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Blast Off

27/8/2020

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​Twelve children eagerly gathered at Camp base ready for Blast Off! So began the journey for this year’s Children’s Circuit Camp which was held recently at Lindley Methodist Church.

Why Space you may wonder? There are no rockets or astronauts in the stories from the Bible. In fact Space travel as we know it does not seem to feature at all. But what is interwoven throughout the stories in the Bible, our Christian faith and our everyday lives is the journeys we take.

We began our Camp journey by thinking about what preparations we’d need to make for a journey into Space. This largely resulted in one of the children being suited up, complete with Space helmet, oxygen tank (a little imagination required), map, Space food etc. Following a quick burst of Space Academy (Camp song) training and together with the rest of the crew we were ready for Blast Off!

From the launch, the children then embarked on an exciting program, throughout the day, packed with lots of fun activities. There was a Space treasure hunt around the church; the children had to find clues and answer questions about the planets, earning planet cut-outs which were later assembled to make a Planets mobile.

Artistic and creative skills were deployed to decorate cakes that were out of this world! Rolled icing, lettering and star cut –outs were all used creatively to give birth to planets and the starry skies of the solar system. A collaborative Space collage was put together depicting planets, rockets, spaceships, moon and stars – all in glorious technicolour and 3D.

Of course no Space trip could be complete without some science experiments – fizzing planets (bath bombs), galaxy jars and making slime. The slime was an instant hit with the children! Provided with a slime base, they were able to choose a colour and scent to add (glitter optional) and then spent time manipulating it to get the slime consistency just right! Meanwhile the leaders became adept at making bath bombs under expert guidance!

The Saturday evening concluded with some Godly Play, the story of the Great Family – the journey of Abraham and Sarah. As part of our wondering, we wondered whether we were anywhere in this story or if any part of this story was about us….

Some of the children then went home, but for those children (and leaders) who were sleeping over, we enjoyed watching the original Toy Story movie.

Children’s Camp continued into Sunday, being very much part of the worship lead by Rev Sue Taylor. During the service, the children talked enthusiastically about what they had been doing and shared some of the things they’d made (including a quick slime demo)! The congregation were then invited to join in with the Space Academy Camp song (with actions) – a fun challenge to start the day! The Camp theme continued with further support from the children, acting in a short dramatized Bible reading and helping with the footprint prayers.

Our Camp weekend came to a close with everybody sharing in a faith lunch after worship.

​A big thank you to all the leaders for your support and to Lindley Methodist Church for hosting to help make this year’s Children’s Camp a success!
 
Suzanne Bridges

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I've Lost My Sheep

27/8/2020

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​What I hear you cry?!

Not really – just the theme for this year’s Children’s Circuit Camp which was held on Saturday 29th – Sunday 30th September at Almondbury Methodist Church!

Saturday morning saw eighteen children from around the Circuit gathered together in eager anticipation of the weekend’s events. What would all this talk of sheep lead to?

The morning began with a short worship session, including a fun introduction to the well-known parable, featuring the story of Cecil the Lost Sheep! Cecil who wanted to get a bike, join a band, have some BIG adventures… You might guess how the rest of the story went!

So what was on offer?
  • Decorating Sheep Cakes and Baking Sheep Biscuits – our own mini – bake off with lots of delicious goodies to take away and enjoy! Yummy!
  • Wool Craft – weaving wool to make monsters, people, and octopi and weaving God’s Eye. A woolly task that enabled the creative flair to come out!
  • Treasure Hunt – a walk around the cemetery with puzzles to solve! Look closer at the grave stones for clues!
  • Games – a burst of energy with lots of fun thrown into the mix!

​There was also a visit to the local playground after our picnic lunch; learning a new song “I’ve Lost my Sheep;” tuck shop; sharing a tasty tea cooked by some of the church members and finally for those sleeping over -  a film (Babe) and popcorn! Phew!!!

For those children coming for the Saturday only, the evening rounded off with worship in the form of some Godly Play – Parable of The Good Shepherd. All the children enjoyed sharing in this story and did some amazing wondering!

So what was there left for us to do on the Sunday you might wonder? We shared in Sunday morning worship, followed by a fabulous faith lunch.  In fact the Camp children and their leaders were very much involved in the All Age Service, led by Sarah G. From drama to readings, sharing of Camp experiences, sheep interactive prayers and How well do you know your parent (or child) quiz there was much to celebrate and enjoy!

I want to express my thanks to all those people who contributed to and supported this Children’s Circuit Camp in many different ways – you know who you are!

Suzanne Bridges

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Watch Out Superheroes About

27/8/2020

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Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a Superhero? 
This was something that the children at this year’s Circuit Camp were invited to explore.
Through focusing on four Superhero characteristics; bravery, strength, perseverance and trust, we travelled a learning journey together. 

