Spring 2023 Newsletter

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We can’t quite believe that it is nearly the Easter holidays! This term has gone very quick! Each term we send out a newsletter detailing what we’ve been up to and informing you of any important events. Our Spring Newsletter is now available to be read! Please take note of the two important dates. Our AGM will be held on Monday 26th June, 7-9pm at Trinity Church – we would love to see you there!

We also have an OT Live event later in the year on Saturday 18th November, 10am-4.30pm at Les Camps Methodist Church. After a popular event last year with NT Live and OT Live in 2019, we wanted to bring this amazing day back and give more people the opportunity to experience interactive and engaging teaching on the Old Testament and also see what we are teaching in the primary schools.

We hope you enjoy reading our newsletter and have a lovely Easter!

PACE Update

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The end of term is fast approaching and it has been a busy one. We’re so pleased to have delivered Easter in a Box to over 300 children in seven schools. We’ve received some great feedback from both children and teachers. Thank you to our fantastic volunteers who helped us with both preparation and delivery!

We’ve also really enjoyed the assemblies, lunch clubs and OT Mini’s over this half term.

We have two important dates for future events:

AGM – Monday 26th June, 7-9pm at Trinity Church

OT Live – Saturday 18th November, 10am-4.30 pm at Les Camps Methodist Church. Lunch will be provided. There is a cost of £14 per person. To book your place visit https://www.bible.org.uk/wtb_event_tickets.php

Below is a message from Eleanor about the partnership with PACE and SWYM:

We’d love to raise awareness of PACE across our island. On the 23rd April, we’re inviting as many churches as possible to promote the work of PACE. We’re also using this opportunity to highlight the exciting new partnership between PACE and SWYM (South West Youth Ministries) which will see a group of trainee children and youth workers based in Guernsey from September 2023. They will be based in local churches and also working closely with the PACE team in schools to gain experience of everyday ministry.

We have been so grateful to have the help of James Le Tissier who has produced 2 videos, flyers and Facebook posts for churches to use.  Lisa and I were definitely out of our comfort zone shooting the videos but James was super patient!

As people who support PACE or volunteer in schools we’d love your help with this promotion. Perhaps you could offer to be interviewed in your church on the 23rd April and share a bit about how you support PACE. Maybe you could talk to friends and families. We’d love more volunteers for PACE as well as to hear from people who would like to participate in SWYM’s one year ‘Be Transformed’ programme. Personal recommendation is always the best so please help us spread the word!

Love Eleanor 

PACE Update

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Our current Primary assembly introduces a fairly new puppet to the children – Roxy! During the assembly, she learns about why we call Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day. She also learns what Lent is and why some people give up something they really enjoy (not cabbage!) for 40 days to remember all that Jesus gave up. She decides to try and give up peanut butter! The children have loved it! At one school we heard a child call out, “Can you do more?” after we had ended the assembly! At that school they also walked out saying “I’m going to Lent my TV!” or “I’m going to Lent my iPad!” We thought it was a great phrase!!

Lisa and Howard Davenport have also really enjoyed working with a group of Year 9s on a module for their ASDAN qualification. This year the students led an assembly on the story of Jesus and the paralysed man. The students focused on how it is important to help people and be a good friend like the men in the story. The performance went well and the students watching enjoyed taking part in the different elements of the assembly. A big well done to all that were involved.

Easter in a Box is continuing very well, with lots of positive feedback from both the children and teachers. We’re really enjoying delivering these lessons and exploring the Easter story with them.

PACE Update

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After a nice half term break we’ve got straight back to business this week. We’ve started 4 OT Mini courses – 3 at Vale led by Tom and Frances and Lisa and Bryan. Nigel and Sarah are at Forest. 

Our Easter in a box lessons started on Tuesday and so far we’ve been to La Mare, La Houguette and St Martins delivering this fun, engaging lesson to Year 4.

It’s been great fun and we’ve had some lovely feedback from teachers. They love the engaging format, the interaction and thoughtful activities. Below are some photos of the children busy during the activities.

Over the rest of this term we’ll be delivering these sessions with our wonderful volunteers to around 300 children! It’s an amazing opportunity to share the Easter story with children and explore it with them. 

We also just wanted to let you know that due to various reasons Alex has decided that she would like to continue with PACE in a voluntary role rather than a paid position. We’re really happy that we will get to continue to work with her in this way. Please do keep Lisa and Sarah in your prayers. 

