All-age
worship that really works! - CFN newsletter 68
CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK NEWSLETTER 68
> Magazine: new Families Together out soon
>
Advice: All-age worship - knowhow that makes all the difference
> News:
> Pullman responds to 'anti-Christian' charges
> New Golden Jubilee resource for churches
> Christian ministry funded for Asian community work
> Resources: ACTIV8 your church!
> Sites:
> Catch up with exciting news from college missions in the UK
> Soul Survivor's big vision for London
> Events: What's on where and when
> Marriage MOT: Time to talk
> Humour: When Dad swears ... plus killing time for over
50s
> Members' Zone latest
Greetings all!
Our latest issue of Families Together magazine will be winging its way to you shortly.
Read about
- life
for J John as a dad, a husband and one of the UK's busiest evangelists
- and why he ditched his diary.
- bless
this house - how to use the gift of hospitality
- parent
power - you can get involved in your child's school and make a difference
- balancing act - how to live life biblically with the demands of home and the workplace, family and church
PLUS how your weekly shopping can contribute to a fairer planet; reviews, news and more.
Your friends will find copies on sale in Christian bookshops, price £2!
Oh - before I forget, those of you who got stuck into debate on the Bulletin Board after the last newsletter should receive your 'goodie bags' shortly. Keep the discussions going!
God bless
Russ Bravo
Christian Family Network
info@cfnetwork.co.uk
http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk
ADVICE
All-age worship that really works
- Is it possible to organise meaningful services that appeal to all ages or is it a pipe dream? GETHIN RUSSELL JONES takes some advice
It's
high up on the cringe scale. Ask virtually any minister for their
opinion on all-age worship and you’ll be privy to a cocktail
of various frustrations. Elderly people get annoyed; children hate
it; most people stay away; leaders simply don’t know how to make
it work. You know the sort of thing.
But Tim Carr, commissioning editor for New SALT for all ages, Scripture
Union’s all-age resource, is upbeat about this form of worship:
"It is not a children’s service with adults present; neither
is it a service for adults with children present. It is not merely
a service for families or households with children in them.
"Rather, it is a worship time for the old and young, married,
widowed or single. It is for all who have faith in Christ, including
the children, and can be a powerful way to reach out to 'seekers'."
A little history
At some point during the 1970s, all-age or family worship slid into
the church calendar, becoming a regular feature in churches and chapels
across the nation.
This type of worship probably arose out of the dramatic decline in
Sunday school numbers after the Second World War and the steep increase
in the number of children born in Britain during the same period.
Many churches sought to reach out to children and their families but
had to experiment with new methods.
Today, such worship is an accepted part of the UK church scene. Whether
it’s a weekly event or an experience that is shared on a monthly,
quarterly or every fifth Sunday basis, all-age worship is a familiar
congregational guest.
But what is it?
Critics of all-age or family worship accuse it of being a form of
worship that offers nourishment to neither children nor adults. More
often than not, such worship is based around an ‘adult’
structure, attempting to accommodate children.
In criticising this approach, Graystone and Turner (A Church for
All Ages, Scripture Union, 1993) point towards a more holistic
practice:
"Adding a children's talk does not make an adult service suitable
for all ages. Worship that meets the desire of many generations to
bring their own needs and the needs of the world before God begins
when leaders ask themselves: 'How can we best use the special dynamic
created by putting adults and children next to each other, while staying
faithful to the tradition to which we belong?'.
How do
we cope with mixed generations? What can you reasonably expect from
all-age worship? For the rest of this article, with loads of practical,
creative ideas, head for the Advice section at http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/advice.asp
> THIS WEEK'S NEWS
>
Philip
Pullman responds to 'anti-Christian' charges
Author Philip Pullman has spoken for the first time about religious
influences behind His Dark Materials, the award-winning trilogy.
Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story
>
New Golden Jubilee resource for churches
A colour souvenir brochure highlighting The Queen’s Christian
faith has been produced for churches and individuals to use during
the Golden Jubilee celebrations.
Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story
> Christian ministry wins Government grant for Asian community work
Care
for the Family has been awarded a grant of £21,772 by the
Home Office Family Support Unit to extend its work into the Asian
community.
Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story - and news of new online resources for churches
> ACTIV8 YOUR CHURCH!
Want to see your church and small groups fizzing with ideas, life and growth? Not sure where to start when it comes to resources? We can help ...
ACTIV8 is a brand new resource for churches offered by Christian Media Centre, bringing together input every week and for all kinds of needs at a price you can afford ...
