Family Focus
2015
Inside
Welcome to this latest edition of the
Family Focus
Having been around churches for some time I have to say I have
yet to come across a church magazine that I found interesting,
whether that is just because I am biased and therefore assume
Church = Boring.
Well we don’t want this magazine to be added to that list.
We want to use the ‘Family focus’ as an opportunity for you:
To share with the broader family, to teach each other about
your family life and what is important to you, we want you to be
able to testify about how your faith is developing and growing
and how this is impacting on aspects of your life.
We would like the ‘family focus’ to be a way of encouraging each
other through the different ways that YOU do family life.
So in the future we want YOU to take over this magazine and
make it yours, filling it with ideas, topics for debates, letters of
information, humorous anecdotes, whatever!
We want it to be Interesting and Relevant.
So get in touch [email protected]
We are hoping to start up a Facebook group for you to share your
comments and thoughts so look out for it, looking forward to
hearing from YOU x
High Street, Gosforth
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE3 4AG
Tel: 0191 285 6130
www.trinitygosforth.org.uk
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‘As a busy mum with a newborn and a toddler, I was recently asked to think about how I will feel when I go back to
work. I am lucky to have a career that I enjoy and the ability to work part-time. However, as with most working mums, I am sure going back to work will be met with a mixture of emotions.’
‘The truth is that I'm not really thinking about it. I am enjoying every bit of my maternity leave. Not only is this a very
precious time for me and my newborn daughter, but it also gives me a second chance to spend quality time with my
little boy - who is full of mischief and makes me smile everyday.’
‘It's hard not to take this time for granted. So often I think about how special my children are to me and how lucky I
am. I was reminded of this very recently when my then 6 week old daughter was unexpectedly diagnosed with a
condition called hip dysplasia - a condition whereby her hip sockets were too shallow. Whilst initially taken aback by the diagnosis, trying to educate myself about the condition, and working out what clothes would and would not fit over her little harness, I was really grateful for the fact that this condition was picked up and treated at such an early
age. Now, over 6 weeks later, her brace is off and hips looking a lot better. At the time the thought of my 6 week old spending the same amount of her life in a harness was understandably upsetting, but it has reinforced to me how
quickly time passes and that we should enjoy every moment. This is why I am going to relax and enjoy this time because very soon I will be back at work and will be juggling family and working life once again.’
‘And how will I juggle everything? I just will. And I will try to balance everything as best I can, the way mums are used
to doing (whether they work or not) because we have to. I will enjoy every minute of the time I get to spend with my
children. For me, life is one big adventure. I feel very blessed to have my little travelling companions, and hopefully we'll have many wonderful journeys ahead.’ Sarah Webster: Wife, Mum, Lawyer, Brownie leader etc.
We want to provide a forum, where mums
and dads can share and hear about each
other’s parental experiences, where we can
provide information and support.
If you would like to contribute or even take
over the content of this page then as per usual
please contact the Family & Children’s
Worker.
5 Facts on Hip Dysplasia
1. About 8 in 10 cases are female
2. It occurs in 1 in 1,000 cases
3. It is generally In the left hip
4. Most children who are diagnosed and
treated before the age of 6 months
have an excellent outcome.
5. A new born baby with HD will not be
in pain or discomfort and the doctor
will easily detect the condition when
carrying out routine tests after birth
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A number of years ago I attended a ‘How to Drug Proof your child’ facilitator’s course. When setting up
the course you had to make sure that you had several ice breakers. They suggested a ‘How well do you
know you child’ quiz sheet, in which you answered questions about your child and then gave it to your
children to mark. I did the quiz with my children and it caused much hilarity in the house, as I often got
the children mixed up.
However for some of those attending the facilitator’s course even that simple ice breaker had some serious
connotations and proved to be a bit of a wake-up call. No matter how well you think you know your
children ‘they do change,’ sometimes the changes are obvious and you can quietly note them, but some
changes are inside and personal and may take a little more communication for you to discover. There are
many wise and wonderful phrases and sayings that encourage, inform, guide, and teach us about the
importance of communication, I really like the following quote simply because there is so much truth in it.
