Over thirty youngsters across the Benefice and from the local community, enjoyed meeting God outdoors in the grounds of St. James’ Stalmine.
This Forest Church inspired service, led by Rev. Naomi – with wonderful support from a team of volunteers – offered a unique opportunity for primary aged children and their families to explore faith.
Little ones and big ones developed their own faith journey through the wonders of creation, the marvels of nature and multiple hands-on activities.
Once everyone was gathered together and seated on logs, the service of ‘Awe and Wonder’ began with Rev. Naomi inviting all to wriggle and roar, emulating creatures from the natural world. This was followed by a series of challenges, for the children to respond to: Can you find me a flying thing? Can you see a crawling thing? Can you spot a green thing? Can you tell me something a squirrel might eat? The responses were linked to an affirmation that all such things were made by God and that He saw that they were good! (Genesis 1) Equally, God loves each one of us, even the bits of ourselves which we may not like.
With this positive message in mind, the children were sent off to explore God Outdoors though the vast range of activities on offer, starting with worm charming!
Weaving spider webs, roasting ‘snakes’ on sticks, examining creepy crawlies close-up, painting creation prints, modelling clay creatures and observing some lively crickets in a mini bug home provided many opportunities for the children to look and learn about the natural world.
Towards the end of the session, the youngsters shared a simple meal together of jacket potatoes, cheese and beans, followed by creepy, crawly jelly!
The service was fun, interactive and rooted in the glory of creation. An autumnal October sun added some warmth to the occasion and helped to amplify the enthusiasm of all who experienced it.
Thank you to all those who came; it was a joy to see you all.
Thank you to all who sprinkled their magic and made the event happen.
