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Biblical Parenting 6…

potter (7-25-17)

As I previously wrote in this series (please click HERE for post 1, HERE for post 2, HERE for post 3, HERE for post 4, HERE for post 5), Christian parenting doesn’t mean we should beat and hammer our children like a blacksmith.

But what about parenting them like a potter? What about, with the gentle & loving & firm & artistic & strategic hands of a potter, smoothing and shaping our children slowly, patiently, meticulously, lovingly, sacrificially, personally (getting our hands muddy & our backs sore in the process)?

Please click HERE for a phenomenal video about master potters.

Our children will at some point jump off our spinning wheel. But the hope in our Holy Spirit-powered and Biblically-grounded molding is that they—compelled by the grace and Truth of the Lord Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit—will respond, by faith alone through grace alone in Christ alone, to jump onto the LORD’s spinning wheel in repentance and faith as He rebirths and remakes and transforms them forever.

Below are a few Bible passages on parenting…Sip through them. Ask God to help you notice both the specific descriptions/verbs of parenting, the overarching responsibility that comes with Christian parenting, and the God-chosen consequences for parenting His way or the world’s way.

These verses below should show us God’s high standards as well as our utter inability to meet those standards apart from continual dependence on the Lord Jesus! These verses should discourage us from our own abilities—thus lowering our self-esteem—but also encourage us to cling to the Father’s ability—thus raising our God-esteem!

You don’t have to read all of these passages in one sitting. Perhaps read one each day with your spouse, children, or friends, talking briefly about them and closing in prayer. May the Father, Son & Holy Spirit give us wisdom, encouragement, strength, humility, love and all of the fruit of the Holy Spirit as we intentionally guide our children to the Lord Jesus Christ through His perfect Word; may we ultimately trust them into HIS loving hands, for He did say, “Let the little children come to ME, and do not hinder them” (Matthew 19:14 NIV).

1 Thessalonians 2:7-12

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children,

so we cared for you.

Because we loved you so much,

we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.

Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship;

we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone

while we preached the gospel of God to you.

10 You are witnesses, and so is God,

of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.

11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,
12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God,
who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

How are we nourishing our children through God’s Word? Are we working hard only to give them earthly things that will rust, or to introduce them to the Lord Jesus Himself each day, He Who never changes?

Are we disciplining, encouraging, comforting, and urging our children to live lives worthy of God?

Do we model for them a life of joy in the LORD, submission to the LORD, rest in the LORD, sacrificial commitment to the LORD, perseverance in the LORD, obedience to the LORD, risk-taking for the LORD, etc.?

Oh what a high calling/responsibility Christian parenting is…

1 Timothy 3:4

He must manage his own family well

and see that his children obey him,

and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.

Ah, not just to make sure our kids obey us through an iron whip, but to use godly methods (“manner worthy of full respect”) that will be approved by Jesus Himself when we stand before Him.

How we do something is just as important to God as what we do.
Results must never justify methods, the ends must never justify the means…

1 Timothy 5:9-10

No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty,

has been faithful to her husband,

10 and is well known for her good deeds,

such as bringing up children,

showing hospitality,

washing the feet of the Lord’s people,

helping those in trouble

and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

In a list of qualifications for a widow to receive help, one of the examples of good deeds is bringing up children! Doing this well—with dedication and compassion and sacrifice according to God’s Word the Bible—is just as important as other good deeds like sexual purity, serving other Christians, serving those in trouble, etc.!

2 Timothy 1:1-9

Verse 5: I am reminded of your sincere faith [Timothy],

which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and,

I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

May the LORD help us to pass on to our children a living faith in Jesus! God has no grandchildren—our children are not automatically Christian because we are.

But by the daily grace of the LORD we can show them what a living faith in Christ looks like! What a legacy to give/leave our children!!!

Both of Paul’s letters to Timothy are Truth about spiritually parenting our children, since Paul was a spiritual father to Timothy.

Paul gave Timothy grace, mercy and peace from God; do we give these things daily to our children? There is MUCH MORE to providing for our families than just money, food, clothing, and education…

Do we constantly remember our children in our prayers?

Do we long to see our children, to really see/know them? Do we give them opportunities to speak, to share, to lead, to make mistakes & learn from them?

Paul sees Timothy’s faith in Jesus in Timothy’s life; we are to help our children live out their faith in Jesus, not only store it up in their brains.

