be there with a group from the Uniting Churches, to swap ideas, concerns and dreams for the future.

Looking ahead, this term will see some serious planning for this year's Holiday Club: Rocky's Plaice, from 16-20 August. The team is in place and we will be running two programmes, at Christ Church for children currently in Reception up to Year 3, and at BFree for those in Years 4, 5 and 6. Booking information will be available from the beginning of June.

I am working on a shopping list of props and scenery items which we are going to need. Keep an eye on your church's weekly notices and let us know if you can help. And please pray for us as we make all our practical preparations and consider how best we can communicate the love that God has for every child and family who will join us. Jane Smith

from the October 2009 Parish magazine
We went on a Jungle Jamboree The summer will probably seem like a long time ago by the time you read this. But unfortunately, the deadlines for September's magazines came and went while we were still in full swing at Jungle Jamboree - this year's children's Holiday Club.

First, the headlines. We welcomed about 75 participants, in two venues. On the team were 10 teenage helpers and some 32 adult helpers. This is a truly inter-generational project!

The team was drawn from all three Uniting Churches, and we also welcomed new friends from Bugs Club, B@titude and Engage. As well as being an enthusiastic sharer of the gospel, Dave Banko must now forever go down in history as the champion of "I'm a Group Leader, Get me Out of Here", complete with floury face, jellied hands and sense of humour entirely intact!

The children were drawn from all parts of our community - church and toddler group families, local schools, Brownies, Beavers, Cubs ... and the friends that they brought along. Several have come back year after year. I pray that the message of following the "right track", receiving God's forgiveness and experiencing his "great reward" will stay with them long after the fun and games have faded.

My thanks to all those who helped, those who prayed for us, and those who expressed their interest and support. We are also most grateful to Downsend Lodge, who gave us free access to their lovely garden area for a celebratory picnic at the end of the week.

We had a great time. Everything ran smoothly. No-one had an accident. Our finances are now healthy, thanks to some generous donations, and we are looking forward to planning for the future. Jane Smith

from the October 2009 Parish magazine
The view from over here - Leatherhead Trinity It is part of my remit as Family and Children's Worker to foster the churches' relationship with Leatherhead Trinity. As well as that "official" interest, my two children are on the school roll. And to cap it all, we live right in front of the site, with a fine view of all that is going on. So I am writing this on the third day of term, which seemed like a good time to share how things are looking from over here. And the view is good!

As neighbours, we have spent the summer watching some very large machines nibbling away at the old buildings of The Woodville School. It has been poignant. We are aware of so many friends who spent their school days there and have many memories stored away. But we are also, as parents, excited by the fresh start represented by the new building. So we have said goodbye to the rather pleasant brick buildings we used to look out on, and are getting used to catching flashes of slate grey and royal blue in the distance.

Our older daughter is excited to be in the Juniors. She has learned to tie her tie, is relieved that she hasn't got lost yet, and reports that the dinners are really good! Her little sister is waiting to start in Reception. She is excited that there is going to be a see-saw and is, for some reason, convinced that it will be electrically powered!

Already we begin to see some of the benefits of bringing the children together onto one site, where resources can be used to greater effect. This week's parents' newsletter reveals there will be some 41 extra-curricular clubs on offer to the children this term, including sports coaching from none other than Chelsea Football Club. And it has been touching to hear so many children say that they are looking forward to being at the same site as their siblings. Whether that will translate into harmonious playtimes remains to be seen!

As churches, we will be contributing to the programme of assemblies and plans for the "Quiet Space", where children of any faith background will be encouraged to explore their spiritual side. And we are beginning to build up a support network of parents, staff and church members who will undertake to pray for school life and take a real interest in all that is going on. Please do take an interest, and watch out for more news and details of how you can be involved. Jane Smith

from the July 2009 Parish magazine
Ecumenical family and children's work The summer brings along a string of events for which I'd really appreciate prayer support. Preparation for multiple events is a challenge and I definitely need to hone my juggling skills. And several of these events would really benefit from good weather .. !

