Children and Youth

ABC and JAMS are our toddler groups that meet at St John’s (Tuesday mornings from 9 a.m., in term time) and St Peter’s (Wednesday mornings from 9.15 a.m., in term time) for all sorts of fun and games for those of pre-school age. New people always welcome!

Walk into St Peter’s and you’ll see our Children’s Area at the back of church. This is available for parents and their children during services, and whenever the church is unlocked (usually 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day). The Children’s Area features toys and games for younger children, as well as a selection of stories to read and resources for older children too. Please make use of this facility, whether during a service, or if you are just passing by and want to pop in to church to keep the children entertained.

We believe that children should be engaged in worship, and so every Sunday at 10.30am we host Kids Church. Through games, craft and story, children have the opportunity to explore faith and learn together, in a fun and engaging way. We also love to have children sing in our children’s choirs, of which we have three which meet every week in our two churches: the Choristers of St Peter’s meet on a Wednesday after school at St Peter’s, the Choristers of St John’s meet on a Thursday after school at St John’s, and our teenagers meet on a Friday after school again at St Peter’s. We also have a large serving team, which draws on adults and children of like, who serve at all our masses, and at Evensong each Sunday, with a Servers’ Guild meeting once a month to hone our serving skills. It is always a delight to see both our choirs and serving team grow, so if your child enjoys singing or is interested in helping at the altar, please speak to Fr Christopher.

Special services and events, particularly suitable for children and families, are held throughout the course of the year. These include holiday clubs, social events such as bowling trips, family workshops (for example in Advent and on Good Friday) and family fun days. Many of these events are completely FREE or we just ask for a small contribution to help cover costs. Keep a look out online or on our notice boards, or fill in one of our ‘Keep in Touch’ cards for more information.

Peterites is our junior youth group for children from Year 2 onwards, with separate activities for children aged 10+. It is held on Friday evenings in term time, from 6 p.m., at St Peter’s. The group gets up to a variety of fun activities, including games, crafts, baking, and sports, as well as social evenings such as film nights and trips to the local park. Meanwhile our teenage youth group, Rock Solid, meets on a Sunday evening in term time, from 6 p.m., at St Peter’s. Each session usually begins with games, and includes an element of study too, with the occasional party or trip out. Throughout the year there are also opportunities for children to take part in either the children’s or youth pilgrimages to Walsingham.

Children who are baptized are encouraged to receive Holy Communion and confirmation when they are old enough. For more information on First Communion (available from about age 7) and Confirmation (from about age ten), please speak to the Vicar, Fr Christopher.

Many of the children who are involved in or churches come from our two excellent church schools, which receive assemblies each week from our clergy or Children and Families Worker. For more information on the schools, please see the school websites:

• St Peter and Clifton CE (VC) Primary School
• Horbury Bridge Academy