Deeper

This time of year is every busy for Deeper, we have a Coffee moring for the kids work in the village on the 29th of November, a girls day out and a boys day out on the 30th of November (Girls will be shopping and Boys will go to Laser Quest) and a Christmas party on the 14th of Dec.

In Deeper we have been talking about gossip and sin and watching the simpsons to get the point across. Even Deeper want to know more about other religeons so we will be hearing more from different religeons. Also we have been talking about how to be Christ-like as the teenages who come are mosty new christians.

Refresh Community Church

Refresh Community Church.
We are a place where all are welcome: whether you're curious or convinced, disillusioned or envisioned, hurting or content.
Mid week meetings at the No.8 on the following dates from 7.30pm: 11th Nov and 25th November. Speaker will be Paul Little studying Sermon on the Mount from Matthew.
Home groups meeting in various locations in the village on Tues 4th and Tues 18th November. Ladies Only - And God made Eve – Creative ways of exploring our faith at the No.8 club from 7.45pm. 18th November.
Ladies Night!! – “Cre8 4 Christmas” – Friday 28th November...please look out for further details.
Men Only - Things you wish you did when you were younger – Caving trip was postponed from October. Please contact Paul Little for revised date. Why not come and challenge yourself through adrenalin filled activities and discuss your views on the big questions of life and faith. For more info contact Paul on 75471 or Keith 75672.

Children and young people.
Boulder Gang (for P1-3 from 3.30-4.30pm) Rock Solid Crew (for P4-7 from 5pm-6pm). Next 6 week block starts Thursday 6th November in the No8 Club.
Stepping Stones for 2-4 year olds and their parents/carers from 2-3pm in the No8 Club next 6 week block begins Monday 10th November
Deeper for S1-S3 from 6pm-7.45 and S4+ from 7.30 – 9pm every Sunday at 3 Whitchester Lane. ‘Even Deeper’ 7.30pm – 9pm (S1+) for a more in depth discussion and teaching on Tues 4th and 18th November. Contact Ste Rainford for more info Tel 75013

Coffee Morning to raise funds for our work with children and young people on
Sat 29th November in the village Hall 10.30am – 12noon.

Deeper

Deeper has been the subject on everyones lips in the past couple of weeks as we are gaining teens and gaining leaders! a number of ideas has been brought to me how we can make deeper better. I have made a note about these ideas and will think and pray about these.


Deeper is still going really well in the past 3 weeks we have had 3 new teenagers coming also they have came back which is a good sign too!
On the 24th of Oct we are having the 2nd Deeper Event which we are having in the centre of Newcastleton, there we will have peddle carts, climbing wall and loads more

we are hoping to have an outreach event just for the girls and also for the boys this will hopefuly take place at the end of November.


I would like to thank Max who has helped alot at Deeper as he is leaving to go back to Australia on the 20th

Grafted Kids work....

So.....whats happening with Grafted Kids Work in October???....the last 6 week block of Boulder Gang, Rock Solid Crew finished just before the October Holidays. We asked the kids at Rock Solid Crew to let us know what they liked and didnt like and how we could change it to make it better....feedback was that the loved EVERYTHING and want it to last an hour and a half instead of a hour! So what did we think? We loved the new songs and dances..especially On The March! The Silent Seats and illustrations were great and the games worked really well...the messier the better! I LOVED the Bear Splat and also Face Painting Challenge! We used the "Chat and Catch" way of explaining prayer to the kids and were so encouraged by the way they are really open to hearing God and know that he wants to and will talk to them in all kinds of ways. So what didn't work?? Well....to be honest, things were pretty good, although the technology was tempramental and we still want T-SHIRTS! Anyone with any great gunge recipies...let us know! (Custard pie foam really stings...)

And what about the littley's?? Stepping Stones also finished their 6 week block just before the October Hols. Mary helped again (We LOVE YOU!) and we also had help from Max Rea, a Church Army Gap year student from Oz. (The kids loved the "giant man" hee hee) We had 3 new children and everyone who came during the last block came back at least once. On average we had 9 children each week with 15 attending regularly. The kids seem to love the crafts, and stories, especially the introduction of two puppets this block! We'd love to vary the selection of toys we use and are still experimenting with material.

October is time to reflect and seek Gods will for the way forward with the kids work in Newcastleton. So far we have dates in the diary to run another block of sessions beginning in November to lead us up to the Christmas Holidays. We also have another Cre84Christmas event planned for the 2-4year olds and their carers on the 15th December.