Bravery – Sometimes bravery means being different and standing up to do the right thing. This message was portrayed in the puppet plays which the children made and filmed with a little help! Using home-made stick puppets and simple scenery, the children had great fun. The biggest challenge was to keep the puppets facing the right way round and avoid heads popping up during filming - watch out Steven Spielberg!
Strength – A bit of problem solving and an exciting science experiment… The first task was to create a bridge using only paper and 2 disposable cups that would be strong enough to support as many coins as possible. Next the mock volcanic eruption with Mentos and fizzy pop! Imagine a bottle of lemonade shaken up before taking the top off and you’ve got the idea! This caused great excitement amongst the children!
Perseverance – The children enjoyed creating their own Superhero designs with some diligent painting of Superhero money boxes. With encouragement to think about what it means to persevere, they then chose an inspirational quote to put inside their money boxes.

Trust – Would you trust somebody enough to lead you round an obstacle course blindfolded? Well this was exactly the challenge that the children faced outside! Upon successful completion, it was time for some geo-caching! This is a little bit like a treasure hunt; clues were given and the children had to apply their best map reading skills to navigate the outside area! Though we had a little rain at times, our enthusiastic children carried on undeterred!

Throughout these activities and worship slots, we also considered Biblical Superheroes who were brave, strong, trusting and determined; learning a little more about their stories. We thought about heroes in our own lives and people who’ve inspired us. 
The weekend culminated in a lively All Age Worship followed by brunch; including a get up and dance to Jesus You’re my Superhero song (Lego version of course!) and a scary Daniel in the Lion’s Den performance as told from the lion’s point of view! 

Many thanks to all the leaders who volunteered at Camp and to Linthwaite Methodist Church for hosting - you are all Superheroes!
To find out more about what we got up to, why not view our photo gallery and then watch the puppet films made by the children.  These can be found on the Huddersfield Circuit website under the Youth and Children tab.

Suzanne Bridges
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Thanks a Munch

27/8/2020

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​And so the scene was set for this year’s Children’s Circuit Camp!
The Camp, which took place in early October at Holmfirth Methodist Church, was attended by 23 eager children from around the Circuit. A packed program had been planned for the weekend, full of exciting opportunities for exploring harvest, culminating in the Sunday morning Harvest Service and Harvest lunch.
On the Saturday it was time to get creative with the various activity sessions on offer. Once organised into their groups, Apples, Oranges and Bananas (!), the children, accompanied by their team leaders, enthusiastically engaged with their activities.
The children became designers, tasked with creating a personalised logo/picture to draw on the patches of their brightly coloured draw-string bags. With artistic license applied, designs   varied immensely; food, family, a whale, favourite computer game characters, abstract patterns and even the Fairtrade Logo! As a surprise for the children, these would be filled later with a few goodies to take home.
What harvest wouldn’t be complete without the thought of bread? Not only did we think about it, but the children baked it! All the ingredients were mixed thoroughl  y to make the dough. Following the addition of raisins and/or chopped apricots, sticky hands shaped the dough to make small fruit buns before baking in the oven. Delicious…. A collaborative wheatsheaf was also baked to share with everyone during prayers in the Harvest Service.
 All Food Comes from God became the strapline for our collaborative Harvest Banner. Each  group were asked to think about the sources of our food and responded by creating collages using a range of materials. These depicted foods growing on trees and bushes, food from animals and food grown in the fields. The banner was then displayed in church - check out the pasta tractor!
Up for a challenge, we constructed our very own tabernacle; a temporary shelter for the Jewish people for feasting and celebrations following the harvest! Throughout the weekend we watched it slowly evolve from a garden gazebo to an amazing shelter wrapped up in the natural world around it. The children created, painted and decorated bright butterflies,  wiggly worms, paper-chain flowers and smiling fish…. There was also a glittery sky of sun, moon and stars above. Prayers were written on paper apples and pears and hung on the tabernacle along with the other decorations – a real feast for the eyes! This proudly stood in the foyer and formed the entrance into the church ready for everybody on the Sunday morning.
After lunch, we enjoyed a short scenic walk by the river as we headed to The Sands Recreation Park. The children had great fun on the playground equipment and importantly for t  he leaders, expended lots of energy! Other active elements of our program for the weekend included the Harvest Olym–pic Your Own Games (sprout and spoon race, potato relay, sucking peas race…) with chocolate medals for all participants! There was also an opportunity for the children to learn some new dances at our Harvest Hoedown – chaotic, but fun!
Saturday evening was brought to a close with a short act of worship, considering God as a Faithful Gardener and including the newly learnt and much popular song Harvest Samba. For those sleeping over, there was the treat of the film Ratatouille and popcorn before bed – spot the continuing food theme!
Barbara Rochester and Sally Robinson led the Harvest Service on the Sunday morning, incorporating many of the elements the children had been working on the day before. The children delighted in leading the Harvest Samba in church, shaking their percussion instruments enthusiastically! They were also involved in doing some drama. After the service, the children, along with family members, had been invited to share in the Harvest lunch. Amazingly the catering extended to feeding approx. 75 people, with everyone receiving a hot meal and a pudding followed by tea/coffee! It did feel a bit like the feeding of the five thousand!
There are many thanks to be said to all the leaders involved in helping to make this year’s Children’s Circuit Camp a great success and also to Holmfirth Methodist Church for hosting and providing top-notch catering!
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