Children and Families
Our ministry with young disciples at St Martin’s & St Paul’s
We encourage young people to get invovled with the life of the church in whatever way they would like. Some start singing in the choir, some join the serving team and others get involved with doing readings or helping to distribute communion.
Junior aged children who have been baptised are invited if they wish to start receiving communion following some preparation.
Should they wish, young people are encouraged to consider getting baptised if they are haven’t been already and older children can seek to be confirmed when they are ready to make this important commitment. There is the opportunity to do this usually once a year.
Information about some of our specific ministries can be found below.
The 3.30 TeaTime at St Paul’s
………is a wonderful and creative time for people of all ages to enjoy. We hold each of our sessions at St Paul’s
Church and have an amazing group of young people who come and get stuck into all our craft activities. For each of our monthly sessions we have craft activities, a story, prayers and tea and cakes.
A lot of what we do in church is based on more structured worship, but Teatime offers a chance for us to teach the young people within our community about the Bible in an informal way that we hope they will find enjoyable and effective. We have a wonderful team who rotate between different duties each month and Jackie Curd arranges all of our food for the event. All the work that we do is put on the display board at the back corner of St Paul’s and we invite you to look at the wonderful artwork that our young people create!
We all thoroughly enjoy watching everyone come out of their shell and show their creativity and enjoy running around and playing with friends.
We meet every second Sunday of the month and we would love for you to join us. All are welcome!
Sunday Zone – our Children’s Church
On Sunday mornings after the welcome and first hymn, we invite children to the Children’s Room, for age appropriate worship where through songs, story and craft we explore together the theme of the day. For those who wish we then rejoin the service in the main building in time to receive communion. Parents/carers are welcome to join if they wish.
Hangouts for Teenagers
Hangouts is a group recently set up in the Parish for those in the lower years of Secondary School. It is an informal gathering once a month on a Thursday from 4:30 -6:30 pm, where there is space to chat, play Pool, Darts, Table Tennis and the Wii. A meal is provided and there is usually a quiz.
Altar Serving
Children and young people are warmly welcomed to learn more about christian faith and worship by learning to be an Altar Server as well as being a fun and important role it’s also a great way to become involved with the life of the church.
The main duties of a server are to assist the Priest during the celebration of the Eucharist on a Sunday Morning and special events as well as helping prepare and clear down the altar for worship. Altar Servers’ training normally takes place after the 10.30 Sunday Eucharist. If you or your child is interested in becoming a server please contact the parish office.
Junior Choir
Singing in a choir is a great experience which comes with many benefits. It has been proven that it is good for your physical and mental health. There is a sense of purpose and belonging being in a choir where friendships are made by children and adults alike but most of all it’s good fun too.
Members of the choir have opportunity to sing some of the finest choral music ever written and to experience the performance of a wide range of music that may have been written hundreds of years ago or is brand new. Choristers also benefit from music training through the Royal School of Church Music’s Chorister Training Scheme ‘Voice for Life’
Fisherfolk Baby and Toddler Group
We love to welcome parents and carers with their children into our Parish Centre, which has full changing facilities for babies to the Fisherfolk baby and toddler group. is held on Wednesday and Friday mornings during term time between 10 and 11.30am.
Run and Supported by the Parish Mother’s Union, the Fisherfolk Toddler Group provides a special, fun filled and safe environment for your babies and toddler children in the Parish Centre.
Sessions are made up of toys and activities, refreshments, rounding off with story and singing. We ask for a £2.00 donation to cover our costs and to buy new equipment.
Messy Church
Messy Church happens one per term at the Spring Lane Neighbourhood Centre and is for primary aged children, we have an hour of craft activities based around a theme with varying levels of messiness. We also have a short and very informal act of worship and finish. Parents attend with their children to explore the Christian faith together in a very relaxed atmosphere.