Great time with Kids Club 2011

A LIVELY Kids Club service enabled the kids and their leaders to show the Southlands congregation what they had been doing during Kids Club Week 2011.

But it also helped the kids to reflect on the great rescue mission staged by God through Moses to bring his people, the Israelites, to freedom and point them to God’s biggest ever rescue mission – that performed by his son Jesus to free all who believe in him.

Leaders Naomi Whittaker and Christine Banham encouraged the congregation to join in the singing of two action songs used during the week and then helped the kids present the Mission Rescue theme song.

Richard Nihill was assisted by some of the kids as he presented the clues to the Mission Rescue story, and threw soft-toy frogs into the congregation to remind them of the plagues which came upon the Israelites’ Egyptian captors.

In a mini-sermon Christine said Moses was a "pretty amazing man" through whom God was able to work actively.

Moses had a rescue mission to save God’s people, the Israelites, but hundreds of years later Jesus, God’s son, took on an even bigger rescue mission to save us.

Jesus told us stories to show us how we should live, but he also faced up to people, for example overturning the tables in the Temple.

He paid the ultimate price, dying for us on a cross. But we are free because of Jesus.

Kids Club Week itself (from 1st to 5th August) went well – apart from a tummy bug which reduced the numbers attending on the last two days.

Organiser Naomi Whittaker said a total of 53 different children attended the club over the five mornings and in addition there were two in crèche. The lowest attendance was 40 and the highest was 48.

Seventeen adults and seven teenagers helped to ensure that the different activities and the catering ran smoothly - and another three assisted with set-up.

She said: “We had a great week. We were acting as secret agents and followed the story of Moses from baby in a basket, talking to a burning bush, asking Pharaoh to ‘let my people go’, and the plagues.

“On the last morning we followed the Israelites through the parted Red Sea to freedom.”

Agents X and Y (Naomi Whittaker and Christine Banham) led the sessions with Security Officer (Bob Lawrence) keeping the agents informed of random “security levels” and reminding everyone of the story so far. Chief Spy (Richard Nihill) provided clues to the story for the day and Agent G (a large soft toy giraffe) acted as a post man, receiving letters, jokes and pictures from the kids.

This year the “Penny Drive” collection was for Tearfund's Toilet Twinning scheme which challenges churches and church groups to raise £60 to “twin” a church toilet with a toilet in an African village, thus supplying a new toilet to those in need and supplying hygiene and sanitation education.

Naomi said: “The first three days brought in only 10kg which was a little worrying as at that rate we wouldn’t raise enough for one toilet, let alone two which was our target. But we got another 10kg on Thursday and another 20kg on Friday, making a total of 40.385kg of 1p and 2p coins leaving us only about £7 shy of our £120 target.

“We will make it up to the required total so look out for twinning certificates in the church toilets soon.”

On the final day parents picking up their children were invited to arrive 15 minutes early to see the final singing session and to eat a piece of a beautiful cake made by parent Sarah Prenty.

There was also a certificate for Chloe Skelton, who had attended all seven of the Southlands Holiday Kids Clubs (from her 5th birthday to the week after her 11th birthday).

Notes: 1. This page updated on  10th  August 2011

              2. For pictures, see picture gallery under Photos