Winter 2013

Youth and Children Service
Presbyterian Church of Wales
Winter 2012 – 2013
F@ITHFUL
Church and School
A word
from Gwyn
We can be thankful that there is still a
welcome for Christians visiting schools
in Wales! There is a golden opportunity
for churches to build a relationship with
children and youth by being creative
in their association with their local
education establishment. I hope that
this edition of F@ithful will inspire you
to knock on the door of your local
school and offer your service.
Gwyn Rhydderch
Director of the Youth &
Children Service
From the outside the purpose, responsibility
and interests of church and school seem
very different. But they serve the same
community and share the same aims and
care in some ways. When church and school
work together, both have a great deal to
give and receive, but more importantly, their
cooperation is of great benefit to the pupils.
Schools play a very prominent part in our
society, and if, as a church, you started to
think of all the connections you have with
your local school, you would probably be
very surprised! Members of your family,
neighbours or friends could be pupils,
members of staff (from kitchen to classroom)
or governors. You may already have an
association with your school e.g. Christmas
or Harvest Thanksgiving services may be
held in your chapel or the pupils may visit
Christmas Wrapped
as part of their studies of places of worship.
If you as a church wish to give your school
more support, it is important to create a good,
trustworthy relationship. This can take time
and requires good communication, openness
and honesty. Churches can make a distinctive
contribution to many aspects of school life,
and as you learn more about the way your local
school works and the pressures and challenges
that staff and pupils face from day to day, more
opportunities to serve the school may become
apparent.
There are so many different ways for a church
to support a school. Here are some ideas for
consideration:
• support Christmas and summer fairs to help
raise funds;
In Welsh schools in the Rhymney Valley
this December, Ffion Williams and Glesni
Evans, who both work at Siloh Christian
Centre, Ystrad Mynach, will be presenting
the Christmas story to pupils in Year 2 (6
and 7 years old). In a busy and active two
and a half hours, the children will meet a
puppet called Gabriel who is celebrating
his birthday, they will dress up to create six
Christmas card scenes and create sentences
to accompany those scenes. The children will
also decorate biscuits with a star and a ‘jelly
baby’ and make a Christmas card. To make
the message of Christmas clear they will be
comparing the commercial Christmas with
• offer to help to create and maintain a
garden or other similar projects;
• volunteer to read with the children or to
accompany in musical productions or
concerts;
• run an after school club e.g. offering a skill
such as craftwork or a foreign language;
• offer the school a gift e.g. Christian books
(in consultation with the school);
• invite a class to come and visit your chapel
to learn about a place of worship;
• become a school governor;
• offer to be interviewed in an RE lesson
about your faith;
• take part in collective worship e.g. see
‘Open the Book’ on page 3;
• pray regularly and specifically for your
local school.
the Christian celebration, underlining the fact
that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’
birthday.
How did the opportunity to offer this activity
to the schools come about?
Ffion explains, “I wrote to three schools
asking if I could give a sketchboard
presentation in their collective worship –
perseverance was needed to be able to speak
to the headteacher! Through these contacts
we had the opportunity to offer ‘Christmas
Wrapped’. One of the previous workers at
Siloh Centre works in two of the schools and
this also helped in arranging the sessions.”
Youth and Children Service
Presbyterian Church of Wales
Winter 2012 – 2013
‘Cynhadledd Galw’ – ‘The Call’
Conference – arranged by young
people for young people
A one-day conference was held in Pwllheli
during the autumn half-term break. The seed
and enthusiasm behind this conference were
planted in the hearts of a group of friends
during the Souled Out summer course. They
were determined to meet during the holiday
to study and discuss the Bible together,
and rather than keep it to themselves,
they decided to invite the members of the
local youth groups to join them. It was the
older youth who led worship, led the small
group discussions, and it was one of the
group, Gwilym Tudur from Cardiff, who
spoke especially well on the parable of the
Prodigal Son in the morning. The majority
of those who attended were young people
who had been fired up on the summer
Youth Course, are faithful members of the
local youth group and attend a weekly Bible
study. Friends from the Llithfaen Youth
Group also came along. In the evening, the
Youth Group met as usual but the activities
were led again by the older youth. Bryn
Williams (pastor) shared a short message
and Dewi Jones, the Youth Group leader,
shared how he came to faith. The questions
and discussions went on for quite some
time afterwards with a mug of tea in one
hand and toast in the other! Many thanks to
the young people for the enthusiasm which
became a blessing for everyone who was
there.
