CURBS Autumn Newsletter

CURBS Newsletter

View this email in your browser

Well the summer seems to have flown by, and here we are, deep into Autumn and rapidly approaching winter. As the nights draw in, we invite you to grab yourself a cuppa and read on to catch up on all the Curbs news from the past few months, including trips to the House of Lords and The Netherlands, our Summer School, a new Hub and a new resource!

Lego Day

During September the Curbs team met for their trustees meeting, and decided to do something... a little different.

Facilitated by the amazing Ben Mizen (@ideasalchemist), we used Lego Serious Play to explore who we are and where we think we are going.
Using the Lego to create metaphors, we built models which helped us to think differently about our identity. Some of the things we learned:
Curbs is FUN
We are full of valuable treasure
We are passionate about nurturing and doing it creatively
What we do is all about relationships
We're lean and agile
We are currently in a place of flux, trying to define where and what next!

It was an invaluable opportunity for openness and honesty, and we all left feeling inspired and ready to think about our future in new and exciting ways! Take a look at some of the photos from the day below.

Netherlands Visit

Through Sara's connection with Incarnate Network (a network for those pioneering) she was given the opportunity to visit the Netherlands in June. Here's what she had to say about it:

I travelled around several pioneer initiatives where people are looking to share the love of Jesus in their local community. At each project I visited, I gave a gift of Curbs Peacemaker material. We had conversations about how we reach children and families in our area. For the most part they had intergenerational meetings and events giving opportunity for children and families to interact with their values.

Each project or community of people was particular to the context in which it was working. In Rotterdam they had the chance to connect up with people in a sheltered accommodation block with a communal meeting space. The team run a cafe there and have had varying artists come and help them with creative art projects including the transformation of their communal space.

Others moved in and looked for where God was at work already and have joined in with the things the community really care about. In one estate the man goes to sit on the bench by the bus stop in the centre of the estate just to talk with whoever is there. Others have begun a community house with its own monastic rhythm which anyone is welcome at and seeks to pray for the churches and local community.

In Amersfoort there is a new expression of church meeting in a community centre which is in a park. The group have talked about how they might interact with the other people using the park when they are there. Following our trip they have started to use the Peacemakers material with the local people in the park. The people we met and the place we visited all had some connection to our experiences at home, God is at work so let’s join in!

Through Their Eyes

At the end of last year we ran our first training module in partnership with Crucible Course. Happily, we've been invited back to deliver the module again, and we'd encourage anyone with an interest in children's and family work in urban contexts to have a look.

Come and experience an informal, conversational learning opportunity. As a participant you can expect to explore together what re-imagining children and families might look like where you are.

An exploration of what it means to be a child made in God’s image and how that shapes us growing together, understanding each other and living life in community.

Including the following topics:

Made in God’s image
Starting in their world
Spirituality
Celebrating urban diversity
Cementing in the building blocks.

There are bursaries available for those who need them, so please do get in touch for more information.

CURBS Summer School

Sara and her husband Barney run a Summer School each year for pupils in year 6 moving up to year 7. They have been developing a new resource for this and tested it over the summer with their group. Read on to hear more from Sara.

Our local senior school used to have a funded summer school to help transition year 6 pupils as they moved up to year 7. Unfortunately funding ended but the need continued so as a local church we offered to put on a slightly different summer school for one week instead of two. We are able to use volunteers from the local churches and community instead of paid staff. This year was the second time we have run the summer school honing the material we wrote last year.

The week consisted of the following:

Who are we and how do we want to be perceived.

How do we treat others?

Let’s face our fears (what is concerning you about school).

How do we respect others time, space and property

How do we get organised.

With an overall theme of superheroes (we all are)

It was a great opportunity to facilitate the children, learning about themselves, using their gifts, their talents and growing confidence before starting a new school. This transition is a big step up from one classroom and teacher to a wide varying curriculum with many different teachers.

Why not ask your local senior school if they have thought about a transition summer school programme and offer to gather volunteers to do it? It has grown our relationship with teachers, the school, the other local churches, the parents and the children.

This revised transition material will be available in the New Year through Curbs.

