We believe in young people!

Announcement: St Andrew’s Church Choir Concert on Sunday 13 June 2010

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Music is a big part of church life at St Andrew’s Church in Brussels. We are affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music and, over the years, many of our Junior and Senior choristers have participated in RSCM activities, including the very popular Voice for Life programme.

Sunday 13 June, this year’s RSCM “Music Sunday”, will see a number of events organised by churches around the UK and in other parts of the world. If you are in Brussels that weekend, we warmly invite you to come along and join us for a relaxing and enjoyable evening.

SPLASH 2009!

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This year once again, an enthusiastic team of swimmers from St Andrew’s Church took part in the Lions Heraldic Swimarathon, a popular event raising funds for Lions Club charities.

And as you can see in these photos taken by Evan Lamos, they really did make quite a splash!

Evonn’s picture of St Paul

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The illustration chosen for the cover of our church magazine’s March 2009 issue was this picture of St Paul drawn by Evonn, a member of the 11–13s Sunday School group. Well done, Evonn!

“C’est bien, l’église”

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Those were the words of David, a few days after his 2nd birthday, waking up and smiling as Daddy carried him up the stairs after returning home from the service at St Andrew’s.

He has repeated it several times since, so it seems to be his considered opinion!

Thoughts on the Sunday School

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At the moment in Sunday School, numbers are very healthy with classes of 8 or 9 at most age groups but over the last weeks the smallest class has been the 9–10 age group, comprising of great friends Flora and Karalyn. One week we were having a chat about why it was good being a young person of St Andrew’s, and they were happy for me to share their thoughts with the congregation:

What is your first memory of Sunday School?

Flora: A memory I have from when I was in Karen’s class was when we were learning about Jonah and the whale we made a little Jonah who went in and out of the whale’s mouth.

Karalyn: In Airdrie we had to go upstairs to Sunday School and it was called the All-Stars.

What do you enjoy most about coming to St Andrew’s?

Flora: The choir is great fun and last year we even did a concert at the Chapel of the Resurrection. The Sunday School teachers are really nice and always have great ideas.

Karalyn: The choir. I really enjoy singing, especially “This Little Light of Mine” and “Panis Angelicus”.

Why do you think it is important to come to Sunday School?

Flora: Because we learn about Jesus’ life in a fun way. We get new friends which we do not see at school.

Karalyn: Very important. If I couldn’t come, I’d miss my friends and singing and Sunday School.

What is your favourite Bible story?

Flora: I like the story about David and Goliath because it shows that anybody can do what they want if they just believe.

Karalyn: When Jesus walks on water ’cause you can do anything if you trust in God.

Julie Gardner

The “Nativity Weekend” in pictures

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Rehearsing hard and practising the songs

In the background, you can see the beautiful banner made by the Sunday School – part of the special decorations in the sanctuary for the Christmas season.

It’s party time!

Shepherds, sheep ...

... and kings

First Quiz Night at St Andrew’s

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The first Quiz Night at St Andrew’s took place on 29 November, and great fun it was too. Four teams of three were locked in (almost) intellectual combat for the St Andrew’s Quiz Shield. Anne Jarvis compiled the questions, acted as quiz master and prepared snacks and drinks.

Questions included geography, sport, current affairs, absolute trivia and some rather clever cryptic questions, where the question contained the answer. The tasteful St Andrew’s shield will, until the next Quiz Night, grace the sideboards of Alyson Jarjour’s team, which was made up of Alyson’s mum and Kimberly Butcher.

To give you an idea of what the questions are like, here’s a sample:

What were 30 tons of Lithuania’s currency recycled into?

Which world leader’s portrait is tattooed on Diego Maradona’s shin?
Which Teletubby speaks Mandarin?

Congratulations to Anne and her team for organising the evening. There will be another Quiz Night in the first half of 2009 (date to be announced). Well worth attending!

David Lloyd

Congregational Picnic 2008

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Here is a slideshow of some photos from our congregational picnic and barbecue on 22 June 2008. Thanks to the generosity of St Anthony’s Parish, the event was held, once again, in the grounds of St Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church, Krainem. As you can see, the weather was ideal, and a good time was had by all!

Michael’s drawing for Pentecost

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This drawing by Michael on the theme of “Pentecost” was chosen as the cover illustration for the Summer 2008 issue of the St Andrew’s Church Magazine.

Well done, Michael!

Three new Junior Choir members!

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On Easter Sunday, 23 March 2008, three new singers officially joined the Junior Choir. What made the event even more special was the fact that they are all from the same family!

Here we see Chikumbutso Chibwana (aged 10) receiving his choir robe from Choir Director Penni Clarke.

Behind him in this photo – with Rev Dr Andrew Gardner and Church Secretary Rhoda Grant – you can see Grace Chibwana (aged 11),

And here is Madalisto Chibwana (aged 14).