“We cannot set aside an hour for discussion with our children and hope that it will be a time of deep encounter. The
special moment s of intimacy are more likely to happen while baking a cake together, or playing hide and seek, or just
sitting in the waiting room of the orthodontist.”
Communication is the key to all relationships, it helps understand little quirks that are unique to our
child and sometimes it’s not about deep and soul searching debates but something as simple as knowing
what their favourite colour is when buying a pair of socks for them. So how well do you know you child?
Below are a few random fun-level questions for you to answer and your child to mark. See how well you
do, then maybe you may want to swap and see how well your child knows you.
What is your child’s favourite time of day?
What are your child’s favourite movies? What are your child’s favourite family stories?
What is your child’s favourite hobby or pastime?
What are your child’s favourite colours?
What are your child’s favourite foods or meals?
Who would your child confide in first if there were a serious problem?
What your child considers to be his/her greatest weakness
What is your child putting most of his/her energy into right now?
What daily hassles irritate your child? Name three closest friends of your child’s? What your child considers to be his/her greatest strengths? Who does your child consider to be his/her biggest enemies? Who are your child’s heroes? What is your child’s favourite song, band or singer? What are your child’s favourite books? What are your child’s favourite television shows? What is your child’s favourite place? Who is the funniest person they know? Who would your child not want to sit beside in the classroom and why? What makes your child laugh? If your child could be a teacher what subject would they love to teach? If your child could be anyone in the world who would they be? What is their favourite word? The place they feel the safest? What makes your child feel sad? If they could be a character from a book who would they be?
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Everyone has an app these days. Websites are full of them, most TV shows have one, local and national businesses even the local window cleaner conducts its business through an iPhone app Today's modern smartphones all come with powerful web browsers, which means you can do pretty much anything you can do on a desktop computer in a phone's browser. Having recently sat and watched a great deal of very young children manoeuvre their way around apps like professional race car drivers I thought it would be good to hear of some apps that our young church children are using on a regular basis.
Hi
We have been looking at Bible based apps for children and their families. The ones we have been looking at are available
from the Apple store but I’m sure Android will have equivalents. They are all free, although some may charge for upgrades
or additions to the basic package.
Bible Coloring (sic) Book
A simple app which provides a series of cartoon style Bible scenes and a pack of virtual crayons. options are available for
finer or broad brush approaches. Provides an access/ talking point to discuss the story with children. Personally I found it
quite therapeutic myself too!
Bible Heroes- Daniel
Part of a series of ‘Bible Hero’ apps, with many other Biblical figures available. Options are available to read the story (with
American voice over), play simple games to find Daniel or close the lions’ mouths, colour in, or sing along with a simple (if
unfamiliar) song. The latter again has that ‘cheesy American’ but our kids seem to like that!
Noah’s Ark
A simple game aimed at younger children where you move Noah around to collect animals up for the ark. There are levels to
complete and move up. The graphics aren’t exactly cutting edge and it could get confusing collecting about 6 sheep for the
ark, but it’s quite fun to while away a few minutes with little ones.
Bible app for Kids
Our favourite. You can choose a story from Creation to Revelation and Bible verse references are included. As you read the
story (again with American voice over) you can tap features and characters on the screen to animate them and produce
noises, and there are clouds to tap with questions behind. Children can also collect jewels as they pass through stories and
levels.
There are loads more out there so the best thing is to hunt around and give them a try- there will be something for everyone
out there.
Happy Apping!
Steve and Lucy
Some of the Top Apps for under 13’s
Squigglefish 4+
Tynker Premium 9-11’s
Peppa Pig Happy Mrs Chicken under 5’s
Toco Boco Hair Salon 9-11’s
Lego Duplo Train under 5’s
Minion Rush
Number Monster under 5’s
Math Bingo 6-8’s
Mr Thornes times table terror
Virtuso piano 11+
The Role of Grandparents
Here at Trinity we place a big emphasis on the importance of
relationships.
One of the most fascinating relationships in family life is the one
between the grandparent and the grandchildren.
I recently read a Grandparents Weekly and it suggested that there are many roles that grandparents play in a family, below are a few maybe
you may think of other ways they play a role?
ANCESTOR:
The grandparent is the head of the family unit and therefore connection to the family’s history.
FRIEND:
As the grandparent is not responsible for the day-to-day care of the grandchild they can assume the role of friend treating the
grandchildren in a more relaxed and permissive manner than the way in which they treated their own children.
HERO:
The grandparent has often fought and lived through wars or extreme hardships or have life experience behind them that in time of need
they can step in and rescue the grandchild.
HISTORIAN:
This is an overlap of Ancestor in that the grandparent is a witness to the history of their time and allows the grandchild to see a bigger
picture than themselves.
MENTOR:
Grandparents provide an encouragement, nurturing and effective teaching during the years of growth in particular the teenage years
when children want to break away from parental direction.
SPIRITUAL GUIDE:
Again because the grandparent is not responsible for the daily well-being of the grandchild it frees them up to concentrate on teaching
the grandchild to value and achieve spiritual rewards such as love, tolerance, compassion, reverence, joy, peace, faith, and kindness. A
lot of this is done simply by setting the example for the grandchild to emulate.
We have a lovely lady in our church who is one of the valued volunteers of our Monday toddler group and not only fulfils the
above roles and more with her own family but with the toddler mums and children as well. She shares the following with us.
In 2013 I had the wonderful Joy and Blessing of becoming a first time Grandma, my granddaughter was born, and what a joy to see my own daughter holding her own baby. It was such a thrill for me, and this year I was blessed with a grandson. I love being a Grandma being involved in these precious little lives, I have even got the knitting needles out to make a hat and blanket. I am enjoying watching my granddaughter discover the world around her. I read an interesting article about the role Change from Mother to Grandmother, it said our role changes in the family team , we are not the coach anymore, we are the president of our children's fan club, our job is to cheer them on!!. Just this morning in my Bible reading 2 Timothy ch 1 v 5 Paul talks about Timothy's faith, taught to him by his Mother Eunice and his Grandmother Lois, this is the kind of grandmother I want to be, to pass on my faith to my grandchildren. Marjorie Maude.
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Family fun
Following on from a brilliant Quiz evening hosted by the ‘Elevate team’ here are a few bits and pieces for
all ages to have a go at. If you fancy taking on a quiz type page for the next Family focus
please email [email protected]
Floating Eggs Eggs sink in normal water so what can you do to make them float?
Raw or Boiled Egg How can you tell?
Egg Bubbles Do egg shells really contain thousands of tiny holes?
Can you work out the following anagrams?
Tom Marvolo Riddle
O, Draconian devil! Roast Mules
How many words can you make from the following word?
Notwithstanding
Riddles
Q: What has a foot but no legs?
Q: Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it?
Q: What travels around the world but stays in one spot?
Can you name all the elements?
Teacher: What exactly is MATH?
Boy: Mental Abuse To Humans
Teacher: Whoever answers my next question, can
go home.
One boy throws his bag out the window.
Teacher: Who just threw that?
Boy: Me and I’m going home now.
A Sunday school teacher asked her children as
they
were on the way to church service,
"And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"
One bright little girl replied, "Because people are
sleeping."
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Family fun answer page
Floating eggs
What you'll need:
One egg
Water
Salt
A tall drinking glass Instructions:
1. Pour water into the glass until it is about half full. 2. Stir in lots of salt (about 6 tablespoons). 3. Carefully pour in plain water until the glass is nearly full (be careful to not disturb or mix the salty water with the plain water). 4. Gently lower the egg into the water and watch what happens
Raw or Boiled Egg
What you'll need:
Two eggs, one hard boiled and one raw. Make sure the hard boiled egg has been in the fridge long enough to be the same temperature as the raw egg.
