2015
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY CLUB
Holiday Club returns to Bury Parish Church at Christmas, and this time for two days! This year’s event, A Christmas Gathering, takes place on Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd December from 10am to 1pm, and will see a mix of craft and games as we gather together to celebrate Christmas. It’s open to children of a primary school age (and volunteers of any age), and further details can be found at the back of church or here on the church website. It’s perfect for children looking for some fun and parents looking to finish off the Christmas shopping in secret!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
"What would it be like if we replaced the font with a ball pool?"
Your church needs you! On Saturday 26th September, we will be running an interactive session in the Kay Room that will look at all the activities that involve children and young people at St Mary's and St Paul's and ask how we can make them even better. Whether you want to suggest a tweak, a critique or something completely new and unique, this is an opportunity to freely share thoughts, concerns and dreams for children's work and youth work, and I will then spend the next twelve months trying to help those ideas become reality!
Free lunch will be provided from 12:30pm and the session will start at 1:15pm, finishing no later than 3pm. Anyone is welcome to attend, no matter how young or how old!
If you would be able to come and help by contributing your thoughts, please contact me (by Thursday 17th September if possible) to let me know if you are coming.
Graeme Bigg | bpcchildren.youth@yahoo.com | 07557 444622
POLAR EXPLORERS
In the final week of July, the Wilson Hall and Church House were abuzz once more as 37 children eager for an expedition signed up to Polar Explorers, this summer's holiday club. Some came for a day, others for all five, but all had a great time as they made crafts, played games, sang songs, watched dramas and laughed as leaders got pied in the face. Ethiopian chariots, Holy Spirit headbands, edible polar landscapes and a map of Bury in blizzard conditions were all put together under the expert eye of Dawn Wight, while Stephen Davies oversaw a riotous drama filled with slapstick humour, fake moustaches and more Curly Wurlys than you could shake a stick at. None of this would have been possible without the 24 teenage and adult volunteers who so freely gave their time and energy, and so a massive thank you to them and to everyone who came!
SUMMER HOLIDAY CLUB
You might be hoping for some sunny weather, but at Bury Parish Church this summer we're expecting snow! Holiday club is returning from the 27th to 31st of July, and this time round we will be learning about some incredible characters from the New Testament as we brave a decidely non-Mediterranean climate. Games, craft, snacks and appearances from explorer Sir Random Finds and scientist Bare Feet will help us learn all about God's big expedition. If you want to join in, head to the holiday club page for more information and the application form!
SPONSOR WIGGLE
On Thursday 28th May we held a sponsored 'wiggle' at Tiddlers! Children and adults alike danced their way through a selection of tunes, as part of efforts to raise money for Happy Days Children's Charity, an organisation that seeks to provide short breaks for disadvantaged children and their families. Thanks to some expert efforts, £82.50 was raised, which will help support this excellent cause. Sadly, no photos are available of any of the wiggling that took place (nor will they ever be!).
PYRAMID ROCK
From 13th to 17th April we ran Pyramid Rock at Bury Parish Church, learning about the story of Joseph and how God is a planner, helper, provider, forgiver and king. Dr Potty and his niece Denise managed to find the missing onion-shaped piece from the famous 'relic with the missing onion-shaped piece', and the children had a lot of fun with Egyptian games and crafts (such as sand art and mummified biscuits).
CHIP NIGHT AT TBC
On 26th January it was the return of 'Best Local Takeaway' to TBC, and this time round we were assessing chips. While the young people took part in a selection of potato-related games, chips were sourced from a selection of outlets around the town centre, and then put to the test (unseen, for strict scientific standards). Assessed for flavour, fluffiness and crispness (an unhelpfully ambiguous term), votes were awarded by each group member for their personal 1st to 6th place. Once tallied up, the results were revealed, and Tompsons* came out on top!
*Other chip retailers are available. They just aren't as good.