A very warm welcome to you all!

Fundraising Concert for Street Children in Bangladesh

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Our organist Naomi Takagi writes:

“A word of gratitude to our children’s choir who made a sensational debut at the fundraising concert at the Chapel of the Resurrection on January 23rd. Following a presentation on homeless children in Bangladesh, our children’s choir processed into the chapel, lined up in meticulous order and executed four pieces of different styles impeccably under the gaze of an admiring public. Their heartfelt performance not only brought the house down with many in tears and on their feet, but inspired the audience to give nearly €1,500 which will be sent to the ‘Street Children’ in Bangladesh! Many thanks to the church which has ‘formed’ them, to Penni, our wonderful choir director and to each and every one of our precious gifted children!”

A banner for Easter Sunday

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As well as taking an active part in the Family Service on Palm Sunday, the Sunday School also made a beautiful Easter Tree banner to decorate the sanctuary for Easter Sunday 2008.

The Easter Tree banner

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Here is a photo of the banner, as reproduced on the front cover of the April 2008 issue of the St Andrew’s Church Magazine:

The banner was greatly appreciated by the congregation, and the Sunday School has been asked to produce another special banner to decorate the church for Christmas this year.

Breakfast in the Church Hall

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Swimarathon 2008

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On 9 March 2008, members of the Sunday School were part of the team from St Andrew’s Church participating in the Lions Heraldic Swimarathon, raising hundreds of euros in support of Lions Club charities.

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Uédison, our team captain, is in the centre of this group photo.

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What a team!

Thank you, Lord, for Spring and for Lent

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By Karen Permentiers, Sunday School Coordinator.

‘Carnaval’, ‘Krokus vacantie’, half-term – whatever it’s called, our children recently had a break from school and for many people it was a chance to get away for a while. So with numbers down a little, on 10 February, we combined classes in Sunday School and divided into three rather than the usual six groups.

Our theme for the day was spring and in particular Lent, which had started a few days earlier. Having talked about Lent and why we keep it, and about what people were giving up (chocolate, crisps, playing with ‘Nintendo’, etc.), the children in the 7–10-year-old group were asked to write prayers on our theme, while the 3–6-year-olds coloured ‘Spring’ pictures. Here are a selection of the prayers and pictures they produced.

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Dear Jesus, Thank you for Lent, for the people that are giving things up.

Dear Jesus, Please help me be honest with you and not eat any crisps.

Jesus, I want to be like you.

Dear God, I pray that the poor have food.

Dear God, Help us in school and help the poor people.

Thank you God, for food and money, for the spring and winter and Easter and for my family.

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Lieve God, Dank u voor alles wat je voor ons heb gedaan. Dank u voor alles, voor het eten, voor het drinken, maar help ons voor dingen op te geven. Help ons om als u te zijn.

Cher Jésus, Merci pour la nourriture que tu nous donnes. Aide nous quand nous arrêtons d’utiliser certaines choses à ne pas être tenté. Aide nous à être gentil avec les autres. Merci pour le soleil. Merci de nous donner tout ce qu’on a besoin. Merci pour nos parents.

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for the world so sweet and the birds that sing. Please bless those who trespass against us and please help us keep our promises and not keep doing wrong.

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The prayers are by Eddie, Karl, Ferdinand, Chikumbutso, Michael, Sharon, Bethany, Karalyn and Sam, while the colouring group consisted of Runa, Vincent, Olivia, Andrew, Seth, Sara, Clement, Anna, Shenna, Aliene-Ann and Jessie. Thank you to all of them for their hard work and wonderful results!

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A Book full of stories…

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Karen Permentiers, our Sunday School Coordinator, describes some lessons for the 3–4-year-olds:

A baby, a princess, a bit of adventure and a happy ending … all the ingredients of a story that’s sure to appeal to children. So when we recently told our youngest class the tale of Baby Moses, hidden in the bulrushes by his mother and found by Pharaoh’s daughter, it proved an instant hit!
The children listened to the story – with countless digressions about other babies, and other princesses – hearing about the Nile, and Egypt, and trying to say ‘Pharaoh’ (no easy task when you’re three!) and then got down to the week’s activity.

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Sometimes they may colour their very own picture of the story they have heard – this is Katrina, with her lovely drawing of the princess and baby Moses, safe in his basket-boat …

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... or perhaps make a collective poster to decorate the walls of the classroom – like this one:

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Other weeks they may make lion’s masks, or whales with a figure of a man that pops in and out, or a house with a hole in the roof and another figure of a man, who goes in through the roof and out through the door – same principle, different story. Then there’s the maze, with the shepherd at one end and the sheep at the other (some of the little ones may need help to find the right path...), or the tree with several little ‘windows’ that open, each concealing a different picture, and the children have to find the one with a little man sitting behind it …

The ideas may come from different sources but all the stories are found in one and the same place. Preparing for Sunday School often brings to mind a favourite children’s hymn:

God has given us a Book full of stories,
Which was made for His people of old.
It begins with the tale of a garden,
And it ends with a city of gold.

