United Reformed Church in Cheltenham
Children and Youth

In all our churches there is some form of worship activity for children every Sunday. This ranges from Junior Church most Sundays to all-inclusive Family Service. Please see the information on the individual churches for more details.

 

 JUMP for JOY

 

 

Pre-School

 

Urchins

These are the popular parent and toddler groups that meet at Warden Hill and Prestbury. 

The Warden Hill groups  run on Mondays and Wednesdays throughout the year. Times are 9.30 to 11.30. For further information please email Jan Robins .

 

The Prestbury group is  run by church members and friends  and meets on Mondays at 10.00 to 11.30. They are open most Mondays but do close in late July and August. For more details please email Fiona Hall .

 

 

 

St Andrew’s Toddlers’ Club

The Toddlers’ Club at St Andrew’s runs  on Tuesday mornings from 10-12noon. Like Urchins it is open to all pre-school children. Open during all school holidays. Please email Ann Lewis for more information.  

 

 

 

Primary School Age

Open the Book

One way in which we reach out to young people is through Open the Book . This a scheme where a group of about six people visit a school during an assembly and for about 15 minutes act out a story from the Lion Storyteller Bible. After the story a little time for reflection is allowed followed by a prayer. The children are involved with several of them dressing up to be participants in the drama.

Prestbury URC are part of the ecumenical team that comprises members of St Mary's, Holy Name and Trinity. They visit St Mary's Infants and Oakwood Schools. The team that visits Warden Hill Infants on Mondays and the Juniors on Wednesdays is made up of members of Warden Hill URC and St Christopher's.  Some of our congregation are members of the team who visit Charlton Kings Infant School.

It is our experience that the schoolchildren look forward to the Open the Book day and take part enthusiastically if asked.

All teams would welcome additional members which would allow 'time off'. There are county wide training sessions three times a year, regular planning meetings and the individual sessions are rehearsed on the day.

If you would like to find out more about Open the Book then please contact Julie Jefferies at Prestbury or  Brian Miles at Warden Hill. Absolutely no acting experience required!.

Cheltenham Churches Children’s Choir - C4

A new venture for us is a choir for 5-14 year olds. The emphasis will be on fun and the end result will be the production of a modern musical that we can all enjoy!  Any young person who  enjoys singing is invited to join us (whether or not you attend church).and for convenience the choirs will practise at Prestbury on Thursdays and Warden Hill on Fridays.   For further details please contact the Revd Maz Allan on 238273 or by email .

Playdays

These are occasional events for 3-11 year olds in the school holidays. These involve crafts, stories, songs and games. Under-3s are welcome but we do ask that their parents remain with them. For information on when they are happening, please see the Church Diary.

For more information contact the Prestbury Playdays team at or the Warden Hill Playdays team .

Teenagers

STAND yg

You might be wondering what STAND yg is all about? Well its mission statement is, ‘Talking about what affects us in a safe environment’. The aim is create a forum whereby young people, (we have limited the age range to 13-17 for maturity reasons,) can discuss topics that are on their minds, issues that affect them. They are encouraged to lead the sessions, or at least participate fully within them. I mention a ‘safe environment’ because some of the topics chosen are for some, contentious; people hold strong views; personalities can clash in these situations. The safe environment is in giving them the confidence not just to say something, but to accept an opposite point of view; thus things can be said at STAND yg which will not cause offence, but build a respect for the members of the group and their opinions.

Yes, STAND yg is part of our youth outreach, yet is INTER-DENOMINATIONAL.  Questions frequently arise about God, Jesus, what does the Bible say, but these questions come from the group, and there is no overt evangelising for I believe that STAND yg under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and as the young people question more about what life issues affect them, will help them to come to their own understanding of their own spirituality and faith.

STAND yg is not just for Sunday’s! Members are invited to be active and creative in writing sketches, plays, leading worship in a youth orientated way, to be active in music; but along with this, we are trying to bond a group of people who will explore and challenge social norms and social expectations which so often can let people down at best and lead young people into dark places at worst.

Before STAND yg, a similar group called SID (in North Liverpool) enjoyed a great social life as well, camps, outings, sometimes choosing to meet purely to have quality social time together as they got to know and trust each other. (Never before have I seen such competition either Go-Karting or bowling!!)

All are welcome, and the existing group recognise how difficult it is to walk into a new arena, but be assured a warm welcome is guaranteed, along with food and drinks.

We meet at present twice a month, the 2nd and 4th between 6.30-8-30 on Sunday evenings. We are based at St. Andrew’s but move the meetings around the churches involved within the United Reformed Church in Cheltenham including St. Christopher’s C of E in Warden Hill.

Please tell your friends, I know you will as before with SID, form a lively and cohesive group of enquiring young people. JON  call on 692974  or email