4 July: Holiday Club Training. We meet to study the Bible stories we are using this summer, pray together, make practical preparations and swap ideas to make this year's Holiday Club lots of fun.
5 July: Beaver Camp. Beavers are the youngest branch of the Scout movement. Leatherhead's colony is attached to Christ Church and run by Alison Gillott. Alison has very kindly invited me to join them at their summer camp, where we will be working with the boys and their parents to put together an act of worship.
6 and 8 July: Assemblies at Leatherhead Trinity, on the theme of "Thanks".
16 July: Splatterbox BBQ. Splatterbox is a messy play session for children aged 2+ with their parents, at Leatherhead Methodist. Pray for good weather and safety, as we socialise together – and for continued links with those who are moving on to school and nursery.
18 July: Leatherhead Life. I am organising the children's tent at Leatherhead Life. Please pray that we will have the right amount of materials for the children who turn up (very unpredictable), that we will keep them safe and be able to communicate something of
God's love in the way that we relate to the children and their parents.
17-21 August: Jungle Jamboree Holiday Club. Thank God for all the skills and personalities that are coming together to make a great team! Pray for them as they make their own preparations. Remember us during the week itself –pray for safety, fun and a strong sense of God's loving presence among us. Jane Smith

from the June 2009 Parish magazine
Ecumenical family and children's work Summer is coming and my mind is already firmly on two big events in July and August. On 18 July I will be running the family and children's tent at Leatherhead Life. I'm enjoying being part of the planning for this exciting event and looking forward to the challenge of providing activities for a totally unpredictable number of children on a day that may or may not be sunny. Please pray that it is!

But my main preoccupation for the next three months will be preparations for our seventh annual Holiday Club. This year's team encompasses an incredible spectrum of age and churchmanship. It's a great chance to work across generational and denominational differences in the interests of a common goal.

On a practical level, as the popularity of Holiday Club has increased, so have our costs. We now run on two sites, which allows us to cater much better for different age groups, but does increase overall costs. For the last two years, we've also provided families with a picnic lunch at the end of the week. These have been joyful occasions but the food is very expensive and we are doubtful whether we can justify it this year.

We have already asked for a sum from each church, which will give us sufficient funds to meet our basic costs. We are also putting the booking fee up for the first time since 2003; it will still be extremely good value for money compared to other children's holiday activities. Even so, the budget is very tight. If any church member feels moved to donate some additional funds, it would put us on a more comfortable footing and help us with our planning for the future. Please speak to me or our treasurer, Catherine Diffey, if you'd like to help.

Holiday Club bookings will open early in June. We will be distributing publicity widely within Leatherhead, but if you know of children who particularly want to come, please let me have their contact details and I will add them to the mailing list.
Jane Smith Family and Children's Worker

from the May 2009 Parish magazine
Easter Quiet Space At the end of March, Sue Friend and I organised an Easter Quiet Space, to which we invited every child in the Junior years at Leatherhead Trinity. That's about 200 children, aged 7-11, plus their teachers and helpers.

The Quiet Space was at the BFree cafe, which they visited one class at a time, throughout the school day. There they found four quiet corners, each on an Easter theme.

There were objects to see and feel, words to read and questions to contemplate. Quiet music was playing and there were calm, contemplative images on the video screen. And we provided some simple crafts for them to do.

Most of the children made a bee-line for the crafts: safe territory! But as they settled in, they also began to explore the other things. We overheard conversations that probably don't often happen in the playground: "So what do you make of this God stuff then?" "Are you a Christian? Well yeah, but not in a heavy way, you know ..." At the "egg" corner, some of them wrote down what they thought of the resurrection story: "kool", "amazing", "boring", "freaky". Some of the children (and staff!) chose to make themselves comfy on the lovely, squashy sofas. And several asked when they could come back and play with the Playstations!

This was the antithesis of what many people associate with children's ministry. There were no action songs, no comedy sketches and the atmosphere was quiet and reflective. The vast majority of the children respected that atmosphere and several of the teachers commented on the way they calmed down as soon as they came into the building. We hope that they all found something worth taking away with them. If nothing else, we hope they got the message that they are valued as individuals in their own right – with the ability to explore what they believe and develop their spirituality in their own time and in their own way.

