Parenting

two women hands up standing beside body of water

Thanksgiving Resources 2023

This year in the lead up to Thanksgiving Sunday on 12th November, we have put together a few Thanksgiving Resources that families and households can use in times of fellowship and play to practice thankfulness! Check out these ideas or create your own to foster attitudes of gratitude at home! Bring along to our service on the 12th anything you’ve collected or any stories you’d like to share of how God has used these ideas or your own to help…

St John’s Kids & Families, 7 October 2022

 Welcome to Term 4! I hope everyone enjoyed some quality downtime over the semester break.   St John’s Kids resumes at the 10am service this week … Our curriculum this term will cover the book of 1 Samuel, which will link with, but not strictly follow, the preaching series. Our 3yo-Kinder program will remain in the rooms off the Hall. Any child who has turned 3 is welcome to join this group. Please note: We need a few more assistants…

St John’s Kids & Families, 22 July 2022

Winter has set in & Term 3 is underway! I hope everyone enjoyed some quality downtime over the semester break.   Coming up …   Parenting Toolbox – Primary Years This is a six-week course designed to inspire and equip parents and carers of children aged approx. 5-12yrs, led by a trained facilitator, in a relaxed small group setting. Light supper included! When:   Monday evenings, starting 1 August, 7:30-9:30pm Where:  St John’s, 61 Main St. Diamond Creek Cost:      $90 to…

St John’s Kids & Families, 27 May 2022

Going Bananas: Anchors Aweigh! – Wed 29 June – Fri 1 July Registrations for our Holiday Program for Primary School kids opens this coming Monday – 30 May. We have been known to book out very quickly, so get in quickly to avoid disappointment and encourage family and friends to do the same. If you would like to join our team and serve the families of our community through this fun outreach event, it’s not too late. Register your interest…

St John’s Kids & Families, 13 May 2022

Don’t forget, the Church Picnic is this week – Sunday 15 May, from 11:30am. This is a chance for people across all our in-person and digital services to connect with each other socially. ALL WELCOME! Anthony Beale Reserve Playground, 277 St Helena Rd. BYO lunch (there are BBQ facilities available). There are also great facilities for kids, so bring your cricket bats, basketballs, scooters etc. Hope to see you there.   Dinner & Games Event for St John’s Kids in…

St John’s Kids & Families, 29 April 2022

Welcome to Term 2! The St John’s Kids in-person program resumes this week at our 10am service.   Life Groups are an important part of the life of our church. They are small groups that meet during the week to delve into God’s word, pray together, build relationships, and support each other pastorally. It can be difficult for parents of young children to regularly attend an evening group together. One of the options available is an alternating men/women’s group, so…

St John’s Kids & Families – Easter

More information about our in-person and livestreamed Easter Services can be found here. St John’s Kids in-person program is in recess during the holidays. We hope our leaders enjoy a much-deserved break! At our in-person services over Easter, we will have some activities available, to keep young hands busy while engaging with the service. If you’re unable to join us in person, or prefer to connect online, you might like to use some of the same activities at home …  Craft Eggs are…

St John’s Kids & Families, 1 April 2022

  St John’s Kids Last weekend, we were blessed with amazing weather for a special event for our Grade 4/5/6s, who enjoyed a bush scavenger hunt, a discussion about trust, good food and friendships. Cooking damper and marshmallows was an absolute hit! This Sunday is the last week of the St John’s Kids program, at our in-person 10am service, for Term 1. We hope our leaders enjoy a much-deserved break over the holidays.   Family Discipleship The following Sunday marks…

St John’s Kids & Families, 13 March 2022

Lent The season of Lent began on Wednesday 2 March. This is a time of reflection and preparation in the lead up to Easter. If you missed them, refer to the last two posts for ways your family might engage with each other and draw closer to Jesus during this period: 25 Feb / 6 Mar. We can all benefit from each other’s experiences. If you have a particular way that you like to prepare for Easter, share with others…

St John’s Kids & Families, 6 March 2022

Lent The season of Lent began on Wednesday. This is a time of reflection and preparation in the lead up to Easter. From the perspective of anyone who does not know the whole story of Jesus, particularly children, it may seem like we have only just celebrated the birth of the baby Jesus, and next thing you know, the baby is grown into an adult and is being killed! So, this period is a special opportunity to spend time together…

St John’s Kids & Families, 25 February 2022

St John’s Kids Registration Forms If you haven’t already done so this year, please complete our St John’s Kids Registration form for your child/ren. Keeping details up to date, helps our team communicate well and keep kids safe. If your child/ren don’t attend our in-person program at the 10am service, please still fill out the form so that we have your details for special events that we run through the year.   Bibles for Bubs If you had a baby…

St John’s Kids & Families, 18 February 2022

St John’s Kids Registration Forms If you haven’t already done so this year, please complete our St John’s Kids Registration form for your child/ren. Keeping details up to date, helps our team communicate well and keep kids safe. If your child/ren don’t attend our in-person program at the 10am service, please still fill out the form so that we have your details for special events that we run through the year.   Bibles for Bubs If you had a baby…

St John’s Kids & Families, 11 February 2022

St John’s Kids Registration Forms If you haven’t already done so this year, please complete our St John’s Kids Registration form for your child/ren. Keeping details up to date, helps our team communicate well and keep kids safe. If your child/ren don’t attend our in-person program at the 10am service, please still fill out the form so that we have your details for special events that we run through the year.   Family Discipleship Sit down as a family and…