From Noah and Moses, Joseph, David, Daniel and Jonah, to the stories about Jesus and the stories Jesus told, and beyond – the Bible is just brimming with tales children love to hear again and again!

Letter to St Andrew’s

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By the Senior Sunday School Group, inspired by the letters of St Paul:

To the congregation of St Andrew’s in Brussels, greetings, and peace be with you!

Your good work gets out to the people of Brussels and beyond, whoever and wherever they are, and this is good. It’s thanks to you. It is also the will of God. Well done.

Amongst yourselves, take care to stick together. You are all one Church, young and old. We don’t want to see divisions. Especially, be careful about pride, and philosophy, which can easily lead to divisions. Remember instead that we all share one Faith. Value the things which unite you, such as that every one of you can talk direct to Jesus, to confess your mistakes for instance.

Your Church should be clean, but don’t imagine that it needs too much emphasis on ritual and stuff, which can hide the main message.

Be kind to one another.

Keep your distance from what’s wrong; but don’t overdo it, life goes on! If you all had to avoid everybody who ever did anything wrong at all, your Church would be empty (we’re joking of course, like St Paul!).

Take care.

The Senior Sunday School Group

Christmas Fair 2007

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At the St Andrew’s Christmas Fair on 1 December, handicrafts, gifts, toys and books were on sale, and a variety of delicious food from the Philippines, Africa – and, of course, Scotland – was served.

Calendars made by the Sunday School

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Colourful candle-holders made by the Sunday School

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Patricia and Sonia took care of the handicrafts stall

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The children had a great time, too!

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Daddy lends a hand

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Deep concentration!

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Leo tests his skill with “The Serpent”

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Back to Bath

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Joëlle attended the Royal School of Church Music Summer Course on choral music in Bath for the third time in 2007.

“It’s really good fun, although it can be very tiring. We sing a lot of different kinds of music, including African pieces and music from the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as more modern works.”

A Harvest Prayer for Others

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This prayer, written by the Sunday School 11–13s Group, was read at the Harvest Festival Service on 21 October 2007 by Stella, Brigitte, Grace, Anthony and Lucy:

“Let us pray.

Dear Lord, thank you for bringing us together in safety in your presence where we can talk to you with an open heart.

Thank you for our homes, families and friends. Thank you for the food we have to eat, the clothes we wear and the roof over our heads.

We think of our families far away from Brussels. Please help us to pray for them and stay in touch with them and them with us. Give them wisdom and courage. Help our families to hear your word.

We pray for the people of the world who are in trouble. We pray for the people of Israel, Iraq and Afghanistan. We ask you to bless all people who live in countries where there is war or conflict.

Please be with the people who are sick, blind, victims of AIDS and other serious illnesses. We also pray for the people working for cures for these illnesses. We pray that you would encourage them in their work.

Dear Lord, thank you for being there and listening to our prayers and our needs. We thank you that we can come to you with our problems and those of the world.

Amen”

Harvest Thanksgiving 2007

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Sunday 21 October: A very special and memorable day at St Andrew’s Church of Scotland in Brussels – for young and old alike. Here are some photos:

Katrina kept a watchful eye on some of the preparations in the Church Hall. Meanwhile, upstairs in the Sanctuary, the words that came to mind were...

“All things bright and beautiful...”

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Harvest banners

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These two beautiful banners were made by the Sunday School as part of the young people's contribution to the harvest service. The banner on the right shows some typical Ghanaian produce.

Signing the Twinning Agreement

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Something else to celebrate! Our minister, Rev Dr Andrew Gardner, signs the Twinning Agreement between St Andrew's and our new partner congregation in Ghana – Christ Congregation, Adentan.

Serving lunch

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After the service, a delicious lunch was served in the Church Hall.

More photos from the potluck party

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Picking up where Denise left off, here are some more photos from the potluck party on 15 September.

Our thanks to Denise, John and Daniel for hosting a lovely afternoon.

Spot the ball

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Hint: in this case, it's actually (just) in the picture.

Somehow...

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...they both managed to sit down for a few minutes – and here’s the photo to prove it!

The youngest visitors

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David and Ellen also ate well!

Hello!

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Welcome to our new blog focusing on the children and young people at St Andrew’s Church of Scotland in Brussels and our enthusiastic team of Sunday School teachers and helpers.

The archives of the original blog created by Denise are still online – click here or use the link at the bottom of the sidebar on the right (“Blog Archive 2005 – Sep 2007”).