The week before half term we delivered a set of assemblies at Elizabeth College on passion for people. We talked about how Jesus was passionate about justice and people being treated fairly. We focussed on the story of Jesus cleansing the temple and how he got angry when he saw the weak and the poor being oppressed by the rich and powerful. We concluded that in our world today there is still a substantial amount of injustice and unfair treatment of people. Sometimes it can seem overwhelming and feels like we can’t do anything to help as the problems are too big. We challenged the students to think about how one change in their life, however small, could make a big difference.
Over the last 6 weeks we have worked with a group of students from Le Murier to prepare an assembly to present to other students in the school. This week the students performed their assembly and it was great. They lead a quiz on certain teachers’ favourite things which the students found fun. They acted out part of Joseph’s story where he gets sold into slavery and explained how favouritism is not a good quality to show as it leads to jealousy from others. They concluded that it is important to treat everyone equally and challenged the students to think about one thing they could do this week to be kind. We have really enjoyed working with the students and were really proud to see them lead the assembly so well.
We have now started a number of OT Mini courses at La Mare, Melrose, Hautes Capelles, Castel, St Martins, St Mary and St Michaels and for the first time ever, La Rondin! Phil and the rest of the presenters are very busy but enjoying delivering the sessions to the children. Please pray for them during this busy period. We also delivered our last Jonah assembly this morning at Hautes Capelles. We are now looking forward to starting the next one with the theme of Lent!
Before half term we had a great “Space for PACE” quiet morning with Mick from Eldad. This time we walked around the Guet and Cobo and reflected on the life of Jesus. We were invited to share our favourite parable and as the weather was a bit stormy, we could imagine what it may have been like for Jesus and the disciples when they were travelling on Lake Galilee. We really value these times together as a team to take some time out and reflect on the reason why we do what we do. Thank you Mick!
Finally, at the beginning of February, Sarah travelled to Eastbourne to attend the Hand in Hand conference. This was specifically for those working or volunteering in children’s and family ministry. The weekend allowed Sarah to meet with other leaders and learn some new skills and techniques for teaching children at church and in schools. Walk Through The Bible were there and Sarah got to meet the team and share about how Guernsey is getting on. This also opened the door to meet with someone from Jersey who is hoping to start OT Mini courses in their schools. Sarah met with Bob Hartman who led some of the sessions and he was keen to say hello to everyone!
The sessions Sarah went to included; Understanding and Responding to Children’s Behaviour, Busting the Family Ministry Myths, Encountering God through Prayer as well as others. It was a really useful weekend and we hope to implement some of the techniques in the work that we do. During the Sunday morning church family service, the children helped paint some wonderful art too!
Below are some photos from the weekend.