Our thanks to Andy and Joe at BFree, for making us welcome and helping out with the practical stuff, and to everyone from the churches who came to help out. And also to Alison, for the lovely Easter garden, and Dave for the slideshow. It was a great team effort!
Jane Smith, Family and Children's Worker, Leatherhead Uniting Churches

from the March 2009 Parish magazine
Family and children's work: Having shared some random thoughts with you over the last few months, I thought perhaps it was time to report on a few of the things I'm actually doing in the cause of ecumenical family and children's work.

I visited the two infant sites of Leatherhead Trinity during January, to take assemblies on the theme of forgiveness. It was nice to have such a warm welcome: at Fortyfoot Road I was greeted with whispers of "what's Rachel's mummy doing here?" – while at Aperdele Road there were cries of "it's the Bugs Club lady!" from the dozen or so children who come to Bugs Club every Saturday morning. At both sites there is a lovely, responsive group of children who join in their assemblies with enthusiasm. I'll be back just after February half term and have assemblies scheduled twice a term for the rest of this academic year.

At LMC, Splatterbox and Tiddlywinks attract mums, grannies and carers of young children, for play, craft, songs and stories. These are groups with minimal Christian content, but we welcome everyone into our building, offer them good quality play opportunities and develop relationships. The same can be said of the Parish Toddler Group, faithfully run by Janine and Jackie, where I'm very happy to be an occasional guest. I've found that many of the adults take an interest in the things we are doing in church and it's a great way to extend a welcome into the worshipping community for those that are interested.

On the second Sunday of the month, it's Time for Tea. Mary Cruddas started these services a few months ago and I'm delighted to be able to help out – not least because my own young children absolutely love going! It's a winning mixture of simple worship, craft activities and delicious tea and cakes. Anyone with preschool children or grandchildren should really give it a try – 4pm, second Sunday, at St Mary and St Nicholas church.

At the time of writing, I'm planning the next United Breakfast Praise,on 22 Feb. We're hoping this will be a good opportunity to draw together families from each of the Uniting Churches. Parents have enjoyed catching up with each other over breakfast, while their children get stuck into some crafts –followed by a chance to share a relaxed, family-friendly act of worship together.

There's more, but these are some of the recent highlights. I do appreciate your prayers and all the expressions of support I've received. If anyone wants to get in touch, you can reach me on janefcw AT googlemail.com or 01372 372919. J Smith

from the Feb 2009 Parish magazine
Where are the Children? This is the title of a book I have been reading, by Margaret Withers, the Archbishop's Officer for Evangelism among Children. "Few and far between" is how it feels some Sunday mornings. But wait – there is cause for optimism. Because there are many, many children who still have a connection with the church – even in Leatherhead!

They may be members of uniformed organisations linked to a local church, like Christ Church. They may attend a church school, like Leatherhead Trinity or St Michael's, Mickleham. They might be preschool children playing at toddler groups in church halls, like the Parish Toddler Group, Tiddlywinks or Splatterbox. They may even come along to occasional events run by the churches themselves: Christmas services, Harvest festivals, holiday clubs or Easter events.

When one thinks like this, one realises that there are probably several hundred children, and their families, who still have a connection with Leatherhead's Uniting Churches. Of course, some of them have no desire to make that connection any deeper and we must respect that. But others may relish the chance to explore what they believe, if we are prepared to engage with them at an appropriate level. Jesus didn't limit his ministry to the courts of the synagogue and temple – he went where the people were. So how can we follow his example?

Over the next few weeks I hope to offer some ideas about areas where we could concentrate our efforts, to engage with the families who still have a lingering link with our churches. I hope we can gain a renewed sense of direction for our mission to spread the love of Jesus Christ among the children and families in our wider
community. Jane Smith

from the November 2008 Parish magazine
Getting to know us I wonder. . . how much do you know about Leatherhead Trinity School and Children's Centre? Some of you know rather a lot, being directly involved in school life as pupils, parents, staff or Governors. Others, I guess, know very little. But I hope that every member of the Covenanting Churches is aware of our special relationship with Leatherhead Trinity, one of very few church schools with an ecumenical foundation.

I have been impressed by the importance which the school places on nurturing spiritual development, without any sense of imposing a particular set of beliefs. When I met the Head Teacher, she spoke in terms of enabling children to meet people with an active faith, ask them questions, and find out what makes them tick. Also fostering awareness among the children about things which are going on in the wider community. These are areas where the churches have much to offer, if we can rise to the challenge.

