FISH 5.30pm

FISH is at the slightly later time of 5.30pm this Saturday, so bring your dinner and meet in the Awesome Room for a fun night with a mix of games and challenges to suit all ages and abilities. Something with a musical flavour this time!

See you there!

Musikool Kids Fun

We had an influx of fathers at Musikool Kids this morning, and it was lovely to hear the deep voices as the Dads sang with their sons and daughters around the rainbow ring.

There were lots of giggles and cackles as some Dads lifted their children up as we sang the Hey Dum Diddle song with our scarves, "Stretch up high.... and come down low..."

Lovely to have grandparents there too, enjoying this special time with their treasured tamariki.

Wise Owls

This week is all about owls and bread.

We talked about what it means to be wise. Caleb pretty much summed it up: He said, "Being wise is being thoughtful, and making good decisions."

We discussed wise decisions, and what it is to know right from wrong, and to be able to figure out what to do in difficult situations.

Jesus used stories called 'parables' to explain how God wants us to live. Sometimes in Awesome Time, we use modern-day stories, picture books or plays to help explain God's messages from the Bible. This week, our Awesome Kids helped act out a story based on a picture book written by Robin Tzannes, called Sanji and the Baker.

There was a poor man, called Sanji, who lived in a small room, it was simple but quite cosy. The best thing about it was it was right above the baker's shop. Every morning, Sanji would step out onto his balcony and take a deep breath, and whiffed and sniffed the heavenly aroma of freshly baked bread. Mmmmmm....

Sadly, Sanji couldn't afford to buy the bread from the bakery. He had to make do with standing on the balcony and inhaling the lovely smells coming from the bakery.

One day the grumpy baker insisted Sanji pay him for the smells he had been enjoying. But Sanji was poor and had no money so the baker took him to court. The wise judge told Sanji to return the next day with 5 silver coins. Sanji had to borrow from everyone he knew for the five coins, but... the coins were not to pay the baker. Read the book and find out how the wise judge used the 5 silver coins to teach a very valuable and amusing lesson. 

Whilst the Baker made some bad decisions and did not live in God's way, Sanji's friends were compassionate and generous, lending him the coins even when they knew he probably wouldn't be able to pay them back. And the judge, well he was super wise... you'll just have to read the book to find out why!

The lesson for us was, to think about what it means to live wisely. To live in God's way of love and kindness, sharing what we have with those in need.

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life." 

Jesus was always concerned about the physical needs of people. That's why he spent so much time feeding the poor, healing the sick. But he wasn't just concerned about empty stomachs, he was even more concerned about empty hearts. 

As we share our bread together, with the hungry, let us also share the story of Jesus, the Bread of Life, and celebrate that God's never-ending LOVE is for everyone, no matter how poor or rich. Let us share that LOVE and kindness and generosity with everyone too.

To help us remember...

We made some cool, crafty, wise owls - some to take home and some to go up in the Chapel Street Art Gallery. And we enjoyed some beautiful freshly baked bread!

Thanks to Ella and Daniella, we had some lovely pine cones to make some wise old owls with!

Introducing our newest Awesome Kid:
Jack!

Not only was it YOUTH SUNDAY, and we were so happy to have lots of youth leading our service, but Sunday was extra special as we got to meet Rev Anne Preston, who will be minister at Christchurch North Methodist from early next year. Anne's son Jack joined our Awesome crew for the day. We look forward to seeing you again next year, Jack! Ka kite ano!

Smiling Sisters

Some beautiful smiling sisters at the end of another Musikool Kids Friday morning session.

Musikool Kids, our Music and Movement Classes for Pre-school aged children, runs during school term time on Fridays at 10am.

Our sessions are usually 30 to 40 minutes and include a variety of traditional and modern children's songs, percussion instruments, scarves, rainbow ring, puppets, parachute, bubbles and much more.

At the end of our session we have a morning tea and play time, which is a great opportunity for the adults to get to know one another.

If anyone would like to help serve the cups of tea once a term, please get in contact with Melanie or Merilyn, we would love to hear from you! Thank you!

Seed Sowing at CHYPS Youth Group

CHYPS, is the Chapel Street Young People's YOUTH GROUP, for youth in school years 7 through to 13. CHYPS meets once a month, on a Saturday evening, from 6.30pm to 8pm at the Chapel Street Centre.

The purpose of CHYPS is:

* to welcome youth from our church and community to connect in a fun, relaxed group with Christian values

* to build relationships between our church leaders and the youth in our church & community

* to be primarily a social group, enabling youth to make new friends and strengthen existing friendships within the church & our community

A typical CHYPS evening consists of a mix of high-energy and quieter games and concludes with supper & a 10-minute ‘God-Time’ (low-key, informal, bible-based chat/devotion).