Timothy’s faith is his own (God has no grandchildren, only children!), but his faith in Jesus was distinctly shaped by both his Mom and his Grandma! What a legacy we can leave with our children!!! This is also encouraging to Moms who for one reason or another do not have the support of their husband in raising their children spiritually; it is interesting that Paul does not mention Timothy’s Dad.

Are we teaching them how to “fan into flame” the gifts that God has given them? How do we do this? (give them opportunities to use those gifts! But what if they don’t care/don’t want to use them?)

Have we prayed over them to receive, know, and use the gifts that God has uniquely given to them?

Are we teaching them that following Jesus involves suffering for doing good? How do WE suffer for following Jesus? Let’s talk with our children about some of the ways that we suffer as Christians (see HERE for more thoughts on this). Do they know the difference between external duty/obedience and internal holiness?

2 Timothy 3:14-16

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of,

because you know those from whom you learned it,

15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures,

which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Timothy was taught the Bible “from infancy”!

  • The people who taught him (Grandma, Mom, & Paul) lived out what they taught.
  • Let’s focus on helping (not coercing) our children to receive Jesus as Savior!
  • Then focus on shaping their character so that they are prepared to do good works!

Don’t despair, Christian parents,
at the dizzying heights and sheer face cliffs
of the mountain of Christian parenting—you are not alone!

“Now to Him
who is able to do
immeasurably more
than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power
that is at work
within us,

to Him be glory
in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations,

for ever and ever! Amen
(Ephesians 3:20-21).

potter 2 (7-25-17)


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Coffee and Cats Travel Sets

Second commission complete! The inside lining colors match the zipper/piping color for each set.

Sailor Moon Travel Bag Set

I recently had my first commission! A friend asked me to make a travel bag set for his wife’s birthday. She liked her gift! 😀

Fabric is from spoonflower here


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Wild Family - Monthly Giving!

Wild Family - It's About Monthly Giving!

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Ursa Space Systems plans to use Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery to produce reports on oil storage in Caribbean, Middle East-North Africa and Europe.
Credit: Ursa Space Systems
With Descartes Labs' GeoVisual Search, if a user clicks on ships in a Marina, GVS processes satellite and aerial imagery in the cloud to identify similar objects around the world. Users can also use geographic or temporal parameters to confine the GVS search. Credit: Descartes Labs
This computer-generated view depicts part of Mars at the boundary between darkness and daylight, with an area including Gale Crater beginning to catch morning light. Curiosity was delivered in 2012 to Gale crater, a 155-kilometer-wide crater that contains a record of environmental changes in its sedimentary rock. Credit: NASA JPL-CALTECH


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Technology News from the EDGE OF THE WORLD

I have spoken at length about my Mac woes.  Time for some good news!

Here is how I got my MacBook Pro to work again.

It turns out that there is a part inside called the SMC.  This stands for System Management Controller, or something like that.  The SMC works the low level functions of the Mac.  In fact, of most computerized devices.  It controls the Power switch, the battery charging, etc.

What I think is wrong with my Mac, is that when it took its great fall, the Power Management Unit was damaged.  Also, the keyboard is also apparently damaged.

The Mac will turn on, and sometimes make it to the Login screen, but shortly after goes to sleep and refuses to wake up..  If it DOES get past the Login screen, you MIGHT have five minutes of a workable machine, before the keyboard and trackpad stop working.  Then it will also probably go to sleep.

So here is my work-around, at least until I can get a replacement.  (I’m eyeing those MacBook Airs…Maybe even the 11 inch model!)

My work-around is the result of lots of trial and error, I might add, and that a computer repair guy couldn’t fix it.

To reset the SMC, you use the hotkey combination SHIFT-CONTROL-OPTION-POWER.   I turn on the Mac as usual, and then immediately do this combination.  Then turn it on, then repeat.  Then repeat.  Then repeat.  UNTIL….I hear the fan blow.  That’s right.  There is a fan inside a MACBOOK PRO.  Who knew? You never heard it before!

My theory was that if I could make the fan blow, the machine would not go to sleep.  AND I WAS RIGHT!  And then I could figure out what was wrong, fix it, and all would be cool again.   No so much….

You see, the keyboard still doesn’t work in this strange mode.  Also, the machine doesn’t even see its battery.  Bear in mind that it could be running on that battery, but it still doesn’t acknowledge it.  At any time it could cut out on me.  So I keep it plugged in.

