Family Focus

2015

Inside

Welcome to this latest edition of the

Family Focus

Having been around churches for some time I have to say I have

yet to come across a church magazine that I found interesting,

whether that is just because I am biased and therefore assume

Church = Boring.

Well we don’t want this magazine to be added to that list.

We want to use the ‘Family focus’ as an opportunity for you:

To share with the broader family, to teach each other about

your family life and what is important to you, we want you to be

able to testify about how your faith is developing and growing

and how this is impacting on aspects of your life.

We would like the ‘family focus’ to be a way of encouraging each

other through the different ways that YOU do family life.

So in the future we want YOU to take over this magazine and

make it yours, filling it with ideas, topics for debates, letters of

information, humorous anecdotes, whatever!

We want it to be Interesting and Relevant.

So get in touch andrea.cozens@trinitygosforth.org.uk

We are hoping to start up a Facebook group for you to share your

comments and thoughts so look out for it, looking forward to

hearing from YOU x

High Street, Gosforth

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE3 4AG

Tel: 0191 285 6130

office@trinitygosforth.org.uk

www.trinitygosforth.org.uk

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‘As a busy mum with a newborn and a toddler, I was recently asked to think about how I will feel when I go back to

work. I am lucky to have a career that I enjoy and the ability to work part-time. However, as with most working mums, I am sure going back to work will be met with a mixture of emotions.’

‘The truth is that I'm not really thinking about it. I am enjoying every bit of my maternity leave. Not only is this a very

precious time for me and my newborn daughter, but it also gives me a second chance to spend quality time with my

little boy - who is full of mischief and makes me smile everyday.’

‘It's hard not to take this time for granted. So often I think about how special my children are to me and how lucky I

am. I was reminded of this very recently when my then 6 week old daughter was unexpectedly diagnosed with a

condition called hip dysplasia - a condition whereby her hip sockets were too shallow. Whilst initially taken aback by the diagnosis, trying to educate myself about the condition, and working out what clothes would and would not fit over her little harness, I was really grateful for the fact that this condition was picked up and treated at such an early

age. Now, over 6 weeks later, her brace is off and hips looking a lot better. At the time the thought of my 6 week old spending the same amount of her life in a harness was understandably upsetting, but it has reinforced to me how

quickly time passes and that we should enjoy every moment. This is why I am going to relax and enjoy this time because very soon I will be back at work and will be juggling family and working life once again.’

‘And how will I juggle everything? I just will. And I will try to balance everything as best I can, the way mums are used

to doing (whether they work or not) because we have to. I will enjoy every minute of the time I get to spend with my

children. For me, life is one big adventure. I feel very blessed to have my little travelling companions, and hopefully we'll have many wonderful journeys ahead.’ Sarah Webster: Wife, Mum, Lawyer, Brownie leader etc.

We want to provide a forum, where mums

and dads can share and hear about each

other’s parental experiences, where we can

provide information and support.

If you would like to contribute or even take

over the content of this page then as per usual

please contact the Family & Children’s

Worker.

andrea.cozens@trinitygosforth.org.uk

5 Facts on Hip Dysplasia

1. About 8 in 10 cases are female

2. It occurs in 1 in 1,000 cases

3. It is generally In the left hip

4. Most children who are diagnosed and

treated before the age of 6 months

have an excellent outcome.

5. A new born baby with HD will not be

in pain or discomfort and the doctor

will easily detect the condition when

carrying out routine tests after birth

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A number of years ago I attended a ‘How to Drug Proof your child’ facilitator’s course. When setting up

the course you had to make sure that you had several ice breakers. They suggested a ‘How well do you

know you child’ quiz sheet, in which you answered questions about your child and then gave it to your

children to mark. I did the quiz with my children and it caused much hilarity in the house, as I often got

the children mixed up.

However for some of those attending the facilitator’s course even that simple ice breaker had some serious

connotations and proved to be a bit of a wake-up call. No matter how well you think you know your

children ‘they do change,’ sometimes the changes are obvious and you can quietly note them, but some

changes are inside and personal and may take a little more communication for you to discover. There are

many wise and wonderful phrases and sayings that encourage, inform, guide, and teach us about the

importance of communication, I really like the following quote simply because there is so much truth in it.

“We cannot set aside an hour for discussion with our children and hope that it will be a time of deep encounter. The

special moment s of intimacy are more likely to happen while baking a cake together, or playing hide and seek, or just

sitting in the waiting room of the orthodontist.”

Communication is the key to all relationships, it helps understand little quirks that are unique to our

child and sometimes it’s not about deep and soul searching debates but something as simple as knowing

what their favourite colour is when buying a pair of socks for them. So how well do you know you child?

Below are a few random fun-level questions for you to answer and your child to mark. See how well you

do, then maybe you may want to swap and see how well your child knows you.

What is your child’s favourite time of day?

What are your child’s favourite movies? What are your child’s favourite family stories?

What is your child’s favourite hobby or pastime?

What are your child’s favourite colours?

What are your child’s favourite foods or meals?

Who would your child confide in first if there were a serious problem?

What your child considers to be his/her greatest weakness

What is your child putting most of his/her energy into right now?

What daily hassles irritate your child? Name three closest friends of your child’s? What your child considers to be his/her greatest strengths? Who does your child consider to be his/her biggest enemies? Who are your child’s heroes? What is your child’s favourite song, band or singer? What are your child’s favourite books? What are your child’s favourite television shows? What is your child’s favourite place? Who is the funniest person they know? Who would your child not want to sit beside in the classroom and why? What makes your child laugh? If your child could be a teacher what subject would they love to teach? If your child could be anyone in the world who would they be? What is their favourite word? The place they feel the safest? What makes your child feel sad? If they could be a character from a book who would they be?

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Everyone has an app these days. Websites are full of them, most TV shows have one, local and national businesses even the local window cleaner conducts its business through an iPhone app Today's modern smartphones all come with powerful web browsers, which means you can do pretty much anything you can do on a desktop computer in a phone's browser. Having recently sat and watched a great deal of very young children manoeuvre their way around apps like professional race car drivers I thought it would be good to hear of some apps that our young church children are using on a regular basis.

Hi

We have been looking at Bible based apps for children and their families. The ones we have been looking at are available

from the Apple store but I’m sure Android will have equivalents. They are all free, although some may charge for upgrades

or additions to the basic package.

Bible Coloring (sic) Book

A simple app which provides a series of cartoon style Bible scenes and a pack of virtual crayons. options are available for

finer or broad brush approaches. Provides an access/ talking point to discuss the story with children. Personally I found it

quite therapeutic myself too!

Bible Heroes- Daniel

Part of a series of ‘Bible Hero’ apps, with many other Biblical figures available. Options are available to read the story (with

American voice over), play simple games to find Daniel or close the lions’ mouths, colour in, or sing along with a simple (if

unfamiliar) song. The latter again has that ‘cheesy American’ but our kids seem to like that!

Noah’s Ark

A simple game aimed at younger children where you move Noah around to collect animals up for the ark. There are levels to

complete and move up. The graphics aren’t exactly cutting edge and it could get confusing collecting about 6 sheep for the

ark, but it’s quite fun to while away a few minutes with little ones.

Bible app for Kids

Our favourite. You can choose a story from Creation to Revelation and Bible verse references are included. As you read the

story (again with American voice over) you can tap features and characters on the screen to animate them and produce

noises, and there are clouds to tap with questions behind. Children can also collect jewels as they pass through stories and

levels.

There are loads more out there so the best thing is to hunt around and give them a try- there will be something for everyone

out there.

Happy Apping!