PACE Update!

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Over the weekend Sarah went to a children’s and families workers conference called Hand in Hand in Eastbourne. She attended talks about sharing the whole Bible story with children, creating experiences for children to encounter God, mentoring and walking with children in their lives and faith and innovative ways to engage with the Bible. It was a great opportunity to meet with other schools workers, youth and children’s workers and look at new resources. Sarah also got to say hello to Bob Hartman and he very kindly recorded a little video for us which you can find on our Instagram!

This week we were invited to visit Year 1 at Acorn House to chat with them about why church is a special place. We invited Tom Saddington and Jon Honor to join Sarah to answer some questions the children had prepared. It was a very fun lesson and they engaged really well. They loved stained glass windows and learning about what else is done in churches during the week. The children were then designing their own churches which was fun to see! We are hoping that we will be able to develop the input we have with infants in our schools.

In lunch clubs we’ve been having some interesting discussions with students about how the world came to be and delving deeper into some questions they might have – including “Where did God come from?” Not an easy question to answer! But we love grappling these topics with our young people.

Finally this week we had a lovely Quiet Morning with Jacky Cottrell at Forest Methodist Church where we spent time reflecting on who Jesus is to us and looking at putting ourselves into some of the Gospels using the book A Quiet Word by Nick Fawcett. We spent time reflecting and just being still which was great!

PACE UPDATE

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We’re nearly through the first month of 2023! Already we feel we are well underway for a busy year ahead.

In the last two weeks we have started our new primary assembly looking at the Wise and Foolish builders, the parable told by Jesus in Matthew. Our assembly starts with looking at what a New Year’s resolution is and one of us announces that our resolution is to never be late for the whole year – not even by a minute! Through the telling and acting of the story we learn that sometimes the choices we make aren’t the best and things can crop up and rock us so we need to build our year on solid foundations, on making wise choices. But each day is a new start and we can learn from our mistakes and try again. So far we’ve had great feedback and teachers are finding the message fits in well with what they are encouraging the children too.

This term we have also been back at Le Murier working with Year 9 on a module for their ASDAN qualification. We are helping them to plan and prepare an assembly which they will present to the lower school. This year we have chosen the story of the Paralyzed Man who comes down through the roof and is healed by Jesus. We have had many discussions about how this part of the story can be acted out!! The conclusion they are bringing out of the story is it’s important to help people and it’s important to be a good friend. All parts have now been cast so we are busy working out the logistics, costumes and learning lines. Please pray for them as they rehearse and prepare for the final presentation.

Hello 2023!

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Happy New Year! Can you believe we are in 2023?! Although the weather may be a bit miserable, we’re very happy because we have a wonderful new team member! Alex Contreras joins us with a background in teaching and youth work. She is very involved in the Catholic churches and has three children. We’re so pleased Alex has joined our team and she’s already getting stuck in with our lunch clubs and assembly planning! Thank you for all your support and prayers in our search, we knew God had it all in hand!

Our wonderful volunteers are also getting stuck in this term with six OT Mini courses being taught a week in four schools! Sarah-Jane and Eleanor are leading La Houguette, Frances and Sarah-Jane are at Melrose, Nigel, Bryan and Frances are at Beechwood and Lisa and Sarah are about to start at Castel. We’re so pleased to be able to cover so many schools – we couldn’t do it without them!

We’ll hand you over to Eleanor now for a message about SWYM.

Last time on the blog, I shared that SWYM’s vision and passion is that every child and young person in the South West (and now, in Guernsey!) would encounter Jesus, know him and make a choice to live for more. What is this going to look like in practice in Guernsey?

SWYM’s main strategy is to place trainee children and youth workers with churches, local ministries and schools work projects. We hope to have a cluster of SWYM trainees in Guernsey from September 2023. They would be placed in a local church and hopefully also work closely with PACE so they can get experience in schools.

Trainees will have a great support network on island, including their line manager, mentor, and support from their peers and the area co-ordinator at a weekly cluster meeting. They will also go to SWYM conference in north Devon six times a year to meet with all the other trainees and have training together.

I’d love a bit of help from you all, as PACE supporters based in churches across the island. We are looking for people who would like to train with SWYM.

Do you know anyone with a heart for children and young people who would love to train as a youth and children’s worker? The initial commitment is for a year on the ‘Be Transformed’ year but there are then opportunities to progress, including to degree level. Many trainees, but definitely not all are in the 18-25 age bracket. A potential trainee could be also someone who would like to retrain, or someone who has recently retired and is ready for a different challenge.