I would like to identify a network of church members who will take an active interest in Leatherhead Trinity, receiving news about events and praying for issues of concern. I hope that some may also be willing to volunteer from time to time with practical tasks that need to be done. One member of our churches has just started helping with a knitting club as a result of an appeal from the school. I also know that the Friends Association would love to have some extra pairs of hands at the Christmas Fair later this term. These things need not be very time consuming, but are great opportunities for the church to be of real use in the life of the school.

I will be visiting each church over the next few weeks to gather a list of people who would like to be involved. I hope you will feel able to play a part.
Jane Smith, Family & Children's Worker

from the September 2008 Parish magazine
Junior Heroes Holiday Club: Is it a bird or is it a plane? No, it's the Junior Heroes Holiday Club. Or rather it's the Junior Heroes Holiday CLUBS. For the first time this summer, we operated two venues, two teams and two age groups, so that we could meet the very high demand. How nice to have too many people wanting to come to a church event!!! About 60 5-9 year olds came to Christ Church, where "Jane 5" and "lancredible" searched for their super powers, the Watt Family and Bert 'n' Lucy kept us entertained and we learned all about Jesus, our ultimate Super Hero. "He's the only one that can save the world."

Meanwhile, another 30 children were down at BFree, where they indulged in such grown-up pastimes as T-shirt design, china painting and cookery, and waited with bated breath to see who would be "Hero of the Day".

On the last day we all got together for a celebration, with parents, grandparents and siblings all joining in. Somewhere along the way, we equipped ourselves with our Heroic Armour - the belt of truth, breastplate of justice, shield of faith, helmet of salvation and the sword of God's message.

Huge thanks, as ever, to all those who helped – to Christ Church and LYP for letting us take over their buildings for a whole week – and to the children who bring everything to life. You're all heroes! Jane Smith, Family and Children's worker

from the October 2008 Parish magazine
From your Family and Children's Worker I hope most people have now heard that I have been appointed as a part time Family and Children's Worker for the Covenanting Churches: Leatherhead Methodist, St Mary and St Nicholas Parish Church and Christ Church (UR). I am grateful for the many expressions of support I have received and am looking forward to an exciting challenge.

Over the next few weeks I hope to speak to as many people as possible who are already doing children's work in the churches and wider community, to identify how my time would best be spent. I have no intention of reinventing the wheel!

There are two main "mission" elements to the post. First of all, there are a great many families who are involved in activities on the fringes of our churches, such as the toddler groups, Holiday Club and uniformed organisations. I'd like to explore ways in which we could make it easy for them and their children to have a deeper experience of church in its widest sense.

I will also be spending some of my time developing our churches'relationship with Leatherhead Trinity School. In partnership with the school management, I'm hoping to identify creative ways in which the churches and school can work together. This is not about imposing our beliefs on anyone, but offering children a positive example of the way that Christians live their lives and supporting them as they explore matters of faith and belief for themselves.

I will try and use the church magazines nes to keep people informed about my work. Much of it will be out in the community, notnecessarily on Sunday mornings.

Please be reassured that things are happening even if you can't see them! And if you have ideas, comments or suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch. You can reach me at the LMC office, 01372 362145. J Smith

from the September 2008 Parish magazine
Family and Children's Worker: Leatherhead Covenanting Churches, Anglican, Methodist and United Reformed, Leatherhead Parish have joined in appointing a part time Family and Children's Worker for two days a week. She is Jane Smith, already known to many in Leatherhead through her leadership in the churches Annual Holiday Club. Jane will be managed by a small team drawn from all three sponsoring Churches. Her role will complement the work already being done by Jay Bristow and the Leatherhead Youth Project at the BFree Cafe.

The Family and Children's Worker's main responsibilities will be: to build and develop further the Churches' relationship with our Church School, Leatherhead Trinity; todevelop a programme of ecumenical family friendly Church life complementing what the Churches already offer-, and to review and recommend for change what is already on offer through the Churches for families and younger children. We wish Jane every success in this new role.
David Eaton