Steve and Lucy

Some of the Top Apps for under 13’s

Squigglefish 4+

Tynker Premium 9-11’s

Peppa Pig Happy Mrs Chicken under 5’s

Toco Boco Hair Salon 9-11’s

Lego Duplo Train under 5’s

Minion Rush

Number Monster under 5’s

Math Bingo 6-8’s

Mr Thornes times table terror

Virtuso piano 11+

The Role of Grandparents

Here at Trinity we place a big emphasis on the importance of

relationships.

One of the most fascinating relationships in family life is the one

between the grandparent and the grandchildren.

I recently read a Grandparents Weekly and it suggested that there are many roles that grandparents play in a family, below are a few maybe

you may think of other ways they play a role?

ANCESTOR:

The grandparent is the head of the family unit and therefore connection to the family’s history.

FRIEND:

As the grandparent is not responsible for the day-to-day care of the grandchild they can assume the role of friend treating the

grandchildren in a more relaxed and permissive manner than the way in which they treated their own children.

HERO:

The grandparent has often fought and lived through wars or extreme hardships or have life experience behind them that in time of need

they can step in and rescue the grandchild.

HISTORIAN:

This is an overlap of Ancestor in that the grandparent is a witness to the history of their time and allows the grandchild to see a bigger

picture than themselves.

MENTOR:

Grandparents provide an encouragement, nurturing and effective teaching during the years of growth in particular the teenage years

when children want to break away from parental direction.

SPIRITUAL GUIDE:

Again because the grandparent is not responsible for the daily well-being of the grandchild it frees them up to concentrate on teaching

the grandchild to value and achieve spiritual rewards such as love, tolerance, compassion, reverence, joy, peace, faith, and kindness. A

lot of this is done simply by setting the example for the grandchild to emulate.

We have a lovely lady in our church who is one of the valued volunteers of our Monday toddler group and not only fulfils the

above roles and more with her own family but with the toddler mums and children as well. She shares the following with us.

In 2013 I had the wonderful Joy and Blessing of becoming a first time Grandma, my granddaughter was born, and what a joy to see my own daughter holding her own baby. It was such a thrill for me, and this year I was blessed with a grandson. I love being a Grandma being involved in these precious little lives, I have even got the knitting needles out to make a hat and blanket. I am enjoying watching my granddaughter discover the world around her. I read an interesting article about the role Change from Mother to Grandmother, it said our role changes in the family team , we are not the coach anymore, we are the president of our children's fan club, our job is to cheer them on!!. Just this morning in my Bible reading 2 Timothy ch 1 v 5 Paul talks about Timothy's faith, taught to him by his Mother Eunice and his Grandmother Lois, this is the kind of grandmother I want to be, to pass on my faith to my grandchildren. Marjorie Maude.

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Family fun

Following on from a brilliant Quiz evening hosted by the ‘Elevate team’ here are a few bits and pieces for

all ages to have a go at. If you fancy taking on a quiz type page for the next Family focus

please email andrea.cozens@trinitygosforth.org.uk

Floating Eggs Eggs sink in normal water so what can you do to make them float?

Raw or Boiled Egg How can you tell?

Egg Bubbles Do egg shells really contain thousands of tiny holes?

Can you work out the following anagrams?

Tom Marvolo Riddle

O, Draconian devil! Roast Mules

How many words can you make from the following word?

Notwithstanding

Riddles

Q: What has a foot but no legs?

Q: Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it?

Q: What travels around the world but stays in one spot?

Can you name all the elements?

Teacher: What exactly is MATH?

Boy: Mental Abuse To Humans

Teacher: Whoever answers my next question, can

go home.

One boy throws his bag out the window.

Teacher: Who just threw that?

Boy: Me and I’m going home now.

A Sunday school teacher asked her children as

they

were on the way to church service,

"And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"

One bright little girl replied, "Because people are

sleeping."

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Family fun answer page

Floating eggs

What you'll need:

One egg

Water

Salt

A tall drinking glass Instructions:

1. Pour water into the glass until it is about half full. 2. Stir in lots of salt (about 6 tablespoons). 3. Carefully pour in plain water until the glass is nearly full (be careful to not disturb or mix the salty water with the plain water). 4. Gently lower the egg into the water and watch what happens

Raw or Boiled Egg

What you'll need:

Two eggs, one hard boiled and one raw. Make sure the hard boiled egg has been in the fridge long enough to be the same temperature as the raw egg.

