Our church is blessed with a flourishing junior wing for which we must thank a small, dedicated bunch of folk who put in a great deal of work to bring to our children the message of the love of Jesus Christ and who strive to make him relevant in their lives.

We shall begin with the organisation called Junior Church. This involves young people from babies in the Crèche to Seniors and it meets, naturally, on Sunday mornings. It is divided into Beginners, Juniors and Seniors. It is led by Janet Wales and she is ably assisted by Sue Whiteford, Judith Lowe, Alison Jarvis, Joyce Clarke, Leibling Kuadey, Lesley Birkett, Peter and Heather Bell, Ellen Gregory, Gordon Cuthbert, Delma Whitman, Janet Malbon and Janet’s husband Ken. There are other folk such as Alison Stevens and Elsie Hastwell who come in and help from time to time.

To describe their work I can do no better than quote their Mission Statement:- ‘The aim of Junior Church is to create opportunities for individuals to develop their own relationship with God through a knowledge of the Bible and the life of Christ, a knowledge of Christian traditions, especially Methodism, meaningful worship, prayer and positive, active and fun-learning experiences. Through teaching and example the workers in Junior church hope to make children and young people feel valued members of the Church family and to encourage them to live out the Christian faith in everyday life.’

There are about fifty children and young people on the roll. Several of them will leave Fulwood as they reach adulthood to study or to work away. They will go, I’m sure, with a solid grounding in faith that should stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.

There are also other satellite groups meeting outside the Junior Church. Beginning with the youngest there is the Pram Service. This is a short (20 minute) service for parents, grandparents and minders. It is followed by tea and coffee and fellowship while the children play. Held fortnightly with on average of six to eight, the service is conducted by Myrtle or Peter and held in the parlour, or Beginners Room or even the Crèche. It is usually very informal and includes singing songs with the children. The members/worshippers have usually been recruited from the Toddlers Club and several of the mums meet socially about once a month in the evening.

The next group in the line is/are MnMs - which stands for Mini Methodists. These are youngsters from upwards of thirteen to eighteen and, at present, there are about fifteen of them meeting fortnightly. It is a youth fellowship enjoying games evenings and speakers. They also include the monthly ‘Inspirations’ service in their programme and join in the MAYC events. For about eleven years they were led by Wendy and Andrew Bennett, to whom the Church is very grateful. They have now handed the mantle over to Katrina and Richard Holyfield.

Overlapping with MnMs is Quest. This is a discussion and bible-study housegroup for older teenagers which meets fortnightly on a Thursday evening (7.30-9.30) in theory, but often goes on much longer. They meet at the home of Heather and Peter Bell and they discuss anything and everything. The subjects come from the young people themselves -for example- ‘Does prayer really work?’ and ‘How much should Christians give?’ If it is felt that the theological topics require an expert, then one is brought in. They are planning to conduct one of the ‘Inspirations’ services for the later autumn. The group came into being about three years ago when Heather and Peter were approached by Fiona Bell, Alison Birkett, Ian Marshall, Rachel Gregory, Tim Porter and Andrew Farquhar. The numbers at the meetings vary between five and ten and are governed by the pressures of school work and exams.

Speaking to Heather about the group, it is obvious that she feels that they are a bit special. She tells me that the young people are a joy to work with and that she and Peter are heartened by the fact that their past members move from Quest to a similar group and/or a place of worship when they go on into higher education. Quest exists to help the young people in their thinking processes and on their own personal journeys. We wish it and them continuing success.

And finally, any account of the young folk of the Church is not complete without the Toddlers Club. Begun about 37 years ago by Beryl Halewood and run by her and Jean Hull, with assistance, it is now in the capable hands of Janet Porter and Joyce Rae. For lots of young mothers and not quite so young grandmothers, etc. it was an oasis in a busy world. Its doors were always open on term time Friday mornings to any toddler and to many this was their first and only experience of Fulwood Methodist. There was always fellowship for the adults and a safe haven to play for the children. There are quite a lot of people around Fulwood who look back on the years their children came to ‘Toddlers’ Club’ with affection and gratitude. I have a friend who remembers the welcome Beryl and co. gave her as a new mum in Fulwood.

There is a great deal of love and fellowship in this Church and it is very good that our young folk can share it.