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Fostering a sense of belonging and value is particularly important for Children and Young people. They are active members of the Church family and co-journeyers in faith, not a passive audience. So we hope that this pack will help inspire new conversations, connections and a greater sense of belonging and ownership – as well as helping to share the load.
Many Churches struggle to get people practically involved in the running of the Church, and in a lot of cases, it is left to the Wardens and Clergy to do most of the jobs. We hope to counter this trend by helping people rediscover the Church as a family where everyone has a valuable role.
Think through all the little jobs that happen before, during and after a service, choose ones which others can easily do and write them out clearly on the cards in our pack. Communicate to your congregation (all ages) a week before you start, that this is a great opportunity for everyone to get involved in the life of the church, regardless of age, experience, language or time in the church.
Use the template cards in the pack. Write clearly: The task; What they will need; Where they find the equipment they need; When in the service they carry out this task; Who to ask for help – and ideally include a photo, don’t assume everyone knows everyone else’s names!
Laminate and pin the cards to a board before people arrive, and encourage families and individuals to choose a card and task to do that week. Every week, they can choose a new task to try.
Two main reasons that put people off from helping out are fear of long-term commitment and uncertainty about tasks. We hope that this resource will encourage clarity about the tasks and give opportunities to try different things. In turn, this will not only help increase volunteering in the church across all ages, but crucially provide practical ways in which adults, young people & children can build connections with each other and foster a greater sense of belonging.
Yes, some days it might feel like it would be easier to just do it all yourself! But consider how much more connected people will feel when they take an active role, how the sense of belonging will grow, how conversations might blossom between people who wouldn’t ordinarily mix together, and how the rhythm of participation will increase until it becomes habit.
This resource was adapted with the kind permission of Rev.Mary Hawes who runs the original concept in their intergenerational services, regardless of whether or not they have children present. You can see a brief video of the idea in action below: