Children and young people were celebrated at today’s All Together Communion service at All Saints Church. Members of the junior and youth church at All Saints led the prayers with a focus on caring for one another like God cares for us. Prayers were said for children and young people facing particular challenges in life including refugee children and children in local authority care.
Youth worker Jason Bowles spoke briefly about the caring work of the churches and volunteers in schools in Wokingham especially in the transition from junior to senior school at this time of year. The youngest member of the congregation on the day, two-year-old Ben, helped to re-enact the scene from the gospels when in reply to the question from his disciples “Who is the greatest in God’s kingdom?” Jesus presented a young child before them and said: ” Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. Rector, David Hodgson, invited members of the congregation to reflect on what characteristics of children might we need to change towards in order to enter God’s kingdom, to see what God is doing in us and around us.
During the service, Tom Lochhead was commissioned as a new Parish Safeguarding Co-ordinator alongside Judi Arnold. Tom led the congregation in prayer. For the words of the prayers and the commissioning ceremony see here.
Bibles were presented by the Rector to children who will be moving on from Junior Church to Youth Church in September.