Instructions: 1. Spin the eggs and watch what happens, one egg should spin while the other wobbles. 2. You can also lightly touch each of the eggs while they are spinning, one should stop quickly while the other keeps moving after you have
touched it.
What's happening? The raw egg's centre of gravity changes as the white and yolk move around inside the shell, causing the wobbling motion
Egg Bubbles What you'll need:
A clear glass or jar
Hot water (adult supervision is a good idea when using hot water)
An egg
A magnifying glass
Instructions:
1. Place the egg carefully into the glass or jar. 2. Carefully pour hot water into the glass or jar until it is nearly full. 3. Leave the glass or jar on a table or flat surface and watch the egg closely for a few minutes (the glass may become hot so be careful). 4. Use your magnifying glass to closely examine what is happening.
What's happening? After surrounding the egg with hot water you will notice tiny bubbles forming on the egg shell which eventually bubble their way to the surface. An egg contains a small air pocket at its larger end between the shell and egg white. When the air trapped inside this small pocket begins to heat up it expands and tries to find a way out of the shell, but how does it escape? They're too small to see under normal conditions but with the help of a magnifying glass you can see that egg shells contain thousands of small holes called pores (human skin has pores too). The pores allow air to pass through the shell, making it look like the egg is breathing as the air expands and is forced through the shell.
Anagrams;- Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort , O, Draconian devil! = Leonardo da Vinci , Roast Mules = Somersault
Riddles: what has a foot but no legs? A snail, Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it? Nothing
What travels around the world but stays in one spot? A stamp
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Here’s a different view: life without school. Our children are 7, 5 and 4 but they don’t go to school. We home educate. Sometimes, people do a double-take when I say that. “What?! They don’t go to school? Is that allowed?” They look at me with a mixture of horror and amazement, secretly wondering if I’m actually mad. (Quite probably, but that’s beside the point.)
Yes, it’s a legitimate option, and one embraced by a growing (and surprisingly large) number of families in Newcastle. Yes, we are visited annually by the friendly local Education Officer, and no, we don’t follow The Curriculum or do SATs.
“So what do you DO?!” I think people worry that spending all day with my children must drive me crazy. (A tiny bit, but I love them.) People worry that perhaps we are not learning enough. Or maybe we’re not socialising enough. Imagine, please, a life without the hideous morning rush. No uniform, no schoolbags, no homework. Once we have enjoyed our leisurely breakfast we… Live life. We play, we bake, we walk, we dance. We play musical instruments, read stories, make playdough. We visit museums and explore the city. We have adventures in the countryside. We go to the beach, meet up with friends young and old, write letters, explore ruined castles. We grow plants, ask questions, experiment, investigate, Google things, draw, paint, glue... The list is endless, of course, because the world is endlessly fascinating. And at the end of the day (which does not involve the dreaded school run) we’ve lived and loved and learned. That is more than enough.
Find Out More
Photos of our home-educating experiences can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pattissonfamily
Rachel Pattisson can be also be found helping people to make delicious homemade bread here:
http://www.homemadeloaves.co.uk/
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Katharine is UK Director of Care for the Family. She has
written several books including Rules of Engagement and Keeping Faith.
Katharine is a well-known speaker and broadcaster and regularly presents marriage and parenting events across the country. She is
married to Richard and they have four grown-up children.
Plus, there are no group sessions or cringe worthy audience participation to put you on the spot! Simply come along with your partner
and discover afresh what it takes to build a lasting marriage together.
It Takes Two Sunderland Bethany City Church, Tuesday 19th May 2015
Philip is one of the senior leaders of Woodlands, a family of churches in Bristol
with around 2,000 adult members. He is a regular conference and event
speaker and is part of the national speaking team for Care for the Family.
