Children and Young People
This is a page especially for our young friends at St Michael's!
We welcome children as full members of our Church, and there are many opportunities for children and young people to be involved in the life of the Church. See the links at the bottom of the page for more info.
Grown ups: The YouTube/Vimeo links will always be carefully checked, with E-safety in mind, and are designed to be a shared experience as a family, not for children on their own. You might wish to check out the videos before your children view them.
Ascension Day
The word "ascension" means "going up". According to the story told in the Bible, Jesus ascended (went up) to heaven. This was seen by his followers ('apostles' or 'disciples'). The feast day is celebrated forty days after his resurrection. The story tells that Jesus' body went to heaven, and that in heaven he sits at the right-hand side of God the Father.
Ascension Day is officially celebrated on a Thursday. However, not all countries hold the feast on this day. All Christians celebrate this feast, much like Easter and Pentecost. It is a very important feast in the calendar of the Christian Church. In some countries the day is a public holiday.
Acts 1. 4-11 (International Children’s Bible)
Once when Jesus was eating with his disciples, he told them not to leave Jerusalem. He said, “The Father has made you a promise which I told you about before. Wait here to receive this promise. John baptized people with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The disciples were all together. They asked Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to give the kingdom back to Israel?”
Jesus said to them, “The Father is the only One who has the authority to decide dates and times. These things are not for you to know. But the Holy Spirit will come to you. Then you will receive power. You will be my witnesses—in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.”
After he said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up. A cloud hid him from their sight. As he was going, they were looking into the sky. Suddenly, two men wearing white clothes stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky? You saw Jesus taken away from you into heaven. He will come back in the same way you saw him go.”
Can you find the stained glass window in church which shows Jesus ascending into heaven?
Easter
In the week leading up to Easter, Christians think about those last important few days before Jesus died on the cross. It starts with a special service on Maundy Thursday. Then the church is open all day on Good Friday and 10am-1pm Easter Eve and there's special 'Young Person's space' with artwork, poetry, prayer corner, our own special display and more.
Finally there is a family service at 10am on Easter Day when we'll decorate our special display and turn it into a beautiful Easter Garden to remind us that Jesus is risen and gives US new life. After the service we have an Easter Egg hunt in the churchyard, with little Easter Eggs to take away!
Why not try these activities over the Easter break?
Make an Easter Card
Create a Colourful Poster like the one with the cross and the heart
Try this Wordsearch
Who is Saint Michael?
He's an Archangel (one of the most important of God's angels) and is mentioned a few times in the Bible - why not see if you can find him:
Daniel, Chapter 10 and 12
Jude, Chapter 1
The most famous story is mentioned right at the end of the Bible:
Revelation, Chapter 12, verses 7–9
"Then there was a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough. He and his angels lost their place in heaven. He was thrown down out of heaven. (The giant dragon is that old snake called the devil or Satan. He leads the whole world the wrong way.) The dragon with his angels was thrown down to the earth." International Children's Bible
Click on this picture of St Michael to print and colour it in ⇒
You can find pictures of St Michael in a few places in our church too: he's one of the four archangels in the West Window and there's a banner of him too.
We celebrate St Michael's special day on 29th September, or the Sunday nearest to it.
You might want to think of St Michael whenever you feel lonely, scared, or tempted.
Tiny Tots is here! Wednesdays at 10:45 for 11:15am
Did you come to Tiny Tots when you were really small? Well it's now here in a new and exciting way so if you have little sisters or brothers, why not ask your grownups if they'd like to come along! Grown-ups, please note that we gather in the Windhill Churches Centre, then head over to the Lady Chapel for worship. Come along to the Charnley Hall (main hall downstairs) for refreshments and play then we'll go to the church. Bring your buggies over if little ones are asleep!
Come along on Sundays at 10am and share A Godly Play
WE'RE HERE EVERY WEEK WITH SOME SPECIAL TIME JUST FOR YOU IN THE SUNDAY SERVICE !! We invite YOU, with your grownups, to come into the Lady Chapel during the sermon and prayers, and share in A Godly Play (a short story, with things to wonder about together and some fun activities afterwards). We've also got a session for older children on the second and fourth Sunday of the month.
Ask for our 'Look' activity sheets!
There's a weekly Bible story, some fun puzzles and a short prayer to say with your grown-ups. Pick up yours at our Sunday Service (or sometime in the week if you can't make it to Church).
© Redemptorist Publications
Here's a taster of A Godly Play
You might like to watch A Godly Story. There's lots of fab videos of Bible stories, made by people from St Albans Diocese (that's the group of churches around us that St Michael's Church is a part of). It's got questions at the end that you can wonder about and talk about together with your grown-ups afterwards. Find the video on YouTube
HERE!
Crazy Pandas
Crazy Pandas Worship Song
Crazy Pandas feature at the fantastic Christian Festival,
Spring Harvest. Have a listen to their excellent song and bonkers video 'Oh Wow! (Awesome God)' right here ⇒
Crazy Pandas TV Series
Ask your grown-ups if you can watch this fun-filled 11 part series especially for kids, made with the brilliant
Cheeky Pandas!
Click here for the series on their YouTube Channel.
Can you beat this quiz?
You'll need to have a look around the churchyard and on some other pages on this website for your answers! Click on the Quick Quiz to pull up a full-size version to print.
Here are the answers ... no peeking!
Have a look at this Stop Motion Filming!
Our Youth Group created this bit of silliness back in 2013 and it's still fun to watch. Click on the pic below to find the 'Youth Group Animation' video on our media page ⇒
St Michael's School
There's lots of information about our wonderful church school of St Michael's on our
St Michael's School page (including a link to the school website) but that's mostly a way for us to tell your grown-ups about things.
Here's something that might appeal to you guys and your families ...
Staff and pupils have created some fantastic worship videos which you might like to watch and share together ⇒
Thirst Youth Cafe
Thirst Youth Café is a safe space, run by Bishops Stortford Youth Project for young people to come, eat, relax, play and enjoy each other’s company whilst also being a place where they can be creative, receive support and advice from experienced youth workers and positive role models. Their doors are always open to anyone aged 11- 18.
Sorry NO parents or Grown ups allowed – unless you work or volunteer for us!
FREE hot food at Thirst Youth Café for secondary school children (11-18's), Wednesdays from 3.30pm (and Thursdays from January 2023) This is part of the “Warm Spaces” initiative. Food available whilst stocks last. Menu changes weekly.
Holiday Bible Week
Holiday Bible Week is a brilliant event put together by members of churches all over Bishop's Stortford, Thorley and the nearby villages. It takes place every August (and has done for more than THIRTY YEARS!) in big tents in the grounds of a local school. There's a central group with members from these churches that meet regularly to plan and organise everything that is needed for each years event.
Save the date for this year! Monday 5th - Friday 9th August 2024
500+ children take part in a whole heap of activities - crafts, silly games, singing, prayers) all centred around Jesus Christ and the Bible. Find out more and sign up by clicking on the link below.
Click on these links below to find out about more ways you can be involved: