The Parish Magazine October 2022

the parish noticeboard — 5
The Parish Magazine - October 2022 15
St Andrew's Youth
STAY for Summer Activities
We finished STAY for Summer activities with two favourites:
paddle boarding and a water park trip! The youth love having
fun together, pushing each other in and sharing stories for
weeks to come of how much they enjoyed it! The next fun
activities will be in the October half term. Watch this space!
STAY Reflections on the past year
As we start this new academic year I thought it would be good
to reflect on the past year and what has been exciting and
worth thanking God for:
— Young leaders has really taken off. Our current four
young leaders are taking responsibility, learning how to
lead and seeing their own potential as leaders in new and
amazing ways. They even designed the young people's rules
into hoodies for the leaders to wear! Our hope is that they
continue to grow in confidence, leadership and potential.
— STAY on Friday has grown with numbers regularly seeing
50-60 youth attending each week. The young people love
being together, having fun and making friends. With the
pandemic behind us, it is important now to have young
people socialising, playing together and enjoying time
outside. Our hope is that we continue to see young people
taking the time to respect each other’s differences, learn to
love everyone as equal and grow in confidence in themselves.
— STAY on Sunday. This group of young people wanting to
grow in their Christian faith has also grown with up to 16
attending. When I started the group 4 years ago there were
only four young people so that’s been amazing to see. It has
grown so much that we needed a second upper room for extra
space. Our hope is that these young people will have the
confidence to share their faith and know that they are loved
so much by a God who is close and a God who cares.
— STAY Detached Project has seen us out and about each
Thursday building relationships with young people, parents
and local neighbours, with numbers staying consistently
around the 45-50 mark. The young people scream our names
as they see us walking up the road and they engage so well in
conversation, games and sports. Our hope is that we would
continue to deepen positive relationships with young people
and the local community for the good of us all.
— STAY in Schools has also been positive and uplifting this
past year. In one month of assemblies, lessons, mentoring
and lunch time activities I will have been in front of 2,000
young people. It is both an honour and a privilege to be able
to tell stories, share encouragements and bring the Bible to
life for so many children and young people. Our hope is that
they will all know their worth, know they’re loved and know
that they have a voice.
The water park, scene of our last summer activity
— STAY Holiday Activities are always amazing because we
see young people outside of the usual settings, and see how
they cope with new experiences and challenges. They are
more resilient than they know and more able than they’re
given credit for! The amount of youth who step up to new
challenges and overcome fears always amazes me! Our hope
is that the activities we do in the holiday periods would show
the young people just how brilliant they are and what they’re
able to achieve!
— STAY Upper Room. Before the summer we sat with a group
of young people and designed the new upper room (pictured
above). We took their ideas to the rest of youth club and they
added their thoughts. We then did some fund raising and had
some very generous donations from people in the church, the
community, parents of the youth and the office of Theresa
May. We are so thankful to all who gave and now the new
upper room has been kitted out with new equipment for
the youth to enjoy! Our hope is that the space is used to its
full potential and the young people respect and enjoy it and
remain grateful for all that they’ve been given.
STAY Confirmation Classes
As an Anglican Church it is good practice, but not
compulsory, to be confirmed. Often parents make the choice
to baptise their children at a young age and so confirmation
offers individuals the chance to confirm their Christian
faith in Jesus for themselves. The youth classes run each
Monday, from 12 September, and continue through to the
confirmation service on Sunday 20 November when Bishop
Stephen Croft will lay hands on them and sign them with the
cross in oil. It is both exciting and a pleasure to see over 15
young people choosing this for themselves.
Final Thanks
I wanted to thank all those who stand with us and support
the young people we work with. For the prayers you pray,
the time you give, the money you donate and the effort you
make, it doesn’t go unnoticed and it will forever make a
difference!
Email me on youthminister@sonningparish.org.uk for a chat,
coffee or to ask any questions, Westy!