Our current group has a wide range of ages and a mix of youth who attend church and many who don't. We provide a safe, friendly and caring environment where the youth feel valued and respected.

We aim to be 'Seed Sowers', in the words of Siu Williams-Lemi, Regional Youth Co-ordinator for the Sth Island Methodist Church:

"The one thing I have learnt is that although everything we teach is important, what is more important is the relationships we build with the children and the atmosphere we create."

We warmly invite new members to CHYPS, and if any parents are interested in helping on our supper roster we would love to hear from you!

Merilyn's Little Helpers

Last Friday at Musikool Kids, Merilyn was thrilled to have some lovely little helpers when it was time to wheel the tea trolley back to the kitchen!

AbsolUKEly Fabulous!

Last Sunday our UKULELE GROUP, AbsolUKE, led our worship with an oldie but a goodie, JESUS LOVES ME.

Some of our ukulele players have only been playing for a couple of months, wow, they are fast learners! The group sounded amazing and the congregation loved singing along to this classic with the ukes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzEcrhq5rIQ

The Wide-Mouthed Frog

Last Sunday we had the story of the Wide-Mouthed Frog, who had a very big mouth, loved the sound of his own voice, and ate... flies.

The Wide-Mouthed Frog decided to go on a journey to see the world. On his journey, he met some other creatures, who didn't look like him or talk like him or eat like him. The Wide-Mouthed Frog was rather boastful, and announced arrogantly in his big, wide-mouthed voice, "I'm the Wide-Mouthed Frog, and I eat flies! Who are you, and what do you eat?"

When he met the sheep, he called him a strange, woolly creature and made fun of him eating grass. When he met the pig, he made fun of his smelly breath. When he met the donkey, he made fun of him eating porridge.

When he met a strange looking animal that looked rather like a mossy log, he got quite a shake-up when the crocodile announced, "I'm a CROCODILE and I EAT WIDE-MOUTHED FROGS!"

With that, the Wide-Mouthed Frog puckered up his mouth into the tiniest, narrowest mouth he possibly could and squeaked, "Oh, Wide-Mouthed Frogs, gosh, you don't see many of them around these days, do you? I'm off!" And he hopped away.

We talked about how vain and mean the Wide-Mouthed Frog was, and how hurtful the unkind things he said were. We hope the Wide-Mouthed Frog learnt to think before he speaks in future!

We read the letter in the Bible:

We all belong to God’s family. Be kind to one another. Share what you have with one another. When you speak, speak to build up one another. Use kind and helpful words. Be kind to one another.

We made some wide-mouthed frogs, with tongues that said 'USE KIND WORDS' to remind us God wants us to say things that are kind and helpful to people, not hurtful.

(based on Ephesians 4:25—5:2)

I am

Last Sunday we explored a whole lot of "I am" statements in the bible, where Jesus said things like, "I am the bread of life."

"I am the light of the world."

"I am the good shepherd."

We created our own "I am" statements about ourselves. Some examples were:

"I am unique."

"I am treasured."

"I am brave."

"I am caring."

It was a busy morning, with lots of activity! The band played, and we were thrilled to have Angel join us with her beautiful vocals this morning. After church, our ukulele group, AbsolUKE, had a jam, and they are ready to lead worship this coming Sunday with a song they have been learning. Can't wait!

A Storm in Church

https://youtu.be/FodBmTxjiQI

Last Sunday, we had quite a storm in church. 

We had wind tubes, thunder drums, waves of streamers splashing from one side of the church to the other... the congregation rocked from side to side as the waves pushed our boat around... we even had to use buckets to bail water (and if you look very closely you might see one person found another use for her bucket!)

We were reminded that when we are afraid, we are all in the same boat. And when we invite Jesus into the boat with us, we have nothing to fear, because we are not alone.

Even when we think God is far away, or that we don't deserve God's love, there is always more thank enough of God's love for all of us, and then even more!

Jesus is with us in the Storms of Life

Our Awesome Kids created a musical storm last Sunday, to remind us that whatever storms life brings, Jesus is right there with us, loving us always and helping us to get through.

https://youtu.be/NAnLT6RIyOY

Cheese Rolls and Chocolate Sauce at CHYPS

Last month's YOUTH GROUP involved a Scavenger Hunt and a scrumptious supper including cheese rolls and ice-cream with home-made chocolate sauce. Delicious! Thanks Carol & Sue!

Look Up, Look Down at FISH

https://youtu.be/1jkNcOItOrI

Last FISH night, we tried out some new games, including 'Look Up, Look Down', in which you have to avoid eye contact with your fellow players. If you do find yourself looking eye to eye with someone, the first person to scream is safe, and the opponent is out. There were a lot of yelps and giggles and tons of laughter!

Christ is the Cornerstone

Lots of construction themed activities last Sunday for our Awesome Kids!