2014
CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION
On Monday 22nd December Christmas Celebration took place at Bury Parish Church. We played games, made Christmas tree hangers, decorated nativity figurines and made bead wreaths, and cheered Stephen up no end as we looked at what is so exciting and worth celebrating about Christmas! Go to the holiday club page for information about our next event!
TIDDLERS CHRISTMAS PARTY
The Tiddlers Christmas Party will be taking place on Thursday 18th December in the Blackburne Hall. We'll have giant inflatables and Christmas goodies, and it should be a lot of fun! We'll start at the normal time (10:30am), and will be putting on food (so might run on until 12:30pm/1pm). For more information about Tiddlers, go here.
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY CLUB
Holiday Club returns to Bury Parish Church at Christmas, for one day only! This year’s event, Christmas Celebration, takes place on Monday 22nd December from 10am to 1pm, and will see a mix of craft and games as we celebrate Christmas together. It’s open to children of a primary school age (and volunteers of any age), and further details can be found at the back of church or here on the church website. It’s perfect for children looking for some fun and parents looking to finish off the Christmas shopping in secret!
NATIONAL CHRISTIAN YOUTH WORK AWARDS
[From December's Magazine]
The National Christian Youth Work Awards are now in their fourth year, and recognise high quality Christian Youth Work in a range of categories, such as ‘Best Youth Work Resource’ and ‘Volunteer of the Year’. This year there were over 100 nominations across the six categories, and from those Bury Parish Church was shortlisted in the ‘Best Youth Work Employer’ category – ‘for an employer who gives outstanding support to their youth workers’. The Awards Ceremony was held at London School of Theology on Friday 21st November, and although Bury Parish Church didn’t win (that plaudit went to e:merge Bradford), it is a credit to the church leadership and community that the church made it to the last four. Well done!
TRIP TO FINLAND
At the end of July Graeme went to Finland with a group of eight young people and two adults from across the Diocese of Manchester to the Diocese of Tampere (with which we are twinned), where we met witheight Finnish young people and their three leaders for a week of learning about our faith and sharing our cultures. It was an incredible experience, and if you want to know more you can read about it in the September and October editions of the church magazine or by contacting Graeme!
SUMMER HOLIDAY CLUB
Holiday Club return to Bury Parish Church in July with On Your Marks, a sport-themed event that coincided with the Commenwealth Games in Glasgow. As well as making a range of items including rain sticks, scuba divers and pizza boats, and learning about sports such as blind football and mountain-biking, we learned about the team that Jesus assembled around himself and how we are all invited to be a part of that team too!
SMARTIE TUBE CHALLENGE
Over May and June members of the uniformed organisations have been collecting 20p coins in Smartie tubes (other brands of sugar-coated confenctionary are available), with the proceeds going towards the Flower Festival. The returned tubes contained 868 20p pieces, raising (along with other coins) over £200! Big thanks to all of those who got involved!
EASTER HOLIDAY CLUB
From 14th to 19th April we ran Mega Makers at Bury Parish Church. Professor Boffin and Brainwave spent a week trying to get their Mega Machine to work (making things bigger instead of squirting Brainwave with water) and dropping eggs from the church roof, while the children played a variety of games and made bread, a weather station, a bead cross and Easter cards. It was lots of fun for everyone!
TIDDLERS ROCK RETURNS
Fi Platt from KidsRock [link opens in a new window] will be returning to Tiddlers on Thursday the 20th of February. It's half-term too, so as usual nursery-aged children are welcome to come and join our regular Tiddlers for a party.
2013
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY CLUB 2013
On the morning of the 23rd of December, A Christmas Cracker took place at Bury Parish Church. Two dozen children came along for a morning of songs and actions, Christmas craft and messy games. Snap and Bang argued over what noise a cracker made and what was the best bit inside, before remembering that although hats and toys are fun, a cracker is no fun without the noise it makes; similarly, family and presents are great, but Christmas is no fun without Christ.
