We're a church family that welcomes new members, young and old
Children's ministry
Welcome to St Mary Redcliffe church. We’re a church family that welcomes everybody!
Ordinarily, Children’s Church takes place during our 9.30am Eucharist every week (apart from the first Sunday of the month, see below). We welcome all children from new-borns to 18!
We are a large Children Church and therefore have different groups depending on our ages.
1. Sparks (age 5 and under)
2. Candles (ages 6 – 7)
3. Lamps (ages 8 – 9)
4. Fireworks (age 10 and over)
We also run a weekly Toddler Church on a Friday at 10am and a Youth Church once a month on a Sunday from 4:30 – 6:00pm
All our resources and materials are created by our leaders and are tailored to meet the needs of our children and young people. In Children’s Church and Youth Church we follow the lectionary, like in our church. This ensures the whole church family is thinking about the same message from God.
In Toddler Church we read books from the bible. We read the same book (the book of the moment) for about a month, which enables our children to join in with the words and explore the themes in detail.
On the first Sunday of each month, we have a Family Service – which is an all age service for our families and children. This takes place in the church Undercroft.
Throughout lockdown, we have provided opportunities for online worship. Since September we have begun a programme of blended worship, combining sessions online and in person. Our new initiative “Earth Church”, meets outside during our public worship at 12 noon and takes place most Sundays; this includes Earth Church Together for our younger families, which also happens every Friday during term time at 10am. We are an outside church; come rain or shine and we endeavour to use as many recycled and natural resources as possible. Due to restrictions, places for our all our Earth Church do have to be booked in advance. For more information about this – or any of our children’s ministry, please contact Becky, our Families and Youth Minister.
NOTICE ABOUT EARTH CHURCH FOLLOWING NEW CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS
Due to the recent guidelines, Earth Church is unable to meet at the moment. However, we look forward to the time when we are able to come together again. In the meantime, please continue to check our website for our online ministry and do not hesitate to get in contact if you have any questions.”
Below is our monthly programme for our main children’s church activities. Please note that this is subject to change and we do sometimes break for the school holidays.
We’ve also lots more on offer – so please do get in touch. We are very happy to help.
St Mary Redcliffe is not just a Gothic masterpiece, but also a highly diverse parish in one of the more deprived areas of Bristol and home to a growing, inclusive congregation. This parish church has stood for over 800 years as a witness to the glory of God, the skill of craftsmen and women, and the faithfulness of generations of Christians.
The current generation of ‘SMR’ is a diverse community: old and young, rich and poor; Bristol-born and migrants to the city; Redcliffe through-and-through and newcomers to the church; diverse in ethnic background & cultural identity and in relationships & family circumstances; with varying levels of physical & mental health & ability and understanding of gender & expression of sexual identity.
What binds this ‘diverse community’ is a growing sense of vocation, of purpose within the society, to be a church that is...
Singing the song of faith and justice.
And we are actively exploring how to live this out as a:
As a diverse community we do not share a single understanding on theological debates: but at the heart of the Christian faith we believe that every person is made in the likeness of God and reflects the image of God. We do our very best to welcome and include each and every person in the name of God who made us and loves us as we are for who we are.
May the glory of God enthral you,
the wonder of God inspire you,
and the love of God fill you.
The building is open daily for all to visit, reflect, pray, join in formal worship or simply “be”
Meet the Children's Church & Families team
For more information about Children's Church, contact Becky.