Instructions: 1. Spin the eggs and watch what happens, one egg should spin while the other wobbles. 2. You can also lightly touch each of the eggs while they are spinning, one should stop quickly while the other keeps moving after you have

touched it.

What's happening? The raw egg's centre of gravity changes as the white and yolk move around inside the shell, causing the wobbling motion

Egg Bubbles What you'll need:

A clear glass or jar

Hot water (adult supervision is a good idea when using hot water)

An egg

A magnifying glass

Instructions:

1. Place the egg carefully into the glass or jar. 2. Carefully pour hot water into the glass or jar until it is nearly full. 3. Leave the glass or jar on a table or flat surface and watch the egg closely for a few minutes (the glass may become hot so be careful). 4. Use your magnifying glass to closely examine what is happening.

What's happening? After surrounding the egg with hot water you will notice tiny bubbles forming on the egg shell which eventually bubble their way to the surface. An egg contains a small air pocket at its larger end between the shell and egg white. When the air trapped inside this small pocket begins to heat up it expands and tries to find a way out of the shell, but how does it escape? They're too small to see under normal conditions but with the help of a magnifying glass you can see that egg shells contain thousands of small holes called pores (human skin has pores too). The pores allow air to pass through the shell, making it look like the egg is breathing as the air expands and is forced through the shell.

Anagrams;- Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort , O, Draconian devil! = Leonardo da Vinci , Roast Mules = Somersault

Riddles: what has a foot but no legs? A snail, Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it? Nothing

What travels around the world but stays in one spot? A stamp

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Here’s a different view: life without school. Our children are 7, 5 and 4 but they don’t go to school. We home educate. Sometimes, people do a double-take when I say that. “What?! They don’t go to school? Is that allowed?” They look at me with a mixture of horror and amazement, secretly wondering if I’m actually mad. (Quite probably, but that’s beside the point.)

Yes, it’s a legitimate option, and one embraced by a growing (and surprisingly large) number of families in Newcastle. Yes, we are visited annually by the friendly local Education Officer, and no, we don’t follow The Curriculum or do SATs.

“So what do you DO?!” I think people worry that spending all day with my children must drive me crazy. (A tiny bit, but I love them.) People worry that perhaps we are not learning enough. Or maybe we’re not socialising enough. Imagine, please, a life without the hideous morning rush. No uniform, no schoolbags, no homework. Once we have enjoyed our leisurely breakfast we… Live life. We play, we bake, we walk, we dance. We play musical instruments, read stories, make playdough. We visit museums and explore the city. We have adventures in the countryside. We go to the beach, meet up with friends young and old, write letters, explore ruined castles. We grow plants, ask questions, experiment, investigate, Google things, draw, paint, glue... The list is endless, of course, because the world is endlessly fascinating. And at the end of the day (which does not involve the dreaded school run) we’ve lived and loved and learned. That is more than enough.

Find Out More

Photos of our home-educating experiences can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pattissonfamily

Rachel Pattisson can be also be found helping people to make delicious homemade bread here:

http://www.homemadeloaves.co.uk/

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Katharine is UK Director of Care for the Family. She has

written several books including Rules of Engagement and Keeping Faith.

Katharine is a well-known speaker and broadcaster and regularly presents marriage and parenting events across the country. She is

married to Richard and they have four grown-up children.

Plus, there are no group sessions or cringe worthy audience participation to put you on the spot! Simply come along with your partner

and discover afresh what it takes to build a lasting marriage together.

It Takes Two Sunderland Bethany City Church, Tuesday 19th May 2015

Philip is one of the senior leaders of Woodlands, a family of churches in Bristol

with around 2,000 adult members. He is a regular conference and event

speaker and is part of the national speaking team for Care for the Family.