Philip is married to Kate and they have two teenage daughters. He launched Love
Running – an initiative to raise funds for local and international charities through
10k races across the UK.
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Junior Mission for All (JMA) was created so that children would not be excluded from
supporting and learning about the mission of the Church.
It is also about sharing the insights of God's people all over the world with children in our
churches
The JMA Promise is to:
Learn, pray and serve with the world-wide Church of Jesus Christ
What are the aims of JMA?
From the very beginning, children have been encouraged to learn about the work of God through the world, and to
make prayer a regular activity. In 1841 Mr Blake produced a children’s paper entitled ‘Juvenile Offerings’ where,
through prayers and articles, children could begin to learn of God’s work and become part of it. Education, prayer
and service were the threefold aims of the Association, and were later incorporated into the JMA promise. In 1991
this became ‘I promise to learn, pray and serve with the worldwide church of Jesus Christ’.
JMA operates in line with the Methodist Connexional year, starting each year in September and running until
August. Resources for each year are available from July of the previous year. Rainbow Magazine is despatched in
the Winter, Spring and Summer Terms.
Please encourage your children to get involved it is interesting and worthwhile project.
We want develop this at trinity and will start by asking children to bring cakes and toys
to sell on Sunday 7th June & 28th June in the yard outside the Croquet and Breamish
rooms.
Please bring some pennies to help raise funds.
For further information please speak to
Hilary Wood or
email Hilary wood [email protected]
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)
You may or may not be aware that there is a competition afoot!
A competition that involves the apples of the earth, (la pomme de terre)
Mrs Waugh who is Trinity’s answer to ‘Charlie Dimmick’ sent off to
gardeners world for some tatties of which she decided that there would
be a competition between the ladies of the allotment + 1 ( me)
Jane then sent off for another item from the tatty pack and was sent
some more tatties.
So what was she to do? Well apparently there is a fiendish rumour
going around that Men are better at growing potatoes than women,
how very rude.
However Jane being the gracious lady that she is, is willing to put this
outrageous theory to the test.
So we now have a list of ladies and gentlemen who have given a single
potato with small black bag for growing the potato in and a set of
instructions to follow.
In a few months’ time after a Sunday service the competitors will be
called to account.
The potatoes will be counted and then weighed
This will then lead to the Winner being revealed.
We look forward to you being there and sharing in this fun (very serious)
competition.
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Young Church News
Communion
“Communion is a re-enactment of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his arrest, and
eventual crucifixion. At the meal Jesus ate bread and wine and instructed his disciples to do the same in memory of him.”
Communion is a time when the church family can symbolically unite in the act of cleansing and consecration, renew a commitment to
follow and obey and most importantly remember what Christ did for us.
How wonderful would it be if All the church family could partake in this special service, adults, and children alike.
In the not too distant future the teaching team will be exploring how we can have a communion service that will be accessible for all the
family.
We will also be discussing the meaning of communion to the children in young church in preparation for the 17th July
so that when we
have a communion service downstairs in July upstairs in young church we will have a much simplified version, of which parents if they
want to will have the option to attend.
We are hoping in September that we will have a family Celebration service which will involve ‘family Communion’ we hope to keep you
well informed as the weeks go by but in the meantime feel free to come and share any thoughts that you have.
Prayer Buddies
Having recently looking up items that would be suitable for a Godparent to buy I came across the ‘Lil' Prayer Buddy’ an adorable
stuffed lamb that plays three Catholic prayers in a child's voice once you press its ear. Although not a catholic it did reinforce that
thinking that prayer to God should just be a natural everyday occurrence for a child. But it is also important to feel supported in our
journey of faith no matter how old we are it is a comforting thought to know that someone is there for us. So we have decided to start up
our own ‘Prayer Buddy’ system, not with a teddy but an actual person. Members of young church will be paired off with someone close
to their own age that they could pray and be prayed for, support and be supported by. Over the next few weeks your child will be given
a card with ‘Prayer Buddy’ instructions and details of who their Buddy will be. We do hope that this is something that you will actively
support and encourage your child with, but if you have any questions or concerns then please speak to a member of the young church
team.