Taith y Profiad –
‘The Experience
Tour’ – Llŷn and
Eifionydd
What was your experience of high
school? The best years of their lives
for some, no doubt! For the week
before the autumn half-term break a
group of us went on tour around the
high schools of Llyn and Eifionydd
and Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor, Pwllheli.
The core of the tour was a different
‘experience’, an opportunity for our
guest speakers to hold sessions based
on their experiences in different areas
and an opportunity for the pupils to ask
questions about a different experience –
that of being a Christian.
The speakers...
• Nan Wyn Powell-Davies on her
experience of working as a prison
chaplain,
• Ben Thomas on his experience of
working as a television reporter,
• Owain Edwards on his experience as
a family doctor,
• Gwenno Teifi on her experiences
in politics,
• Steffan Morris on his experiences
in sport.
We had a great time with the pupils,
who ranged in ages from 13 to 18. The
questions during the Question and
Answer sessions were challenging, witty,
honest, reflective and deep, and the
groups listened attentively to the clear
answers of the speakers. “How do you
know that God loves you?” “How do
you know that God speaks to you?” –
the teachers were amazed by the deep
questions asked by some of the pupils
and their readiness to ask them in front
of their peers.
In the evenings Gwenno Teifi, Steffan
Morris and Rachel Settatree (a youth
worker in Llyn and Eifionydd) led
sessions in the local Christian youth
groups, where a good crowd of young
people came along to enjoy two hours
of games, “chilling” and the premiere
of a short film produced especially for
the tour called ‘Where is my sheep?’.
You can work out the Biblical theme for
yourself!
This is the second time that we
have organised ‘The Experience Tour’.
If you are interested in
holding a similar tour in your local
high school, contact Nia Williams:
[email protected].
Youth and Children Service
Presbyterian Church of Wales
Winter 2012 – 2013
Resources to help
you engage with
your local school
Local Church, Local School
Open the Book
Practical and creative ways for churches
to serve local primary schools
Margaret Withers (Barnabas) £8.99
Also available to download from
www.barnabasinschools.org.uk/
church-school-links-downloads
www.openthebook.net
Local Church, Local School is intended for
church leaders, lay leaders, children’s work
leaders, governors, PTAs, teaching staff, nonteaching staff and Christian parents seeking to
support and serve their local primary schools.
Its aim is to encourage churches to view
engagement with their local schools as part of
their service in the community. This can be as
much through presence and practical support
as through teaching and leading worship, and
has the added bonus of giving confidence to
schools to see their local church as a teaching
resource as well as being a community with
much to offer. The book provides practical
ideas and well-founded information on all
aspects of engagement, including theological
considerations, identifying opportunities and
skills, getting involved and the creative use
of respective buildings. Above all, it enables
church members to understand how the
spiritual needs of the school fit into the legal
requirements of the RE programme and the
big picture of the school day.
Open the Book began in Bedford in 1999,
where a group of Christians first started
presenting Bible stories in school assemblies.
They were so well received that they were
asked to return – again and again. Soon the
word reached other schools and other areas,
and Open the Book began to grow from a local
initiative into a much bigger national enterprise.
The scheme offers primary school children
an opportunity to hear the major stories of
the Bible in an interactive and enjoyable way
during assembly times. Teams of Christians
from local churches tell the stories in a
10-15 minute presentation, which can be
incorporated into a wider school assembly, or
stand alone. All the stories for the first year are
taken from The Lion Storyteller Bible, written
by Bob Hartman, and give an overview of the
Bible from Creation to the Ascension. Open
the Book asks that teams register and adhere
to a Code of Practice. There are a further 2
years of themed material for those schools
(and teams) who wish to continue, available to
registered teams. For registration details go to:
www.openthebook.net/registration.php.