Philip is married to Kate and they have two teenage daughters. He launched Love

Running – an initiative to raise funds for local and international charities through

10k races across the UK.

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Junior Mission for All (JMA) was created so that children would not be excluded from

supporting and learning about the mission of the Church.

It is also about sharing the insights of God's people all over the world with children in our

churches

The JMA Promise is to:

Learn, pray and serve with the world-wide Church of Jesus Christ

What are the aims of JMA?

From the very beginning, children have been encouraged to learn about the work of God through the world, and to

make prayer a regular activity. In 1841 Mr Blake produced a children’s paper entitled ‘Juvenile Offerings’ where,

through prayers and articles, children could begin to learn of God’s work and become part of it. Education, prayer

and service were the threefold aims of the Association, and were later incorporated into the JMA promise. In 1991

this became ‘I promise to learn, pray and serve with the worldwide church of Jesus Christ’.

JMA operates in line with the Methodist Connexional year, starting each year in September and running until

August. Resources for each year are available from July of the previous year. Rainbow Magazine is despatched in

the Winter, Spring and Summer Terms.

Please encourage your children to get involved it is interesting and worthwhile project.

We want develop this at trinity and will start by asking children to bring cakes and toys

to sell on Sunday 7th June & 28th June in the yard outside the Croquet and Breamish

rooms.

Please bring some pennies to help raise funds.

For further information please speak to

Hilary Wood or

email Hilary wood hilary_wood@btinternet.com

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)

You may or may not be aware that there is a competition afoot!

A competition that involves the apples of the earth, (la pomme de terre)

Mrs Waugh who is Trinity’s answer to ‘Charlie Dimmick’ sent off to

gardeners world for some tatties of which she decided that there would

be a competition between the ladies of the allotment + 1 ( me)

Jane then sent off for another item from the tatty pack and was sent

some more tatties.

So what was she to do? Well apparently there is a fiendish rumour

going around that Men are better at growing potatoes than women,

how very rude.

However Jane being the gracious lady that she is, is willing to put this

outrageous theory to the test.

So we now have a list of ladies and gentlemen who have given a single

potato with small black bag for growing the potato in and a set of

instructions to follow.

In a few months’ time after a Sunday service the competitors will be

called to account.

The potatoes will be counted and then weighed

This will then lead to the Winner being revealed.

We look forward to you being there and sharing in this fun (very serious)

competition.

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Young Church News

Communion

“Communion is a re-enactment of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his arrest, and

eventual crucifixion. At the meal Jesus ate bread and wine and instructed his disciples to do the same in memory of him.”

Communion is a time when the church family can symbolically unite in the act of cleansing and consecration, renew a commitment to

follow and obey and most importantly remember what Christ did for us.

How wonderful would it be if All the church family could partake in this special service, adults, and children alike.

In the not too distant future the teaching team will be exploring how we can have a communion service that will be accessible for all the

family.

We will also be discussing the meaning of communion to the children in young church in preparation for the 17th July

so that when we

have a communion service downstairs in July upstairs in young church we will have a much simplified version, of which parents if they

want to will have the option to attend.

We are hoping in September that we will have a family Celebration service which will involve ‘family Communion’ we hope to keep you

well informed as the weeks go by but in the meantime feel free to come and share any thoughts that you have.

Prayer Buddies

Having recently looking up items that would be suitable for a Godparent to buy I came across the ‘Lil' Prayer Buddy’ an adorable

stuffed lamb that plays three Catholic prayers in a child's voice once you press its ear. Although not a catholic it did reinforce that

thinking that prayer to God should just be a natural everyday occurrence for a child. But it is also important to feel supported in our

journey of faith no matter how old we are it is a comforting thought to know that someone is there for us. So we have decided to start up

our own ‘Prayer Buddy’ system, not with a teddy but an actual person. Members of young church will be paired off with someone close

to their own age that they could pray and be prayed for, support and be supported by. Over the next few weeks your child will be given

a card with ‘Prayer Buddy’ instructions and details of who their Buddy will be. We do hope that this is something that you will actively

support and encourage your child with, but if you have any questions or concerns then please speak to a member of the young church

team.