CHYPS Scavenger Hunt

Calling all YOUTH (intermediate and high school, years 7-13)

Join us at CHYPS this Saturday night

6.30pm to 8pm

Movie night for TWEENS

CSIS Youth & Linwood Ave Union Church invite our intermediate aged youth to a MOVIE NIGHT. Friday 27 July from 5pm to 8pm. Dress up in your best Mexican themed outfit and be in to win a prize!

"We love you!"

A message from Dave:

Last week we talked about different types of families, with emphasis on my own large family. I have both adopted and foster children within our family so it wasn’t too hard. Main point being that it doesn’t matter what type of family you live in, you are loved. 

Our church family all shouted out “We love you!” so that the children knew that we all loved and supported them. Lots of smiles. (Some toothless).

We finished off by making a card with church doors, and a photo of our church family inside the church.

Shake it Off!

A couple of weeks ago, Carol told us the story of Jesus sending out the 12 disciples, and we talked about what it means to "shake the dust off your feet". Here is a little excerpt from Carol's talk:

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples

Then Jesus went to the villages around there, teaching the people. ⁷ He called the twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over the evil spirits ⁸ and ordered them, “Don't take anything with you on the trip except a walking stick—no bread, no beggar's bag, no money in your pockets. ⁹ Wear sandals, but don't carry an extra shirt.” ¹⁰ He also told them, “Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place. ¹¹ If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them!”

What do you think shake the dust off your feet means?

I think this means when you realise that there are people in your life that are causing more negativity than positivity, and you need to know that it is ok to leave them behind and shake their negativity off – shake the dust off your feet.

KNOW YOUR SELF-WORTH

It is about knowing that we are unique and have worth in the eyes of God.  We don’t have to let others determine who we are and what we are worth?

God tells us that we are so precious to Him that He knew us BEFORE we were ever born, (Jeremiah 1:5).  He knows the very number of hairs on our head, (Matthew 6:26) and collects all of our tears, (Psalms 56:8).

It is about stopping and knowing that you are of value – you are priceless.  That you do not NEED approval from others.

Our Awesome Kids then had a whole lot of fun painting our feet with glue, making our own pottles of dust, and creating some funky footprints. As we shook off the excess dust, of course we sang, "Shake it Off!"

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only. This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord, “You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

Mary Stevenson, 1936

FISH this Saturday

Join us for FISH this Saturday night, 5pm to 7pm at the Chapel Street Centre.

Obstacles

Last Sunday our Awesome Kids heard two stories about Jesus helping people. In one of the stories, a sick woman made her way through a crowd of people to get to Jesus. She had faith that Jesus would be able to help her.

We made an obstacle course, to simulate the crowd she had to find her way through to get to Jesus. Our Awesome Kids enjoyed timing themselves on the course, trying to get faster and beat their own times. It was also a reminder that no matter what obstacles we face in life, Jesus is always with us, guiding us and giving us strength and courage to get through.

AbsolUKE

AbsolUKE is our Ukulele Group which is led by tutor Monica during morning tea after church most Sundays.

They are currently working on some instrumental pieces and some worship songs, which hopefully we will hear in church soon. The group has some experienced players and beginners - everyone is welcome.

Pyjama Day!

We celebrated the end of the term with a Pyjama Day at Musikool Kids. Everyone looked so cosy and snug in their PJs and onesies and slippers.

We sang Ten in the Bed, Teddy Bear's Cha-cha-cha, I've Got a Teddy Bear, Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed among many others.

Have a fun and relaxing two-week break over the school holidays, everyone! Keep warm!

Dave's story

Dave took Awesome time a couple of weeks ago on the story of  Choosing a king. We made heart magnifying glasses to show that God looks into our Hearts for goodness, “Love the Lord Your God with all your heart” as David did.

This is the story Dave told in church, with the help of some actors:

God told Samuel to choose a new king

King Saul will die in a few years in the Spring.

“Go to Bethlehem to the house of Jesse

One son you will choose, even if he’s messy”.

So we’re at Jesse's house, with God’s anointing oil

To anoint a king, to be truly Royal.

So Jesse lined up seven sons,

Some looked like they should eat more cream buns.

So this is the way I imagine the meeting went.

All the sons lined up, time well spent.

They all lined up next to each other

Seven in a line, brother next to brother

Samuel:-

This is the eldest his name is Enzro

He plants the crops and makes them grow.

I look at him and Gods says NO.

Son number two this one Izak

He has a secret girlfriend in the house up the back.

Not this one, so stay on track.

This is Monica, funny name for a bloke,

He runs so fast, leaving others in smoke.

Not this one either, it’s becoming a joke.