A new magazine!
Childrenswork
Available by £18 subscription through the
website, www.childrenswork.co.uk, or by
phoning 01892 611171.
This new magazine, produced by the same
publishers as ‘Youthwork’ and ‘Christianity’,
has articles on a variety of topics on
working with children, reviews, and ideas
for all-age services, games and craft. A
useful and motivating resource. A trial copy
is available from the website or over the
phone.
Useful websites
CCSW: Christian Council for the Schools of
Wales: for three decades the CCSW has been
helping churches build bridges with their local
schools. www.ccsw.org.uk
BRF: Bible Reading Fellowship: ‘Barnabas in
Schools’ works with schools offering Religious
Education days and training for teachers. They
produce numerous resources for many different
aspects of working with schools and have a
section on building relationships with schools.
www.barnabasinschools.org.uk/
SU: Scripture Union: working with schools by
equipping and supporting those who work in
schools or are pupils is one of the main aims
of Scripture Union. Their resources section
reflects this vision. www.scriptureunion.org.uk/
YourCommunity/Schools
Spinnaker Trust: a Christian charity which
supports primary schools by leading collective
worship and Religious Education lessons.
www.spinnaker.org.uk
Schools Work: a website for all Christians
working with schools or visiting UK schools and
who are passionate about making a difference
in the lives of youth and children.
www.schoolswork.co.uk
Youth and Children Service
Presbyterian Church of Wales
Winter 2012 – 2013
Coleg y Bala and Schools
We are grateful for all the links that we have
between Coleg y Bala and local schools –
and those further afield. We have a close
relationship with local schools as Owain
regularly leads collective worship and, in
November, led the Urdd Sunday Service.
Steffan has been supporting the schools in
different ways by running an after-school
sports club, and during the summer term
led days on an Olympic theme in some of
the schools. We also regularly support the
activities of the Christian Union in Ysgol y
Berwyn. The Youth and Children Service
team spend the last three weeks before the
Training
Coleg y Bala Diary
December 2012
8 Hwyl yr wyl: Christmas fun
for children (Welsh)
Precious Day (girls aged 11-15 )
Easter holiday presenting the Easter story to
primary schools from across North Wales,
led by Nia. Believe it or not, one school has
already booked two days for next March!
There is also an opportunity for schools to
stay at Coleg y Bala during the week and
enjoy a different course e.g. ‘Mary Jones and
her Bible’, or to arrange their own activities –
there is a wealth of sites of historical interest
in and around Bala. If you know of a school
who would be interested in the activities we
have to offer or would like to come and stay
at Coleg y Bala, please contact us on 01678
520565 or [email protected].
January 2013
25-27 Aled Pastorate Children
February
8-10 Equip (young adults over 19)
12-15 Welsh Youth Course Reunion
18
Ministers’ Training Day
22-24 Souled Out Reunion (15+)
March
1-3
St Mary’s, Aberystwyth
4-22 Easter Story for primary schools
22-24Precious Weekend
(girls aged 11-15)
March 9th
Welsh National Youth and Children’s Workers Conference.
Main theme: Our House (Joshua 24:15) –
“What kind of house are we building?”
EQUIP: encouraging
and equipping a
new generation.
February 8-10
A weekend for students (19+) and young
adults. Main sessions: Andy Ollerton and
Arfon Jones
Souled Out Reunion
February 22-24
A weekend for young people aged 15-19
years old. This weekend would also be ideal
for young people who are new to the work
of Souled Out. Once again, there’ll be lots
of opportunity over the weekend for the
young people to socialise, catch up with
friends, do some fun activities as well as
learn more about God in the main sessions
and small groups. The speakers will be Steff
Morris, Rhun Murphy and Owain Edwards,
so it looks set to be a great weekend!
For more information
regarding these weekends,
please contact Meryl Walters
at Coleg y Bala on
01678 520565.
Editor: Nia W Williams, Glasgoed, Yr Ala, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, LL53 5BL | [email protected]