Children are particularly welcome at St Mark's. Children are an important part of our church community, and meet on Sundays at Junior Church as well as having activities of their own in the week. We run a variety of groups and activities for different age groups. Our Children's Worker is Emma Hopegood, who is also Children's worker at Trumpington Parish Church. If you have any questions about our work with Children, please do not hesitate to contact Emma.
St Mark's is committed to the safeguarding of children. A copy of our Policy is available in the Narthex (church porch) for public viewing.
Junior Church
Held on Sunday's during the 10am service.
Junior Church takes place every Sunday during the 10am Service. All children are in church for the first part of the service, as we gather to worship together. Just after the first hymn the children are invited to the front of the church for a prayer, before walking over to the community centre.
The children and leaders then have a time of worship and teaching, based on the Scripture Union syllabus. The syllabus covers a variety of Bible stories from the Old and New Testaments, and includes church festivals too. There are separate groups for children under 7 years old and over 7 years old. We sing songs, play games, have craft activities, read stories and pray together.
In this way, both adults and children are nourished spiritually through age-appropriate teaching and worship. Junior Church moves back into church during the Peace, so that the children are able to participate in the Eucharistic Prayer and receive a blessing or communion with their families.
Parents and carers with very small children may like to sit in the children's area in the Narthex (church porch) where there are age-appropriate toys - there are speakers relaying the service into this area, and the glass doors enable you to see what is going on in church.
Melody Makers
Melody Makers is a new music group for babies and toddlers in the Newnham/Trumpington area.
It provides lots of singing and nursery rhymes, as well as the chance for your child to explore rhythm and pulse, melody, play instruments and learn to respond to music through movement and play.
Melody Makers is run by Emma and will be held at the Bakehouse, next to Trumpington Church (CB2 9LH) on Wednesday mornings, 9.30-10.30am, with refreshments (proper coffee for grown-ups!).
Each session costs £3 per family. We look forward to making music with you!
For more information, please contact Emma Hopegood.
M&M's Youth Group
M&M's is a new group for young people of secondary school age (year 7 upwards). The name is inspired by initials of some of the patron saints of our local churches - St Mary, St Mark and St Michael.
Our meetings this term are
Sunday 18 September, Bowling
Sunday 16 October, Games and Pizza
Sunday 20 November, Film to get you thinking (and popcorn!)
Sunday 11 December, Christmas celebration.
We'll be meeting on Sunday afternoons once a month, 3.30pm-5pm, in various local venues around Newnham, Grantchester and Trumpington. As well as being fun and friendly, the sessions aim to help you make sense of what believing in God means for normal life. They are relaxed and informal, and you can bring your friends along too.
Contact Emma Hopegood for more details, or download the termcard here.
To attend, please download this consent form and ask your parent/guardian to complete it.
Messy Church
Messy Church is a new way for children and their families to explore the Bible together. We gather together between 3.30-4pm, with time for refreshments and games for the children, so you can dash home for a change of clothes, or head over straight from school-whichever is easiest for you. At 4pm, we start lots of craft activities to help us explore the theme of the day. These are spread out all over church, so you can choose which ones you'd like to do. At 5pm, we sing some songs, have a short story and some prayers, and at 5.15 a hot dinner is served for everyone! (In November we had some delicious pasta, tomato sauce, cheese and garlic bread-some children had 3 helpings!)
The next Messy Church is on Tuesday 13th December 3.30-5.45pm when our theme will be 'Messy Christmas'.
Come along and join us- Messy Church is free for everybody, but donations are welcome towards the cost of materials. Contact Emma Hopegood for more details, or if you have any questions.
Toddles
The St Mark's toddler group 'Toddles' meets in St Mark's Community Centre, behind the church, on Monday and Thursday mornings between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. This long-running toddler group runs on a drop-in basis, welcoming parents, grandparents, nannies, au pairs and all other carers, who stay with their children. Children of any age are welcome, there are lots of toys and a safe and relaxed environment for small children. Tea, coffee and biscuits are provided. Come along and join us, we ask for a £2 contribution per family per session.