TBC SPONSORED SILENCE
On Monday 3rd December, three members of TBC, Bury Parish Church's youth group, took part in a sponsored silence. Managing to keep their voices down throughout their day at school, the silence culminated in an evening at TBC where we played several silent games, before breaking the quiet at half past eight with thirty minutes of noisy celebration! £67.25 were raised, which will be split between the youth group and a selection of charities. Thank you to everyone who sponsored Megan, Lindsey and Richard.
TIDDLERS ROCK WITH FI!
On the Thursday of the Autumn half-term, Fi Platt from KidsRock came to Tiddlers. She taught us some great songs, and we had lots of fun with shakers and drums. We finished off with some parachute games and lots and lots of bubbles! Hopefully we'll be able to arrange another visit some time.
SUMMER HOLIDAY CLUB 2013
Between Monday 22nd and Friday 26th July the Landlubbers came to Bury Parish Church! Captain Heave-Ho and Captain Yo-Ho led two fantastic crews of young pirates, as we learnt about Paul's letter to the Philippians from Captain Book. Faberge eggs, pirate biscuits, swinging parrots and working lighthouses were crafted, while leaders faced pies in our end-of-day games. A huge thank you to all of the children who came and all of the leaders who made this event possible. Good work, me hearties! Arr-ooh.
TBC QUIZ
A big thank you to everyone who came to TBC's Quiz Supper on the 29th June. You helped raise £116, which will be split between Christian Aid and the youth group. For more information about Christian Aid's current campaign, IF, head to enoughfoodif.org [link opens in new window].
EASTER HOLIDAY CLUB 2013
‘We have a king who rides a donkey, we have a king who rides a donkey…’
From the 25th to 28th March, Bury Parish Church ran Xpedition Force. Based on a Scripture Union resource, the holiday club was a combination of team games, messy games, videos, songs and craft activities. The theme of the week saw us following the life of Jesus from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, exploring our five senses along the way (Hear the noise/The sweet smell of success/The taste of Jesus/The touch of a friend/Seeing is believing). Craft activities involved making such things as donkey puppets, bead crosses and Easter cards, while messy games involved squirty cream and lipstick (but, perhaps thankfully, not together). Children and leaders alike had a great time, and we look forward to running another holiday club during the summer holidays! A massive thank you to everyone who helped make Xpedition Force happen, whether that was through looking after the children, supporting the other leaders, or just turning up and taking part!
2012
YOUTH GROUP
Our new youth group is here, its doors having opened on Monday 1st October! Meeting weekly at 7.30pm over in Blackburne Hall, it's all really exciting and both young people and leaders have been having a fantastic time! For more information go to our Young People's Section, or you can follow us on Twitter and join our group on Facebook.
CHILDREN'S AND YOUNG PEOPLE'S WORKER
Graeme Bigg has suceeded Lindsay in the role of Children's and Young People's Worker. It's still early days for him as he learns how everything works (so if you see him looking lost, do check to see if that's because he is). He's very excited about all the work that goes on at Bury Parish Church, and is looking forward to helping it be even better!
Lindsay Wright has now left the role of Children's and Young People's Worker. She has no idea what she is moving onto career wise, but is pleased to announce she is pregnant! Baby Wright is expected 20th January 2013, and if Baby is anywhere near as amazing as their parents they are going to be well-set for life.
HOLIDAY CLUB
Our Holiday Club at the end of July for those from Reception to Year 6 was fantastic. We looked at a great man from the Bible, Paul, and explored what it means to Run the Race in our lives. We played lots of games, made some great things and won lots and lots of team points. Very exciting.
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Our new Sunday School Young Leaders programme is up and running, if you're interested in being part of this, or curious to find out more then please click here.
Sunday School is online, if you'd like to catch up with all the latest sessions then please click here.
If you have any questions, you can contact someone using the list of contacts available here.