Whether it's fuel for the prayer group, material on contemporary issues for Bible study, ideas and resources for evangelism, tips on ministry to families, spiritual growth for women, reaching men, planning events and projects in your community, ACTIV8 is a great place to start.
You get 10 copies of Christian Herald every week, three copies of Woman Alive magazine every month, five CFN memberships including Families Together (new issue out in a few weeks time) ...
... all for just £20 a month. That's a saving of 50%!
Bless your church with ACTIV8 - grab nine friends and it's just £2 each per month.
Interested? Mail Lyn Bedford (marketing@christianmedia.org.uk), call her on 01903 602126 - or see the latest issue of Christian Herald to sign up.
>
MARRIAGE MOT
Continuing our partnership with marriage resource site 2-in-2-1.co.uk,
here's the regular marriage tip from their resident writer Kate. This
week:
Time
to talk
When did you last really talk to each other - not just exchanging
facts or discussing the children or work or the bills? Talking about
how we are feeling about ourselves and about our relationship is a
good way to build up our love for each other.
It's so easy to let the "urgent" things in life crowd out
our relationship. It's so easy to miss so much that's beautiful in
life, if you listen with half your mind on the list of jobs that need
doing.
Perhaps
you're both busy all day and feel so tired in the evening you just
want to flop down in a heap in front of the TV and go to sleep. Perhaps
you work shifts and only see each other for a few moments each day.
Unless you schedule in some time for your relationship, for real communication,
your relationship will wither like a flower without water.
Do you know what really matters to your loved one right now, what
fills them with sadness, or hope, or fear, or joy?
Perhaps you're hurting and fearful of the children growing up and fleeing the nest. Perhaps you're angry and afraid because you've been passed over for promotion. Perhaps you're mixed up as your hormones cause havoc with your emotions each month, and you want to tell your husband what it feels like and know he cares.
Perhaps you want to share the joy you felt when your daughter hugged you today. Perhaps you what to tell your wife about the pride you felt when your son came to you and asked for your help or the exultation when your boss praised your latest project at work.
So much going on inside us, so much crying out to be expressed, accepted, understood, in safety, in love. One moment when we might have dared, a thoughtless word, a grunt, and we lose courage and the moment passes.
Are you looking out for those precious moments? Are you making sure there is some space in life to share them? Don't let them pass by, lost for ever.
>
Check out the full range of Kate's advice, plus stacks more marriage
resources at http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk
. There's also an archive of Kate's tips in our Members' Zone.
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> EVENTS
New this week: Riding Lights tour, Dads and Lads event at Leeds FC,
plus more top family events. Check out our Events guide in the Members'
Zone at http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/resources.asp
Send your family/church event to info@cfnetwork.co.uk
for a free listing.
> SITES WORTH SEEING
It's been mission season at the UK's colleges and universities.
Check out reports of what's been going on at http://www.thecumovement.org
Soul Survivor has ambitious plans for a massive mission in
London in 2004 - Soul in the City. Find out more at http://www.soulsurvivor.com/soulinthecity
> YOU'VE GOT TO LAUGH
The little
boy was caught swearing by his teacher.
"Jeffrey," she said, "you shouldn't use that kind of
language. Where did
you hear it?"
"My daddy said it." he responded.
"Well, that doesn't matter," she explained, "you don't
know what it
means."
"I do, too." Jeffrey corrected. "It means the car won't
start."
Oops.
from M Brown
How to Kill a Half-Hour (if you're over 50)
1 Place your keys in your right hand.
2 With your left hand, call a friend and arrange to meet for lunch.
3 Hang up the phone.
4 Now look for your car keys.
from Mike Bechtel
>
CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK THIS WEEK
(MEMBERS' ZONE) - http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members.asp
>
Advice: All-age worship that really works
> Advice: Sublime: reaching 'nethead' kids for Jesus
> Resources: Powerhouse Kids - how one Scottish town launched
an exploding youth club
> Reviews: Peter Dilley checks out the latest releases
> News Extra: more on the Soul Survivor London mission plans
for 2004
>
Top sites this week:
>
Catch up with the latest news from college missions
> Soul Survivor's ambitious plans for London, 2004
> National Children's Homes safe internet use project
> How Americans are using the internet on their spiritual search
> Events: family happenings near you
> Webwatch Index: more than 350 sites at your fingertips
> Site Search Engine: the easy way to trawl our 400-page
plus archives
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