St. John the Evangelist

Coulsdon Parish Church - Old Coulsdon, Surrey

Children's and Youth Sunday Groups

A range of groups provide opportunities for children and young people to have their own time of learning and growing together. These mostly take place on Sunday mornings during Parish Communion services.

The groups are:

Around the age of 15 or 16, there is an opportunity to follow a course of confirmation preparation.

For those aged 11-18, there is a Sunday evening group.

Crèche

A crèche is provided for the 9.30 a.m. Parish Communion in the Lounge by volunteer parents. Our aim is to provide somewhere for Pre-School children to stay while parents attend the first half of the service. On a rota, 2 or 3 helpers from a pool of 20 look after 2 to 9 children. During the "Peace" parents come back to the room to fetch their children so they can share the rest of the service including taking Communion together. There is obviously no regular attendance requirement and parents can use crèche facilities as and when they wish and are welcome to stay with the child at any time.

ROCK at St John’s

ROCK is the name for our work with primary school-age children and takes place in the Parish Hall on the 2nd, 4th and 5th. Sundays of the month, while there is a communion service in church.

At ROCK the children are able to enjoy fun activities, dynamic worship, relevant bible teaching, and small groups where they can build relationships and make connections between the teaching and their own lives.

The values of ROCK are that it is relevant to children, the bible is taught creatively, small groups enable growth, it is safe and it is fun.

Children are dropped off at the hall from 9.20 onwards, and are brought to the church for collection after the morning service. It is important that they are signed in by the parent delivering, and by the same parent when collecting. A registration form should be completed before children can attend – this may be done at the door. All leaders are CRB checked and child protection procedures are followed carefully.

Boulder

This is a group for children who have just finished attending ROCK. It meets in the Old Church during the parish communion and gives an opportunity to discuss issues and what the bible has to say about them.

Confirmation Preparation

For young people aged from 14 upwards, this is an opportunity to prepare for a more adult commitment to the church. For details of preparation sessions contact the Rector.

Are You 11-18?

Come along to our evening meetings in the New Year! (2011)

From January 16th, we are meeting fortnightly at 8 Waddington Avenue, 6-7.30 p.m. for a time of Bible Study and Fellowship. We will also be visiting other churchs’ youth services for the experience and to provoke discussion and holding regular social events e.g. our Christmas Party.