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The Searchers have
enjoyed a blessed year with a brilliant group of teenagers attending our
Sunday sessions. It is good to see that they come from a variety of schools:
Charles Dickens, Chatham House, Dane Court, Laleham and St Georges.
Our Easter Monday Youth Pilgrimage was a
success with the teenagers enjoying the two youth services and associated
activities. In fact, we had camera men following us into the Cathedral and
some of the Searchers thought that their fifteen minutes of fame had
arrived! Instead it transpired that they were filming for “A year in the
life of the Cathedral” and apparently only the banners were shown in the
series. Nevertheless, an uplifting day was had by all.
Our biggest change this year was the
introduction of our “Eventeen” Services (Evensong for Teenagers) in which we
designed our own service (based loosely on the Evensong format), with our
own hymns (mostly modern). This occurs once a term on a Saturday 4pm and the
service takes place in the choir-stalls. With candles lit and the stillness
of the empty church the teenagers start to appreciate a sense of the
numinous as they worship in their own unique style. This is then followed by
games activities, nibbles and refreshments in the church hall.
During Advent we had our outing to Canterbury
and thanks to the money won by one of our Searchers in a Round table
competition plus our own funds from the Church, we enjoyed an extensive day
at Planet Laser, The Golden Arches, finishing at the cathedral for Advent
Evensong where we were made to feel welcome by the Dean.
I am very appreciative of all the help that I
have received with the outings. My thanks go to Maggie Rodd, Liz Cook,
Maxine Clark & Chris. Also special thanks go to the members of the
congregation that assist me in the Sunday meetings giving up their time once
a term. I hope and pray that this will continue as this allows the
congregation to have a glimpse into the world of today’s teenagers.
Submitted for the AGM
Yours in Christ
Stefan Thomas |
