A year in the life of St. Mary Magdalen, Sheet

RockSolid:
Jean Dowdeswell

I took over the responsibility for the over 11’s group (SMOTS) in January this year. At present there are 11 on the register aged between 12 – 16 years. In discussion with some of the young people, it was clear that they wanted to see some changes to the group. They felt that they needed an identity, a purpose – relating to the Bible teaching and continuity relating to those involved in leading and teaching the group. I was thrilled when they asked if the teaching could be made more relevant to them as young Christians.

We meet in the village hall on the 2nd, 4th & 5th Sundays starting at 9.50am. The early start gives us the extra time that we need to complete the activities in the teaching programme before joining the rest of the church for communion. We have been working through a series called, ‘What did Jesus do?’ Topics have included, ‘Nagging Parents’, ‘Sunday Christian?’ and ‘What’s the point of being nice?’ Each session includes an icebreaker, a video clip, a Bible passage and discussion questions. The sessions allow time for reflection and creative prayer but sometimes we have to come back and finish off after communion!

‘Jesus @ work’ is an opportunity for the young people to share what God has been doing in their lives and for them and us to pray together. Six of the group were part of the recent Youth Alpha course and another completed the same course during the autumn.

We look forward to a group of older children from SMUTS joining us in the autumn.

The team of leaders are Sarah Cairns, Julie Slade, Suzie Lockyer and Peter Belton. There are others who have helped with SMOTS in the past who have said they would be available to help when needed. Thank you to everyone who has been involved with SMOTS and RockSolid during the past year.

Youth Group – TGI Sunday:
Verity Eastwood Dewing

The Youth Group - recently rebranded as “TGI Sunday” - has been under new leadership since September. A huge thank you to Bob and Julie Slade and Jean Dowdeswell who worked with so much commitment over the last few years. Rob and I took it on with David and Alison Strutt. Alison’s death was obviously a huge blow to us and she will be hugely missed here as in so many other areas of church life.

We spent most of the Autumn preparing a 10am service which took place on Advent Sunday on the theme of “light”. The young people worked really hard on this and the result was very well-received. It was great for us to be part of a team leading worship in this way. Since then we have been exploring Paul’s letter to the Ephesians which has prompted some really interesting discussions and good questions about what is at the heart of our faith. We’ve also had some more informal meetings – such as a memorable evening eating pizza in our kitchen. We welcome all, from Y9 upwards. Contact us for more details.