Rectors Report July 30

One of the joyful aspects of our ministry, which is growing in 2024, is our work with children and teenagers. In our mission to “go into all the world witnessing to Jesus’ mercy and grace” youth and children are at the centre of our longings! 20% of the population in our parish is under the age of 18 years. This year, we’ve continued to see families join us at Little Sheep, which is a warm and vibrant home for many who would not usually come to church. Please pray for Nicky, Meg and Tobias as they do outstanding work!

We’ve also successfully launched a new kids church at the St Michael’s 10 am service which has had different children attend every week. The other reality that is dawning on us is that we have many youth in our parish, and we could easily add a youth bible study to our 10am service. To do this, we need more volunteers! People who are willing to teach kids church, youth or help at Little Sheep.

A number of people have begun talking to me about additional considerations for growing and keeping kids and youth at church. Founding a contemporary service, in addition to our current services, would enable us to retain youth, young adults and more families more readily. I’ve begun discussions with a few people about a potential 4pm service in the St Peter’s Hall and 5pm service at St Michael’s. If you have some thoughts on these ideas, I’d love to hear from you and discuss further.