Epsom & Ewell Hub News

Dear All,

I, like many of you, cannot believe that we are almost at the end of April already. It seems just the other day that it was the 1st of September and we, as the Epsom and Ewell Spinnaker Hub, were starting a new academic year. Since then we have been busy presenting RE days, assemblies, and Fish Clubs and it has been a very exciting time.

Over the last twelve months, our team has changed and we have had to say goodbye to some long-standing members due to their personal circumstances changing. Some have moved, while for others their jobs have no longer allowed them to help. We miss them, but are very grateful for the many years that they have given. We also, unfortunately, lost a long-standing team member, Geetha, to cancer. Although over this last year she was not able to participate in many of our school activities, her prayer support and encouragement to the team have been sorely missed. We are however aware that, although we miss her, she is now with her Lord, pain free. We have also had new people volunteer for the team. These members have brought great energy and new perspectives that have been greatly appreciated. I am so grateful for the Epsom and Ewell Team. They are a team of committed individuals who are passionate about sharing the love of Jesus with children and are an absolute joy to work with.

Along with a change in team we have also seen a change in some of our schools. We have had a number of new schools ask us to support them with their RE which has been fantastic, while due to staff and curriculum changes, some schools that we traditionally supported have chosen to use other resources, but we have had the privilege of presenting RE days to over 900 children since September 2022.

Our first RE day of the school year was presented to the year 3’s. This RE day is called ‘Why do Christians call God Father?’ It went very well and was well received by the schools. Our second RE day was presented to the year 4’s. As normal, we set out to do ‘How does Jesus change lives?’ but due to different ways of working during the pandemic, and the anticipated Surrey curriculum change, we discovered that some of the schools had already covered the material on their own!

A planning session quickly became a creative session as we explored the curriculum and drew together materials for a whole new RE day ‘Why do Christians worship Jesus?’  This grew from inception to delivery within a matter of weeks and once again Detective Blackgrove trained up young detectives as we refined and developed it at each school.

The Experience Easter RE Day followed on swiftly, including a visit to a new school, with each part of the Easter story represented by a swift scene change and accompanied by reflections, films and craft activities. No matter what the subject matter, the activity greeted with the most excitement was ‘Giant Pass the Pigs’ and we were delighted to learn that one school was so impressed that they now have their own set of pigs to help teach mental arithmetic!

A full program of assemblies, with excellent materials provided by the central Spinnaker team, and a popular lunchtime Fish Club, continue to keep the team busy between RE Days. These have been a great opportunity to build a more consistent relationship with schools and the children. We can definitely see the difference that these assemblies and fish clubs make in terms of receptivity of the children when we present RE days with each year group.

We would appreciate your prayer for the following areas:

Thank you all for your continued support and prayer for the local and central Spinnaker team members.

With Warmest Wishes,

Lisa Bell
Epsom & Ewell Hub Leader