Thanks to Simon Edwards for this summary of the year in 7Up and an even bigger thank you to Simon, Tara, Jamie and Suzanne for leading our young people towards Christ.
We had a great turn out and a great time in our last Sunday 7Up session of this term. Below is a summary of our time together this academic year – A Year in the Life of 7Up: September 2018 – July 2019
In our autumn term 2018 sessions we explored; ‘Is Forgiveness always good?’, ‘Different Ways To God?’, ‘Meeting Jesus’ and ‘How Old Is Jesus?’(Creation) – based on questions which 7Up members came up with at the start of the term.
In our spring term 2019 sessions; we looked at identity and played Mr & Mrs with our new vicar, Natasha and her husband, Jamie; we explored; ‘New beginnings’ & ‘Heaven & Hell’, we looked at newspaper and magazine articles and considered what moves us, and we looked at journeying together (Paraclesis), with a particular focus on forgiveness.
In our summer term 2019 sessions, our emphasis moved from ‘learning it’ to ‘living it’ – how we lead our lives as an act of worship, God in the everyday, on our ‘frontlines’. We used a CPAS cards-based resource, ‘Talk Calling’ to help us examine our motivations, what God might be calling us to next, and any barriers in the way. We also used a LICC resource, ‘Fruitfulness on the Frontline’.
Over the year: We have listened to God and to each other. We have started to share our prayer needs and to pray for each other on a regular basis. We have experimented with live worship and we have used reflective worship songs to help us focus in prayer times in sessions.
Our group has grown so much that some weeks we can’t all fit at the large round table in the coffee shop. A lovely problem to have.
Fun activities to activate us have included blind tasting of different pancake toppings, tricky relay games in the youth hall, and taking a selfie with Jesus. We have enjoyed a pizza and film night and we are looking forward to a BarBQ and Treasure Hunt at the vicarage on 31st July.
Last but not least, most of us have eaten nearly half our body weight in various forms of chocolate spread, hot chocolate, pastries and fruit! We all seem to be doing fine on it.
Whether your summer holidays involve camping, preparing for university, relaxing in the sun, or catching up with all those books you haven’t managed to read, we encourage you; to spend time with God each day, to stay connected with each other and to continue to pray for each other’s needs and concerns which have been shared. Continue to build each other up and see God do amazing things in us and through us.
Stoke Poges Church Blog 