A shout out to everyone of grandparent generation and the children they love and care for in their families, churches and communities.
You are invited to bring each other to Gloucester Cathedral for a fun and creative afternoon where you can explore Christian faith and spirituality together. There will be prayer spaces, story, activities, dance, interactive worship and more.
“Being a surrogate grandmother’s a huge joy, a privilege too, and I’ve loved it. It’s a great blessing to me.” ~ We talk to Margaret Edwards about her experiences working with childrens groups – both as a grandparent, and as a surrogate grandparent:
It would be much appreciated if you could let us know if you are coming via: this form to help us with our planning and preparations.
There are two events in this series:
This Faithful Generations Event, 1 February, Gloucester Cathedral
The Faithful Generations Workshop, 11 February, St Andrews Churchdown →
Jo Wetherall, Senior Children and Families Connector, gives more detail on the events:
Do you know how the children you know and care for think or feel about God whatever their age?
Have you ever pondered what it would be like to go to a DJ set with a teenager? Or how a four-year-old would represent you as a gingerbread person?
Have you ever promised out loud to pray for each other?
Wondered what would it be like to dance together in worship, explore the wonder of creation in a fir cone, dress up and take a silly picture together?
Or just sit and have a chat in the marvellous space of Gloucester Cathedral.
All this and much more will be available to explore through our Faithful Generations event.
Gingerbread people – Icing and sprinkles galore. Recreate yourselves in gingerbread form.
Decorated doves – How do we say thank you to God for each other? Mary and Joseph took doves to the temple. What would you give?
Candle display – At Candlemas we turn from Christmas and look towards Easter from the dark of winter to the light of Spring. Decorate your candle to show how you light up the world.
Photo booth – Dress up as each other take a funny photo and upload it to the QR code.
Fridge magnets – Create a fridge magnet and swap them as a promise to pray for each other.
Peg it! – Write or draw a prayer – who can you peg it to without them noticing? Keep on passing the prayer.
The beauty of glass – Create a beautiful window which talks about your relationship with God or a favourite Bible story.
Table Talk – Take a seat, pick a card and just have a chat for a few moments.
Table Talk for Toddlers – Go on a shape and colour hunt through the cloisters or a nature hunt in the garden.
The empty chair – When someone has died, the love we have for them lives on, and they continue to influence our lives. Use the materials to remember someone you love but see no longer.
Sensory spaces – Throughout the Cathedral are small quiet spaces and baskets/activities to explore together.
Whisper trees – What would you like to whisper to God? What would you like God to whisper to you?
Prayer station 1 – Opportunity to reflect and pray for families of all generations risking their lives to escape danger, often leaving homes, traditions, family history and, very probably, elderly family members not up to the journey, finding God’s story through photographs and pictures, and much more.
Prayer station 2 – Treasured stories. Listen to each other’s story round the ‘campfire’ some prompts to help tell it.
Prayer station 3 – Use prayer spaces to explore your relationship to each other, God and the world.
Godly Play – People often talk about life as a journey. Come and hear the story of one family’s journey and what they discovered about God and each other along the way.
Dance Workshop – An inclusive workshop where anyone can take part to create a dance to share in our celebration worship at the end of the Faithful Generations day. We will be exploring the different ways we talk with God using a mix of thoughtful and uplifting music and experiencing the awe and wonder of dancing in the wonderful Cathedral setting.
DJ Set – Join Dj Rev Steve who uses energising dance tracks to help us to learn about and worship God. Be prepared to dance!
Evensong, our prayers as the sun is setting, is a very beautiful and ageless service where choirs sing the thoughtful words of psalms and of Mary, Jesus’ mother and Simeon who blessed baby Jesus in the temple.
As we remember Mary and Joseph taking baby Jesus to the temple our ‘Uneven Song’ will use some of this timeless tradition, but will also include dance and songs to sing together, our display of candles and doves will celebrate the peace of God and light of Christ. Bishop Rachel will invite us to join in with her as she shares her thoughts about this time of year and what it means for our lives.
It would be much appreciated if you could let us know if you are coming via: this form to help us with our planning and preparations.
There are two events in this series:
This Faithful Generations Event, 1 February, Gloucester Cathedral
The Faithful Generations Workshop, 11 February, St Andrews Churchdown →
Printable flyer for Faithful Generations event
This event will be organised by the Youth Connect Team, including Jo Wetherall (Senior Children and Families Connector) and Barrie Voyce (Senior Youth Connector).
Jo supports churches across the diocese in developing their work with children and families, including the nurturing of faith in the home and school-parish relationships.
Barrie leads the growing network of deanery youth connectors, enabling and equipping effective youth ministry across the diocese.