Wight Hub Meet Up

A CURBS Hub Community is the gathering together of children’s workers both paid and unpaid, from full time to once a month Sunday school worker. It is an opportunity to share our best practices, our frustrations, our joys and our training needs. Earlier this month we were very pleased to bring our hubs to the Isle of Wight for the first time!

How exciting it was to be boarding the Isle of Wight ferry with coffee in hand at 6.30am on a windy, rainy Saturday morning. After weaving our way across the Solent and toward the centre of the island we arrived at a lovely pub. Here to meet with those interested in children and families work. Over a big cooked breakfast and a mountain of coffee we explored the words Spirituality and Faith thinking about all the words that come to mind. We looked at Kathryn Copsey’s book ‘From the Ground Up’ which speaks about children being made in God’s image, having an inbuilt spirituality.

We talked about children having a God spark which we need to look for. People spoke about some of their particular concerns or desires for children’s work and everyone had an opportunity to support others or/and be supported. We talked about how we connect when church is based around faith more than spirituality. People were keen to purchase the tool kit and to meet again. Next time we are going to being looking at families.

We currently also have Hubs in Solent, Bristol, Newcastle and Liverpool. We are looking to help facilitate new Hubs in the Midlands and North West over the coming months. If you are children's worker of any description in these areas (or any other), and you think you would benefit from the support of a group like this, please do get in touch - we'd love to hear from you. You can contact Sara Barron 07766020524 or email sarajb@hotmail.co.uk and I can advise you of what group to join or how to set one up.

House of Lords

We were also very lucky this month to attend Spurgeons Children’s Charity 150 year celebration at the House of Lords. It was a beautiful occasion in a beautiful setting. There was a very clear message which ran throughout the whole day: 'we in this room share in the work'.
Child poverty is a massive issue, and the numbers of children living in poverty are only growing. We have an opportunity to work with the most marginalised. We have an opportunity to bring about change. We left feeling both inspired and privileged by the position we are in. We are committed to continuing to doing all we can to work with those children and families who so often feel like they've been forgotton.

Thank you Spurgeons Charity - it was an inspiring, engaging and challenging day.
What can you do? No matter how small, what can you do to make a difference?

Cake was great too!

Resources

We have always believed in meeting children where they're at, and Halloween is becoming a more and more popular event each year. We think it's a really important opportunity to engage with families and talk about the positive good new message of Jesus in a setting that they are comfortable with.

If you're planning on a Halloween or Light Night party this year, you've still (just about) got time to download our Unmasking Halloween pack to help you with some fantastic ideas for your groups. If not, why not think about it for next year?

That's right, we're going to be those people. It's not even November yet, but the trappings of Christmas are beginning to spring up around us in supermarkets and department stores. Mince pies, Christmas jumpers, gift ideas and advent calendars (filled with chocolate or gin, whatever your preference) are rapidly surrounding us, and so it's time for us to crack out the Christmas material!

Keep your eyes peeled, because our Christmas Selection Box will be going on sale in the Curbs shop in just a couple of weeks' time!

How you can support Curbs

Do you have the drive, vision and ambition to help shape mission for children in the most difficult and disadvantaged areas of the country? We are looking to recruit 2-3 additional Trustees to help lead the organisation during an exciting period of change.

We are looking for creative, dynamic Christian professionals with a genuine and demonstrable interest in children's work and mission, to join our team of dedicated trustees. If you might be interested, please do get in touch - you can email rowena@curbsproject.org.uk for more information!

If you don't feel you have the time to give, have you considered supporting us financially? We are reliant on the kindness of our friends and supporters to keep us going. Did you know that you can support CURBS simply be going about your regular online shopping - and it won't cost you a penny extra?

Give as you Live donates money to your chosen cause whenever you shop with one of the hundreds of partner stores - everything from supermarkets, to clothing stores, to restaurants. You can also raise money by using Give as you Switch to switch your broadband, utilities or insurance provider.

It costs nothing to get involved and it costs you nothing to donate, so please sign up today! Give as you live donates while you shop.

And remember - you can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter to hear about all that's going on, and how you can get involved!

That's all for now!

The CURBS Team