St John’s Kids & Families, 4 February 2022

St John’s Kids In-person activities resumed during our 10am service last week – we played some games and enjoyed reconnecting with each other after the summer holidays. Our kids’ teaching program will kick into gear this week, Sunday 6 February, as we follow the new sermon series Sent Out By Jesus and explore the importance of sharing our faith with others through our words, our actions, and our prayers.   To ensure our team can keep records up to date,…

St John’s Kids & Families, 28 January 2022

Launch Services Join us this Sunday at one, or more, of our services: 8am, 9am online, 10am, 6pm as we LAUNCH into a new term and celebrate some of our ministries restarting for the new year.   St John’s Kids In-person activities will resume during the 10am service this week! We’ll be playing some games and reconnecting with each other after the summer holidays. Our kids’ teaching program will kick into gear the following week, when we start a new…

St John’s Kids & Families, 21 January 2022

Happy New Year everyone! I’m back from a bit of a break away from the office and looking forward to reconnecting with you all in the coming weeks.   Who has made some new year’s resolutions? The most common resolutions made in our society relate to exercise, diet, weight loss, and saving money. While there’s nothing wrong with reassessing these things, first and foremost it should be our spiritual health, our relationship with God, that we aspire to improve. My…

St John’s Kids & Families, Christmas 2021

  Merry Christmas everyone! It’s been another year of upheaval and I think we are all weary of lockdowns and keeping up with changing regulations. As a result, some are splashing out and celebrating being able to be together in big and bold ways, while other feel the need to keep things simple and quiet. However you celebrate, I pray that you are able to reflect on all that God has done for us this year, through the challenges and…

St John’s Kids & Families, 19 December 2021

Upcoming Services & Events Each of our Christmas services will be held at St John’s and livestreamed, so you can attend in person or invite friends over and celebrate from home. And the recent changes in government regulations mean that we can welcome EVERYONE, regardless of vaccination status, to our in-person services. You can find more details for our Christmas services, here. Sunday 19 December – Community Carols Arrive from 6:30pm, for a 7:00pm start. BYO picnic dinner. Note, this…

St John’s Kids & Families, 12 December 2021

Services – Sunday 12 December 8am – traditional Anglican Prayer Book service, celebrating communion 10am – blend of traditional & contemporary worship, incl. kids’ program 5pm – relaxed service with a focus on youth & young adults Online Service – Premiering at 10am & 5pm, but then available to watch at any time Note, this is the last week for our St John’s Kids program for the year. Next week, our only service is the Diamond Creek Community Carols. You can find more details…

St John’s Kids & Families, 05 December 2021

Services – Sunday 5 December 8am – traditional Anglican Prayer Book service, celebrating communion 10am – blend of traditional & contemporary worship, incl. kids’ program 5pm – relaxed service with a focus on youth & young adults Online Service – Premiering at 10am & 5pm, but then available to watch at any time You can find details of all our upcoming Christmas in-person & online services here.   Today is the second Sunday of Advent – the season in the lead up to Christmas,…

St John’s Kids & Families, 28 November 2021

Upcoming Event … Grade 6 & Year 7 Dinner … followed by Games Night! Friday 10 December 6:00-7:00pm dinner for Grade 6 & Year 7 only. This is an opportunity for Grade 6s to meet some of the youth leaders, make some new friends, and chat about Life Groups and events open to them next year. I’ll be there too, as a familiar face 😀 7:00-9:30pm Years 8-12 youth will join them for an evening of classic youth games involving…

St John’s Kids & Families, 21 November 2021

Services – Sunday 21 November We have a guest speaker today from one of our mission partners – Anglican Overseas Aid. Join us for one of our services: 8am – traditional Anglican Prayer Book service, celebrating communion 10am – blend of traditional & contemporary worship, incl. kids’ program 5pm – relaxed service with a focus on youth & young adults Online Service – Premiering at 10am & 5pm, but then available to watch at any time Due to current restrictions,…

St John’s Kids & Families, 14 November 2021

Services, Sunday 14 November Join us for one of our four services today, as we celebrate St John’s 154th Birthday with Thanksgiving for all that God has done for us in the past year: 8am – traditional Anglican Prayer Book service, celebrating communion 10am – blend of traditional & contemporary worship, incl. kids’ program 5pm – relaxed service with a focus on youth and young adults Online Service – Premiering at 10am & 5pm, but then available to watch at…

St John’s Kids & Families, 07 November 2021

Services, Sunday 7 November Yay! Lockdown 6.0 has lifted (I think that’s the number we’re up to!?!) and we are resuming our in-person services. From this week we have four services available: 8:00am – traditional Anglican Prayer Book service, celebrating communion. 10:00am – a blend of traditional and contemporary worship, includes a kids’ program. 5:00pm – relaxed service with a focus on youth and young adults. Online Service – Premiering at 10am & 5pm, but then available to watch at any time. In line…

St John’s Kids & Families, 31 October 2021

St John’s Kids Online Our kids’ program is focussing on Genesis 12-50 this term, to learn more about some of the people we often find referenced in the New Testament, e.g. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, and how their stories point towards Jesus and help us learn more about God’s plans, promises and blessings. How are you going with your task to read Genesis 12-50 (or age-appropriate story adaptations) as a family? This week, we are looking at the birth…