What we do

Church Mice

Church Mice is a baby and toddler group which operates within a gentle and caring Christian environment. It provides a great opportunity for mums in the area to relax together every couple of weeks. Church mice is a sign of our commitment to engage with the very young of our community.

• First there are some great songs with actions, that the children love to follow.
• Then we have a simplified short story from the bible that will appeal to young children, eg. Moses in his basket or a story of how God made the rain. 
• From this we go into our lively and extremely popular snack time! Raisins, fresh fruit and a drink and a biccie for the little ones. Mums have a cuppa, a chat and a sneaky biscuit too. 
• We’ll then do a short craft activity that’s loosely related to our bible story. We often end up sticking, glueing or colouring and always have something to take home. 
• We wrap up with a final goodbye song and a little prayer. 

We meet for an hour, but in this short time we get busy! 

Children's Corner

We have a children’s corner at 10.40 services in Chrishall church, Chrishall village hall, Elmdon, Great Chishill and Heydon, each with a designated play area and colouring sheets relevant to the service theme.  There is always lots to keep little ones happy and busy. With the children cared for, their parents are welcome to either stay with them or to rejoin the service in the seats.

At family communion services in other churches the children receive backpacks to take to their seats, with a toy, books and colouring sheets.  

Sunday Club

Sunday Club is our name for our regular school age children's teaching groups.   These are held at 3 of the 10.40 services each month. We have two groups, one for primary aged children and one for secondary aged children

We use bible based teaching materials, which are regularly reviewed to ensure they suit our current children. The lessons suit the ages, with more "fun" activities for the youngest progressing to discussion sessions for the oldest.
Our leaders and helpers are members of the congregation who volunteer to share their understanding of God's love with the children. The groups are covered by the parish Child Protection policy and all leaders and helpers are DBS checked.

The Chrishall @ 10 service at Chrishall church is a very child friendly service.  We start at 10am with craft for the children whilst we share fellowship over breakfast pastries.  At 10.40am we hold a short informal service for all age groups.

Youth Fellowship

Youth Fellowship is a group for year 7 children upwards.  We meet one Sunday afternoon each month from 5.00-6.30 pm in the United Reformed Church schoolroom in Great Chishill. The session is led by our Children's and Youth worker.  We share faith, fellowship and food, having fun along the way.

One Way Club

In the Autumn and Spring terms, the Sunday club team run a lunchtime club in Chrishall Primary School. In the past this has covered key elements of the Christmas and Easter bible stories, and also looked at the Christian significance of certain decorations on the Christmas tree. Each session comprises craft, bible teaching and prayer, and is enthusiastically attended by 25-30 children. There is no charge for the club, with craft materials being funded from the Parish youth fund.

Bible Study Groups

Firm Foundations: If you like chocolate and laughter with your bible study, then this group is for you! The Firm Foundations bible study group meets fortnightly in term time on Thursday evenings at 8.15 pm for coffee and refreshments, with the bible study starting at 8.30 pm. We aim to be a safe place to discuss questions large and small, and to encourage each other as we learn to apply the bible to our lives.Our areas for study vary, sometimes we study a specific book of the bible, sometimes a theme, for example prayer or the Holy Spirit, and sometimes dipping into the bigger books such as Psalms and Proverbs. Our current schedule will be advertised in the church bulletin. Visitors are welcome to come along to any or all sessions!

The Barnabas Group: meets weekly on a Wednesday, 10.30am, in Duddenhoe End. The sessions start with tea and coffee and reflect on verses from the bible and seek God's Will in prayer.

Great Chishill Bible Study: meets fortnightly on a Wednesday at 1.15pm in Great Chishill. Bible study and refreshment.

The Village Web

The Web is our monthly parish publication. The magazine is funded by advertisers and locally printed; delivery, to every household in the parish, is managed by a team of volunteers. We are very pleased to be able to carry some high quality photographs in the Web and on this Website, supplied by our local professional photographer, Gordon Brown.

We would warmly welcome anyone who is interested in contributing to The Village Web

Copies are also posted to those who have moved away, but would like to stay in touch with our community; there are always copies available in each of our 8 church buildings and church office.

Whilst the primary objective is carry details of services in our churches, the Web carries many features and articles of general interest.

Baptismal Family Lunch

Once a month those families who have had children baptised or are planning to do so, come together for lunch.  This is an informal gathering, where parents and children have an opportunity to meet, chat and have a bite to eat. At some point during the ‘get together’, there’s a short period of about 15 minutes when parents can pause for spiritual thought about something related to the christian faith.
Sometimes parents share their baptismal experience and faith journey.