Please, have a think and pray and if anyone comes to mind, have a chat with them and suggest they get in touch with me. I’d love to hear from them. eleanor@swym.org.uk

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

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We have made it to Christmas 2022! It has been a challenging term but a great one too! Please enjoy reading our newsletter for this term!

We would also like to make you aware of our updated Twelve Baskets postcard. As we have previously written, we have been busy delivering our Christmas in a Box lessons so we wanted to revise our postcard to reflect the financial cost of these lessons. Please do have a read through!

We hope you all have a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Thank you for your continued support during 2022! See you all in 2023!

PACE UPDATE!

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We’re now into December and that means Christmas Lessons!! We have started this years run of Christmas in a Box lessons this week! So far we have been into Hautes Capelles and La Mare. Over the next few weeks we will be delivering this lesson to about 265 Year 3 children across Guernsey!

We have also been busy delivering lessons in secondary schools! Lisa and Howard Davenport (Eldad Elim) have been teaching sessions on ‘A Christian World View’ looking at the fundamentals of what makes someone a Christian at La Mare with Year 7. The students have been asking some great questions like ‘How do we know God exists?’ and ‘What happens when we die?’. We have enjoyed teaching these sessions and are looking forward to our last one next week!  At Blanchelande Lisa and Tom Saddington (Catholic Church) have been leading lessons on the ‘Christian views on Creation’ focusing on the question ‘Are Science and the Bible compatible?’. Again these sessions lead to some very interesting discussions.

Finally we have our next message from Eleanor about SWYM!

In the last blog, I mentioned that we are very excited about a new partnership between PACE and SWYM (South West Youth Ministries).

SWYM’s vision and passion is that every child and young person in the South West (and now obviously, in Guernsey!) would encounter Jesus, know him and make a choice to live for more.

That means reaching out to children and young people in all their diversity, whatever that looks like; for example, ethnic diversity, different socio-economic backgrounds, children and young people who have additional needs. My family has moved around quite a bit and so I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in a variety of churches in the UK, NZ and now in Guernsey. I’ve observed that welcoming ALL children and young people can throw up challenges for churches and there have often been times when I would have loved more help and support in this area.  

It’s fantastic that SWYM have the opportunity to partner with PACE in Guernsey because what PACE is already doing is completely aligned with SWYM’s vision. For over 30 years PACE has worked in Guernsey schools. Lisa and Sarah and the volunteer team do such an amazing job and they aim to reach every child in every school, every year.

Back soon to tell you more about what the partnership will look like in practice.

Love Eleanor  

PACE Update

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Last week we had a great time with Chrissie Salmon from Shiloh Church for our Quiet Morning. We spent time looking at how God is our shelter and we can come to him with all our anxieties and worries in life. We focused on David’s heartfelt, honest Psalm 27 where he finishes with the encouraging thought of “I remain confident in the goodness of God.”

PACE have been asked to decorate a Christmas tree at The Rock Community Church so we have been spending our lunch clubs decorating baubles! We’ve encouraged all of our PACE Club members to decorate one or two and write their school on the back. They have got super creative and they look great!

Over the next few weeks our blogs will have input from Eleanor White, introducing the work of SWYM and how we plan to partner with them in Guernsey.

Hello from SWYM!

Hey there, my name is Eleanor White. I’ve recently started working for an organisation called South West Youth Ministries. SWYM partner with churches and other charities to support them in working with children and young people. About 18 months ago, some churches here in Guernsey invited SWYM to explore what it would look like if they were involved in partnering with local Christians. Having me, working for SWYM, but resident in Guernsey, is the latest step in the ongoing journey.

We’re really excited because in Guernsey, SWYM are going to be working in partnership with PACE. So over the next while I’m going to be sharing some details on the PACE blog about what this is going to look like.

I thought today I’d introduce myself. Some of you may recognise me because I’m already involved with PACE as a volunteer, doing OT Minis and helping out where I can. I love working with children and young people and have spent my adult life doing this in various ways, including being the mum to six fabulous children of my own. I live out West, in St. Peter’s, and go to St. Peter’s Church.  I really love being outside and being active. I’m not very good at sitting still; I enjoy a quick game of Banagrams but Scrabble is way too slow.

I’ll be back soon to tell you more about SWYM.

Love Eleanor