Please pray for wisdom for Julie and Ste in planning the next blocks of kids work...for great material...for wisdom in advertising the groups to the kids in the village...and for God to really move in this place and change lives! We are attending a training course in October to gain skills in working with parents..please pray this is fruitful and God can use this training to speak to us about how we can reach parents too.

Deeper

Deeper is going really well at the moment, Sunday just gone we had 12 teens there and could sense that God was there too! We knew this by the answers and questions the teens were sending back to us. I have just wrote down all the names of the teens who have been to Deeper and have heard the Good News and it was 32 ish..

We have started "Even Deeper" which is for people who want to go deeper with God it is quite different to Deeper as Even Deeper is more disscusion and indepth convostions, we have about 4-5 teens coming to this


Please pray for Stepping Stones, Boulder Gang, Rock Solid Crew, Deeper and Even Deeper.

Boulder Gang and Rock Solid Crew!!!!

We have again done another 6 week block, still working on the kidz klub stuff. The last block we did was on a Saturday and it was called Saturday Morning Madness but after low numbers because of other stuff going on in the village we moved it back to Thursdays. We are on the subject of David at the moment and we are now seeing more kids coming back. I know bribery is not a christian thing to do but if the kids bring a friend to BG/RSC then they will get loads of points! YEY!!!

Stepping Stones

We have started a new 6 week block of Stepping Stones and this block we are talking about the weather and thanking God for the Sun, the Cold, the wind and other stuff! we have about 10 or more 2-4 year olds coming every Monday. We are currently half way through Stepping Stones block.

Deeper

Deeper is a home group for teens, we have two groups, S1 - S3 (11-14) at 6 - 7:30, s4 upwards 7:15 - 9. The over lap is for lovely food!! HMMMM!!!

Deeper is going really well with about 16 or more teens hearing the word of God. In June we are going to talk about stories about Jesus.

Here's the line up:
1st June – Peter Denies Jesus
8th June – Jesus loses his temper
15th June – Jesus heals
22nd June – Jesus feeds the five thousand (John 6:1) and walks on water.

then Soul Surivior in Aug.....Yey!!


We are going to have a time of outreach, So we asked the teens what should we do?

this is what they came up with

Advertise more
Make the village bigger!!!!
Open Day
BBQ


We are going to put posters up in shops, and we are going to have a "Deeper Event" which we will hopefuly have a band(Christian and non christian music) , BBQ, Games and a little talk. This will hopefuly take place on the 15th of June!

March 08 Grafted/WOT images

Group work near Hawick

Forest near Hawick
Climbing course in Wales
250ft of climbing, rewarded with the view
Sea cliff climbing, Wales coast

Saturday Morning MADNESS!!!

Ok - here we go again...this time we're gonna try a Saturday! Beginning Sat. 10th May in the No8 from 10.30-11.30am we will be combining kids from Rock Solid Crew and Boulder Gang (and anyone else who wants to come along) for an event called - Saturday Morning Madness! Basically - it does what it says on the tin!

So what's in store? ... Lots of games, activities, worship, prizes, gunge? and discovering more about our Bible heroes.

Not for those of a nervous disposition.........

Bring your ear plugs and a sense of humour

Consent forms going out very soon!

Stepping Stones

Stepping Stones for pre-school children aged 2-4 and their carers took place each Monday in the No8 Club from 2-3pm over a 6 week block. We used lots of arts and crafts, toys and games, stories and songs and enjoyed learning all about God our creator, how he created absolutely everything and how he loves and created us!

Each week between 14-18 little ones came along and for some of them - this was the first time someone had introduced them to God, and it was a real joy to share Gods love with them. The kids really seemed to enjoy singing and dancing and praising God, and making lots of amazing things.

This time, most of the parents used the hour they had to have a cuppa and a chat with other parents. An Evaluation form was given out to each family and really positive comments were received about the group - all keen for it to continue :-)

SO...........Stepping stones restarts Monday 28th April 2-3pm in the No8. During the next block we hope to use the fantastic natural resources that God has given us - so... prepare to get muddy and wet! Wellies recommended. YAY!!

DATES ARE:- 28th April, 12th May, 19th May, 2nd June, 9th June, 16th June.