Next was Ruard tall and thin

One day he could be the king.

in my heart God said to me,

sorry this one’s not to be,

 Number five, sorry not  James,

heck I’m beginning to run out of names

So let’s continue with God’s games

So now we arrive at son number six

Lets throw Neti into the mix

Not this one, more of God’s tricks?

Finally this is son number seven

Surely God chose him, from His place in Heaven.

Please don’t let his name be King Bevan.

Do you have another son,

By any chance another one?

Otherwise my job’s not done.

Yes there’s David, we call him Dave

He’s out tending the sheep, he’s very brave.

But he’s not even old enough to shave.

God has sent me David, to choose

I followed all of God’s quiet clues.

Anoint him as king, as God had commanded.

To one day rule the land, single handed.

So that’s the story of David.

The spirit of God was upon David and he eventually became king. In the  bible, there are lots of stories about David, remember the one about a giant named Goliath?

A story for some other time..

Thanks to our Dave, for writing such a great script!

Player of the Day!

Congratulations to Andrew, who was named Player of the Day in his football game yesterday.

This is Andrew's second season of football. I think he must be a natural - maybe one day we'll see him playing for the All Whites!

Well done Andrew, especially playing on such a freezing, frosty morning!

We love to hear good news stories from our Awesome Kids - so keep them coming! It might be that you've discovered a new hobby or talent, or that you performed in a play or concert at school, or did something brave. If you've got something you'd like to share and celebrate with your church whanau, please let me know (Mel).

Oreos and Ice-blocks at FISH

The Oreo Challenge was one of the many activities our FISH-ers tackled tonight. Michelle and Monica were the champions - both managed to get the oreo cookie from forehead to mouth, without using their hands.

We played a variety of games - some active, like 'Bum-Shuffle-Tag' and a Hunt for Goldilocks and the Three Bears; and some more sedate, like the Detective Game, Bippity Boppity Boo and the Magic Toaster, and Backwards Charades.

Join us next month, July 21 and be part of the FISH fun! Click here to find out more about FISH.

Happy School Days

Quade had his last day at Musikool Kids on Friday, and is off to school! It seems like the last five years have just whizzed by so fast. 

Quade planned his last session at Musikool Kids and helped Amanda and Mel to lead the songs. 

Quade is pictured here with Mel's ukulele and wind tube. Quade specifically requested the wind, rain-stick and thunder drum be at his last session. He also included favourites such as Little Drum, Little Clown Dance and the clave sticks and rainbow ring.

Quade finished off the session by reading a book to the group, one of his favourites, "Pete the Cat and His White Shoes". We were all so impressed! 

We think Quade's teacher is extremely lucky to have Quade in her class. 

Quade had already introduced Pete the Cat to our group and we have been enjoying singing along to Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.

Thanks so much Quade and Vicky, we will miss you tremendously! Happy School Days!

Family FISH night June 23

Join us for FISH, a night of fun and games for the whole family. Bring your own dinner (for your family) - fish'n'chips, pizza, picnic, whatever! After we've eaten, we'll move through to the hall for games and activities for all ages. Free ice-cream or ice-block and chocolate fish for dessert!

Congratulations Caleb!

At Christchurch North Methodist Parish we love hearing 'good news' stories. We especially love celebrating with our Awesome Kids when they share what they have been achieving during the week.

Here is a good news story to celebrate.

One of our Awesome Kids, Caleb, had his grading for Martial Arts. He was promoted from Orange Belt to Blue Belt. Well done Caleb! I think he looks very smart in his karate uniform.

We look forward to hearing more exciting news from the young people in our church family. Send Mel an email with any good news or interesting happenings so we can share it with your church community.

The Grandma Test

Wherever you are, there is God.

Remember that God is always with you, helping you to make good choices.

Sometimes God can speak to us when we listen to people who want to help us. Who are some people who can help us listen to God?

They could be a family member, our parents or caregivers, a teacher, minister, friend, or our Awesome Leaders.

When I was growing up, whenever I had decisions and choices to make, I would often ask myself, “What would Grandma do?” Would my actions, my choices, pass “The Grandma Test”? I’ve also heard this in technology talks to school students… ‘Before you post something on the internet, on social media, or play that game or visit that website - think: Would it pass the Grandma Test? Because if you’re not happy for Grandma to see it, then maybe it’s not a good choice.'

So think when you make a decision… is it a Godly choice? Would Jesus approve? If you had Jesus over to your house would you show him that game? Would you make that post on social media or write that comment if Jesus was “following” you? Well Jesus knows every choice you make and every consequence of every action. He wants you to:

Put God in the driver’s seat - let God take the wheel and steer you in the right direction.

CHYPS - Chapel Street Young People's YOUTH GROUP

Our CHYPS team - chilling out after an active evening of team building relays, involving ping pong balls, tissues, balloons, hula hoops and paper cups...

www.chapelstreetyouth.blogspot.com