St John's is a family friendly church with services and groups for children. In Church there is a family corner with toys and books for young children, a crèche for the 0-3 year olds and groups for the children aged 3+ to join in.

The children 3+ have their own groups until near the end of the service when they join the rest of the congregation. On the first Sunday of the month there is a Family Service.

Family Service

Come and meet Bruno and YoMan. We invite you to 50 action packed minutes service for all ages held on the first Sunday of the month. Visit the Family Service page for more.

Jaffa Club

A fun and action-packed evening for children aged 7-11. Jaffa Club meets first Thursday of the month 6 - 7.30pm at St John's Church Hall.

Lots of activities including music, games, Bible teaching and craft.

For more information contact: Diane Francis on 01342 714575

Light Eagles

An all new, funky, fun and not to be missed sunday school group at St Johns. It's for children in years 5-7 and will aim to help them learn more about Jesus Christ through studying the Bible using a variety of music, prayer, age appropriate learning and drama.
We'll be over in the new vicarage but please come to the church hall by 10am and we'll all go over together. If you're late, don't worry, just come straight to the vicarage.
Please contact me, Kris Defriend by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 01342 312788 if you'd like to come along or you have any queries.

If you feel that you could help with the Creche or any of the Sunday School groups on an occasional or regular basis do let me know. Diane Francis

What the children said

Lighteagles - for those in years 5 - 9

I like Lighteagles because we have so much fun playing games. (Rowan, age 9)

I like Lighteagles because we play fun games which help us to learn about the Bible.  (Alexia, age 9)

Explorers - for those in years 2 €“ 4

I like Explorers because it is so much fun! (Oliver, age 6)

I like Explorers because we eat chocolate biscuits!  (Benjamin, age 6)

Climbers - For those in Class R €“ 1 as well as Preschool

I like Climbers because we learn about God. (Joshua, age 6)

I like Climbers because there’s good stories. (Alasdair, age 4)

Creche - for those not yet at Preschool

A place where very young children can crawl around safely, play and chatter to their heart’s content.

Why don’t children pray?

I WAS CHALLENGED recently by a friend, commenting to me that the reason children don’t want to pray, is because they don’t hear the adults around them praying.

I wonder how many of us these days say ‘grace’ before meals? How many of us say our prayers before we go to bed and when we wake up in the morning?

I must admit that I can’t answer ‘me’ to any of those questions, at least not on a regular basis. Why not? Perhaps I could blame it on my upbringing—not coming from a Christian family, I never got into the habit of doing those things when I was a child, so it does not come naturally now. But perhaps, if I’m honest, the real reason is that I’m lazy. It takes effort - especially when the children are clattering their knives and forks on the table or already tucking into their food. It’s easier just to let them eat. One less battle to fight.

Sometimes being a Mum feels like a battle—a battle to find suitable clothes in the morning,  a battle not to have the television or the Wii running every waking hour, a battle to keep the peace as one child runs off with the other’s toy and a battle to walk to school instead of driving—I mean even by lunchtime you are exhausted; it’s like having stones thrown at you all the time!

And yet, we make the effort to get our children to school on time, dressed in their school uniform and to transport them to their various clubs. I wonder if we have got our priorities right.

The Bible tells us: Parents, don't be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

Surely then, that involves showing our children how to pray.

If you are anything like me, praying out loud doesn’t come easily—I usually end up getting stuck for words half way through the prayer and end with a hurried ‘Amen’, feeling rather embarrassed.

Luckily we live in a society in which there are numerous different books we can buy with beautifully written prayers.

Why not ask Rosemary Tadman, who runs the bookstall, to get hold of one for you.

Lindsey Saunders