A Children’s and Youth Minister from our diocese was invited to a thank you event at Lambeth Palace during RECOGNISE week (6-12 July) – a chance to recognise everyone involved in ministry with children, young people and their families (CYPF).
Christine Clover, Children and Young People’s Minister at Lympne St Stephen with West Hythe parish, attended the event having supported a thriving ministry in her church setting, as well as leading collective worship at local primary schools and making strong connections with local nurseries.
Christine’s work included creating an area in the churchyard where the nursery children can garden, in addition to setting up a special themed play area in the church.
Members of the church have also attended training by in the art of storytelling, to make their worship even more interactive.
Talking about being recognised for this work, Christine said: “I was thrilled to be invited to Lambeth Palace as part of Recognise Week. Meeting with other Children and Youth workers was inspirational.
“Unfortunately, a lot of children’s work can go unnoticed by the wider church or may be considered of lesser importance, yet there are many people who dedicate their lives to helping children learn about God!
“We have an amazing team of volunteers who help us with all this! Superheroes, one and all!”
Christine is just one of the many people across our diocese ministering with children and young people.
Lead Officer for Children and Youth Ministry in the Diocese of Canterbury, Jen Tobin, said: “I cannot express enough how deeply appreciated all our children’s and youth ministers are across our diocese. Whether they are employed or faithful volunteers, they are the ministers who can often be overlooked or their roles misunderstood, but they are the backbone of, not only our churches Children and Young People (CYP) ministry, but often our community outreach as well.
“Christine is a great example of this and is an absolute blessing to her community. Her dedication to Lympne and Saltwood is amazing and she has built up an incredible ministry through Bubble Church to name but one part of her service.”
To find out more about how you can get involved with children and youth ministry in our diocese, you can visit our webpage and .