illuminate Coordinator Barrie gives us an update on what the illuminateStroud team have been up to this quarter.
Just because we are apart doesn’t mean we can’t do things together. This was true for our activities at Engine Room throughout Advent. We sent out activity packs to all the young people we are meeting on zoom each week. Everyone got involved, both doing activities with their families at home and during our Sunday evening sessions. From sharing baby photos to making thankful hearts and tissue paper stained glass windows, we made our way through the Christmas Story in creative and thought-provoking ways.
We also used the 12 days of Christmas as a platform for 12 Blessings – challenging ourselves to do something each day for others over the festive period.
The year may have started with the disappointing news that schools were completely shutting again, limiting our ability to interact with school communities and inspire Christian young people within them.
But we are continuing to meet at Engine Room on zoom with our small community of committed young people every Sunday evening online, with a mixture of games, chat, prayer and bible study.
At the moment we are sharing those Christians, past and present, who are inspirations to us. Each member of the group is exploring who has shaped their life and together we are learning from each other’s experiences. We are also exploring the book of Galatians in the Bible.
We’re reflecting those topics on our social media channels – sharing influential stories and bringing the message of The Bible to a much wider and diverse audience of young people.
And we’re spending time planning what might be as lockdown eases – including new ideas for prayer experiences in school, and discussing with church leaders in other parts of the district how illuminate might work in their communities.
illuminate Update 2021