Leaders: - Julie Thomson and Ste Rainford.
Volunteers :- Mary Mitchell and Angela Newton - thanks again ladies!!!XXX

Boulder Gang and Rock Solid Crew

Boulder Gang for P1-3 and Rock Solid Crew for P4-7 took place each Thursday afternoon over a block of 6 weeks. We had an amazing time sharing Gods amazing love with the kids through the story of Gideon. It was overwhelming to see approximately 38 unchurched kids come along week after week, so enthusiastic to experience more of God. Some of the art work they spent time on at home to bring in and share was truly amazing!!! So what did we do... well, loads of games (the messier the better), fantastic worship, competitions, relevant, real and exciting teaching, prizes, gunge and a heck of a lot of noise!!!

A 6 week block seemed to work really well - keeping the slots fresh and exciting - and not asking too much committment in terms of time etc. However - at the end of the block, there were loads of little sad faces asking when it's happening again!

Can't get the kids to church eh??? !!!!!!

Leaders :- Julie Thomson and Ste Rainford.
Volunteer help (couldn't have done it without them!!) Angela Newton, Mary Mitchell and Karen Copeland - cheers ladies!! XX

Logan .....man of action

Kayaking on Whithaugh Park Lake

Canoe trip on the Liddle

Grafted weekend training for youth workers

Tree falling back up!!

Skiing this year

Open canoeing is the last refuge of the elderly overweight kayaker.

Open canoeing is the last refuge of the elderly overweight kayaker.
Some people hear the song in the quiet mist of a cold morning; others hear it in the
middle of a roaring rapids. Sometimes the excitement drowns out the song. The
thrills become all that matter as we seek one rapid after another. Sleeping, eating
and living outdoors become something we do between rapids. But for other people
the song is loudest in the evening when they are sifting in front of the tent, basking
in the camp fire's warmth. This is when I hear it loudest, after I have paddled and
portaged for many miles to some distant, hidden place.” Bill Mason
The Song of the Paddle is a well known book amongst open canoeists. It is written by
Bill Mason and is subtitled “An Illustrated Guide to Wilderness Camping”. So
although it is a book about open canoeing it is also about the exploring of wild places
in your canoe.
But it could equally be about exploring the wild places in your personality
In the UK our wild places are fewer and less wild than Bill had in Canada but even
here, when out in your open canoe you can get to feel more at one with nature and
escape from the ties of modern life. This is as true with a few snatched hours on the
local lake or loch as it is on a multi-day camping adventure.
We live in a world where rules and governance are more and more controlling
our every move. Open canoeists all over the UK escape this modern evil by jumping
into there canoe for the weekend. I have found that aside from Scotland Kayaking is
not such a good way to escape, because the modern short bouts are not for the long
adventurous journeys. It would seem like you are never far from a stressful access
agreement in a kayak today.
God made men to be wild and adventurous.
Ever since life began some men have ventured into the unknown. Today this is a
suppressed emotion for most people. Adventure is a trip to the supermarket or a game
of chance with the speed trap on the M6. For your average open canoeist adventure is
a usually only a short drive away. The coast, a Canal, a river a rapid or a lake.
Open Canoe offers real adventure and is the natural progression for the 40 plus man,
with a Kayaking back ground.
As we men progress towards our prime years of 40+ we demand more out of life and
more quality out of our STUFF. When you reach 40 technique is more valuable than
bravado. This applies to most of the pleasures in life including our paddle sport.
The sense for adventure is something that should never be suppressed in any man, at
any cost.
The canoe is a perfect channel to allow our adventurous side to roam free.
There is nothing wrong with Kayak; it is a great and wonderful sport. But Kayaks
seems to be caught in a super fast evolutionary race to become submarine creatures. If
you don’t get a wet head in the first minute of a Kayak trip you are left feeling like a
real outsider.
Open canoeists are far more social creatures, usually seen in large herds and
communal groups. They can be found on weekends migrating in numbers towards
new and fresh pastures. Often found in twos or threes inspecting a grade two rapid.
Sometimes they can be observed out of the water for longer periods around grade
three’s and fours. Graceful passage of the most technical waters is often observed if
you watch an area carefully. Some times whole herds can be observed on the same
rapid at once. Weekends in the spring sound the arrival of there young. These ride
effortlessly in the centre of the craft or in some cases make there own way in double
canoes. Carefully guided by the elders of the group from danger and trouble. The
sight is a reminder of what life should be like for all of us.
Open canoeing is the last refuge of the elderly overweight kayaker
and I would not have it any other way.
I rest my case.

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