Messy Church coming soon……….
Messy Church is a form of church for children and adults that involve creativity, celebration and hospitality.
It's primarily for people who don't already belong to another form of church.
It meets at a time (and sometimes in a place) that suits people who don't already belong to church.
It typically includes a welcome, a long creative time to explore the biblical theme through getting messy; a short
celebration time involving story, prayer, song, games and similar; and a sit-down meal together at tables. All
elements are for, and should include, people of all ages, adults and children.
It's all-age.
It's fun.
It's a church for people at all stages of their faith journey and of any age - a congregation that is as valuable and
worthy of investment as any of your other congregations.
It models and promotes good ways of growing as a family: a nuclear family, an extended family, and a global and
local church family.
Its aim is to introduce Jesus, to give an opportunity to encounter him and to grow closer to him.
Messy Church is resourced, supported and enabled by BRF, The Bible Reading Fellowship.
Messy Church is an all-age fresh expression of church that offers counter-cultural transformation of family life
through families coming together to be, to make, to eat and to celebrate God.
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Ingredients
pack of 8 good-quality sausages
500g pack minced beef
4 garlic cloves, crushed
small bunch fresh parsley, finely
chopped
3 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
plain flour for rolling
4 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
pinch sugar
500g spaghetti
grated parmesan, to serve
Method
1. Cut through the skin of each sausage and pull them off. Put the sausage meat into a large bowl with the mince. Add half the garlic, half the parsley, the breadcrumbs and egg, and mix well. Season generously with pepper and a little salt, and mix again.
2. Sprinkle a chopping board with flour. Scoop out level dessertspoons of the mix, dip them in the flour and roll them into balls. Heat 3 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan or wok, then fry the meatballs in batches, browning them on all sides. Set aside on a plate. When you’ve fried all the meatballs, pour away any excess fat. Rinse and dry the pan.
3. Pour the remaining oil into the pan, heat for 1 min then add the remaining garlic and fry for a few seconds. Tip in the tomatoes and break them down with a fork or wooden spoon. Cook over a moderately high heat for 5 mins until jammy. Season with salt, pepper and a little sugar.
4. Tip in the meatballs and turn them over in the sauce, ensuring they’re all covered. Cover the pan and cook the meatballs on a low heat for about 30 mins, spoon over the sauce occasionally and add a little water if it’s becoming too dry. 15 mins before the end of the cooking time, cook the spaghetti. To serve, stir most of the remaining parsley into the sauce then spoon the meatballs and sauce over the spaghetti. Scatter with last of the parsley and serve Parmesan on the side.
Do you have a tried and tested favourite family
recipe you would like to share with us?
Email [email protected]
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Prayer is so important for all of us, it’s a way of communicating with God, it’s a discipline that helps us give every aspect of our life over
to God and it helps to realise that God is just as interested in the mundane parts of day as well as the deep and spiritual.
Prayer deepens our relationship with God. No Child is too young to pray one way of teaching a child to naturally learn some of the
different ways that we can pray i.e. intercession, thanksgiving is by using the Five Fingered Prayer, why not make this part of your bed
time routine, for very young children it can be done by interspersing prayers within the ‘Tommy Thumb’ song.
‘five fingered prayer’.
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Our biggest focus at Trinity is relationship! For that reason, we have a
network of small groups called LifeGroups that meet midweek every couple of
weeks to pray, look at the Bible and share how things are going.
We have a new group that meets on a Thursday for mums with babies as well
as other evening groups to meet needs of both mums and dads.
If we can help to link you up with a group, get in touch with us in the usual
way and we will do what we can to find a group at the right time for you!