The Dever Benefice recently held its first ‘Prayer Space Day’ in Micheldever School which saw pupils of all ages learn about the theme of ‘the water of life’. It’s part of the benefice’s growing work within its two local primary schools in Micheldever and South Wonston, supported by the Diocese of Winchester’s Growing Rural Parishes Programme.
Revd Claire Bentham is curate in the Micheldever benefice and is also Chair of Governors at the school. She said, “God has been so good in everything that is happening here. We’ve come from a situation where, a few years ago, there was not much happening for children and families in the benefice and now we’ve got lots of things happening in the schools. From that is coming growth within the church on Sundays as well.”
The prayer space was set up in the school hall with various stations for pupils to take part in activities, including painting, writing messages for Jesus, creating paper flowers and watching a prayer stone drop in water to see the ripple effect. All these were focussed on the story of the woman at the well in John 4 and how pupils can bring kindness and the water of life to others. One of the pupils, Elis, “We learnt about Jesus and forgiveness, and it was very interesting.”
Pupil Sylvie added, “I’ve learnt that the water of life gives me happiness and makes me feel loved. If you feel like you are not loved, you can go to Jesus to help you and if you feel loved you can make others feel loved too.”
Revd Claire was supported by Assistant Curate Revd Joanna Criscenti and volunteer Rob Ironton. He said, “Our role is to try and get the message of Jesus across to the youngsters, with a hope that they can spread it among their own families, and also that will encourage them to come to church and learn how to worship Jesus.”
Revd Joanna added, “It’s exciting to see them grow in very small ways. The privilege to do this is always ours. I love it when they challenge me and show me things I was not anticipating. The blessing I receive is immeasurable and it helps me to grow in faith.”
It’s hoped the school prayer spaces will now take place once a month. For the last year Revd Claire has also run a lunchtime Church Club at both schools. These are weekly drop-in sessions where children can play games, take part in crafts and listen to a story from the Bible. The club has proved popular in both schools, with many pupils now confident to talk about their faith and to pray for each other.
The Church Club this term is focussing on the Lord’s Prayer. At Micheldever, around 15 to 20 pupils will join over the lunchbreak, but numbers have been as high as 35, which is half the school! Lunchtime Church Club regulars Stacey and Caroline said, “We hear bible stories, do activities and learn new things about God and Jesus and how he died for us.”
Revd Claire also leads worship assemblies at Micheldever on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Pupils also visit the church for special services including Harvest Festival, Remembrance and end of term Christmas services.
Headteacher of Micheldever C of E Primary, Tom Bint, welcomes the strengthening bonds between the school and church and how they are helping pupils understand the school values of love, hope, trust and forgiveness. He said, “I think what we’ve done in a quite a short space of time, in terms of worship and the values of the children, has been really powerful.
“I think for children, of all faiths or none, understanding where those values come from, the benefit of them and the fruits of living those out, is really important to see. When children leave us and go on to secondary school, we really want them to keep living those values because that will stand everybody in good stead for life.”
A ‘Monday morning cuppa’ drop-in for parents and carers has also been set up at South Wonston primary, giving parents space to unwind after the school run. There’s a free cup of tea and coffee, something to eat, and a chance to de-stress and chat. To build on these links, in September a new monthly Messy Church at 4pm on Sunday afternoon was established in the two churches to provide a specific children and families service in the benefice every other week.
Revd Claire added, “We’re seeing mums who’ve come to the drop-in cuppa, and children who’ve come to Church Club, starting to feed into coming to the Messy Church. We started in September with 3 families who came to the first session and had 45 people at the one we had this month. It’s growing and people are so enthusiastic about it.”
There are also plans to work with the Wildfire Youth Project to set up an after-school drop in for young people aged 11 to 16 years old in South Wonston one afternoon a week. The school bus stops outside the church.
Revd Claire commented, “Growing Rural Parishes has been the impetus to get a group of people together who are all passionate about growing ministry, to pray together and discern where God is leading us. We’ve been given that time which we might not otherwise have had. More practically, Growing Rural Parishes has enabled us to work with Wildfire to set up this youth group and helped towards our Messy Church. It was about having the time to dream, the time to pray, the time to take it forwards.”
Revd Claire is now well known in the school and community. She continued, “When you’re walking down the street and you just hear people shouting, ‘Hi Revd Claire’, it’s great and that means that we’re also starting from a point of trust with the families as well. We’re not some alien body; they know us and their children know us, like us and trust us so it’s good.
“Lots of people talk about how children and youth are the future of the church and I think that’s wrong. They ARE the church because the church is the whole people of God, no matter what your age. It’s about reaching everybody with the love of God so that they know that they are loved and special and no matter what else happens, they can hold fast to that and know that in Jesus, they can have life in all its fullness.”