Messy Church coming soon……….

Messy Church is a form of church for children and adults that involve creativity, celebration and hospitality.

It's primarily for people who don't already belong to another form of church.

It meets at a time (and sometimes in a place) that suits people who don't already belong to church.

It typically includes a welcome, a long creative time to explore the biblical theme through getting messy; a short

celebration time involving story, prayer, song, games and similar; and a sit-down meal together at tables. All

elements are for, and should include, people of all ages, adults and children.

It's all-age.

It's fun.

It's a church for people at all stages of their faith journey and of any age - a congregation that is as valuable and

worthy of investment as any of your other congregations.

It models and promotes good ways of growing as a family: a nuclear family, an extended family, and a global and

local church family.

Its aim is to introduce Jesus, to give an opportunity to encounter him and to grow closer to him.

Messy Church is resourced, supported and enabled by BRF, The Bible Reading Fellowship.

Messy Church is an all-age fresh expression of church that offers counter-cultural transformation of family life

through families coming together to be, to make, to eat and to celebrate God.

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Ingredients

pack of 8 good-quality sausages

500g pack minced beef

4 garlic cloves, crushed

small bunch fresh parsley, finely

chopped

3 tbsp dried breadcrumbs

1 egg, lightly beaten

plain flour for rolling

4 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil

2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

pinch sugar

500g spaghetti

grated parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Cut through the skin of each sausage and pull them off. Put the sausage meat into a large bowl with the mince. Add half the garlic, half the parsley, the breadcrumbs and egg, and mix well. Season generously with pepper and a little salt, and mix again.

2. Sprinkle a chopping board with flour. Scoop out level dessertspoons of the mix, dip them in the flour and roll them into balls. Heat 3 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan or wok, then fry the meatballs in batches, browning them on all sides. Set aside on a plate. When you’ve fried all the meatballs, pour away any excess fat. Rinse and dry the pan.

3. Pour the remaining oil into the pan, heat for 1 min then add the remaining garlic and fry for a few seconds. Tip in the tomatoes and break them down with a fork or wooden spoon. Cook over a moderately high heat for 5 mins until jammy. Season with salt, pepper and a little sugar.

4. Tip in the meatballs and turn them over in the sauce, ensuring they’re all covered. Cover the pan and cook the meatballs on a low heat for about 30 mins, spoon over the sauce occasionally and add a little water if it’s becoming too dry. 15 mins before the end of the cooking time, cook the spaghetti. To serve, stir most of the remaining parsley into the sauce then spoon the meatballs and sauce over the spaghetti. Scatter with last of the parsley and serve Parmesan on the side.

Do you have a tried and tested favourite family

recipe you would like to share with us?

Email andrea.cozens@trinitygosforth.org.uk

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Prayer is so important for all of us, it’s a way of communicating with God, it’s a discipline that helps us give every aspect of our life over

to God and it helps to realise that God is just as interested in the mundane parts of day as well as the deep and spiritual.

Prayer deepens our relationship with God. No Child is too young to pray one way of teaching a child to naturally learn some of the

different ways that we can pray i.e. intercession, thanksgiving is by using the Five Fingered Prayer, why not make this part of your bed

time routine, for very young children it can be done by interspersing prayers within the ‘Tommy Thumb’ song.

‘five fingered prayer’.

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Our biggest focus at Trinity is relationship! For that reason, we have a

network of small groups called LifeGroups that meet midweek every couple of

weeks to pray, look at the Bible and share how things are going.

We have a new group that meets on a Thursday for mums with babies as well

as other evening groups to meet needs of both mums and dads.

If we can help to link you up with a group, get in touch with us in the usual

way and we will do what we can to find a group at the right time for you!