Whitley update for July 2021

It’s summertime! Our team in Whitley shares with us about the exiting things that have happened in the past month.

Enjoy reading 🙂

Whitley Update

Today is our last day in the office, a day for tidying up and tying up loose ends as we prepare for a long awaited three weeks off! We are signing off after a busy month of mission; glad to have been engaging with our community in person once again and looking forward to returning to ‘normal’ schools and youth work in September. 

Since our last update the South Reading Churches Funday Out the Front has happened, as has our summer holiday Kids Club. 

The Funday took place as planned under Covid constraints using RadioSYC as the platform to keep everyone connected. We had live links to the households and groups participating, there were quizzes and bingo and, of course, lots of homemade cake! Our three councillors (one of whom is the deputy Mayor) were with us for the day and did a sterling job serving the community. They were part of our amazing team of volunteers from some of the local churches who worked tirelessly to make sure that all those participating across the community had a lovely time and felt connected to the whole event.

The radio makes it possible for people to stay connected and feel part of the community from the safety of their own home, garden or street; its targeted assault on the ravages of isolation. If you would like to make use of the radio in your community, do get in touch we would love to set you up to do so. 

It was a joy to return to our local Community Centre last week to run our annual Holiday Kids Club, after last year’s break. It was great to welcome everyone, both new and familiar faces. One member of the team was one of the ‘kids’ at the last club we ran there, it was great to see her giving back and helping the younger ones have a lovely time. I have a few highlights from the week but one that stands out was being part of story time on the last day. You could have heard a pin drop as kids and team all sat in a circle watching the resurrection story unfold as Sarah moved small wooden figures and told the story simply and powerfully. The hush remained as kids went into their small groups to chat with their leaders about Jesus being alive and with us today, as they munched on snacks and then prayed together. And this summer a handful of kids will have Easter Gardens which they made that afternoon, growing in their rooms; how amazing!

As we break for the summer, we find ourselves tired and in need of a rest. It’s not that we have been swamped by huge numbers at the funday or the kids club, or that we have spent hours in the schools or running training. But we have done our best to be present and available, to act in faith and obedience. We have valued the one or two as much as we would have valued the 30 or 400. We have trusted that communities are transformed one family at a time and families are transformed one individual at a time. As Sarah shared with the team at Kids Club, we have followed Jesus who said that he would leave the 99 to seek out and rescue the 1. 

So whatever mission, ministry and life has looked like for you, as you head forward be encouraged that each ‘one’ matters and when you responded and cared for the individual, you cared for and responded to Jesus. Nothing is in vein; everything counts. 

You are blessed and loved by our Saviour and Lord. 

Thank you for reading! We hope you are keeping safe and well

Come back next month for another update

Stay safe and God bless 

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