Junior Church (ages 3-10)

Junior Church meets on the 1st & 3rd Sunday of each month during the school term, in Fishbourne School, Roman Way, from 9.30 to 10.30. The children start each meeting as a single group, singing and sharing the information and activities of the day, before breaking into age groups.

The children are guided in their work by adults, and follow the "Living Stones" teaching material which aligns with the bible readings used in the Church service the same day, establishing a spiritual link.

On the 2nd & 4th Sundays, and on Sundays

during the school holidays, the children are

welcomed at Church with their families.

All youngsters are welcome to come along, and

parents who would like to help are specially

welcome.

Ring Fabienne Bennison on 01243 575954, or Sharon

Farrar on 01243 531697, for more information.

Lazer Club (ages 11-15)

A club for young people which usually meets, during school time, on Sunday evenings from 5.30 to 7.00 p.m. in the Church Hall. The meetings include a discussion group followed by time for social activities.

The group encourages the young people to think about their Christian faith in a positive way. The SALT plan (Sharing And Learning Together) and LAZER magazine, published by Scripture Union, are used as the basis for this mental activity.

Social activities include games, competitions and a tuck shop which assist in fostering the social skills so necessary in today’s world.

Every month there is a Sunday morning family Communion service attended by the Club. At Easter and Christmas, the group frequently takes part in presentations during an appropriate Church service.

Outside activities include an outing at half term, e.g. a visit to an ice rink or bowling alley, instead of the usual meeting. At the end of May each year the group enjoys the Chichester Diocesan Youth Festival, a camping weekend for about 500 young people.

Contact Marion Egerton on 01243 785226, or e-mail marionandnick@tiscali.co.uk for further

information.

YOOF

As you may well have noticed, our church community (and, often, our congregation) includes a good number of very young people. It includes a good many older people too but, in common with churches all over England (and, indeed, with churches in every rich country), it has fewer teenagers and young adults. This might be a problem for the church; it might be a bigger problem for the church in the future; if we believe that being a member of a church is a Good Thing, it is surely a problem for all those young people who are not.

YOOF is the church youth group for people aged 14 or more. I think YOOF stands for YOuth Of Fishbourne. We are not quite sure where the name came from, or whether it's really the best name, but it's stuck and serves well enough.

We hope that the group meets a need and provides a follow-on to the excellent work of Junior Church and Lazer. We have tried to strike a balance between matters religious and matters social - there is (almost) always a time for consideration and discussion of an aspect of the Church's teaching and also (absolutely) always a time for playing games. We have changed the mix as the group has developed - the idea is to provide an experience that members enjoy and are comfortable with.

Su and I have been leading the group since it started. We meet just once a month, on the 3rd Sunday, at the Fishbourne Club on Blackboy Lane, from 7.30 until 9pm. We would really love to welcome more members, so if you know of anyone (or you are) aged 14-18ish who (and) might like to try us out, do please get in touch with us.

Our phone number is 01243 774311, and our e-mail matthew.leeming@btinternet.com

Matthew Leeming