Turns out that the USB ports work just fine.  So I can attach a mouse and keyboard….or even better…use that old Apple BlueTooth keyboard that I have laying around.  I finally got that thing to work again!  (True shouts of joy!)

So my Macbook acts like a desktop model.  That is it in a nutshell.  I won’t lie.  It runs a little slower than it used to.

The light is there, at the end of the tunnel.  But we can enjoy our last days together!

Anyone out there had similar trouble in the past?  Let me know!

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new kitten mom

  1. LineB

    To bathe or not to bathe ? that is the question

    Hi, I am a Sphynx Mommy to be (in less then 2 weeks), I am very excited about that. Here is my question: To bathe or not to bathe a Sphynx? Since I've been looking to adopt a Sphynx, I have read everthing that Is available on internet (forums, Vets, breeders, etc.) and seems to me like no one...
  2. ArkenBillsmom

    Hello I am a NEW Sphnx owner...AAAAAHHHHH!

    Hi, My name is Arken and I am the owner of an 9 week old kitten named Bill. We took him for his first vet visit and he has a bit of a cold. The vet sent us home with some sort of eye drop as well as LOTS of information. Vet gave him Advantage as well as advice that if the infection travels to...


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Product of the Week

To keep up with mother nature and her hot spell why not add some heat to your cooking this week Our Organic Curry Powder Blended to bring out the maximum curry aroma and flavour. Add to soups, sauces, salad dressings, and sautés. #deliciouslyspicier

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Chia seeds are great for you. They reduce inflammation, give you an energy boost, keep you hydrated, and do so many other wonderful things. But like any food, you can, in fact, have too many chia seeds. How do I know? Well, because I have had the unfortunate experience of eating far too many chia seeds and lived to tell the tale.

Anyone who knows me knows I can't cook — not at all. But this was one of my worst cooking disasters yet and it only has two ingredients: milk and chia seeds. Unfortunately, I misread the measurement of three tablespoons of chia seeds as a third of a cup, and as a result my ratio of milk to seeds was WAY off. The seeds did not absorb enough liquid and it made me feel sick.

Here's the issue with eating too many chia seeds: It will seriously hurt your stomach. Chia seeds can absorb up to 12 times their weight in water, so if you don't soak them with enough liquid, (or eat too many dry seeds) the seeds will start absorbing liquid from your body instead. Think of it as your food eating you instead of the other way around.

But I don't want to scare you off from chia seeds because they are very healthy and can taste good too. My advice is just to follow your recipe strictly. Another way to avoid stomach aches from chia seeds is to drink plenty of water after eating the seeds. The bottom line is to give the seeds something to draw liquid from, besides your stomach.

Here's a foolproof recipe that will ensure you get all the benefits of chia seeds and none of the stomach-eating side effects.

If you're at all worried about overdosing on chia seeds, just check out the consistency of your pudding before eating it. Mine was very dense, very gelatinous. A good pudding should be gelatinous, but also kind of loose like in the video. There should be some space in between the seeds and it should wiggle a little when you move it

Some recipes call for different ratios of seeds to liquid and depending on your stomach and your texture preference, you can choose which ratio works best for you.

Thankfully, my little mishap didn't turn me off chia pudding for good. I have since perfected my chia seed pudding recipe with peanut butter, almond milk and strawberries and I still really enjoy the taste, even though it brings back a few bad memories.

yogurt, berry, sweet, strawberry
Jordana Colomby

Nobody said cooking in college was easy. Even the simplest of recipes can make you feel like your life is in shambles. But keep working at that adulting thing and eventually, you'll get there.


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Week One Of The NFL Preseason Brings Player Protests And Outrage From The President

by Tod Perry

August 10, 2018

In May, the NFL took a hard stance against players who protest inequality during the national anthem. The league ruled its players must either stand during the anthem or stay in the locker room until the song’s conclusion.

Players who do not “show respect for the flag” will be fined for their actions.

But in late July, citing ongoing discussions with the NFL Players Association, the league rescinded the ruling. “The NFL has engaged in constructive discussions with the NFL Players Association regarding the anthem and issues of equality and social justice that are of concern to many Americans,” the league said in a statement. “While those discussions continue, the NFL has agreed to delay implementing or enforcing any club work rules that could result in players being disciplined for their conduct during the performance of the anthem.”

When week one of the 2018 NFL preseason got underway on Thursday, August 9, four out of 12 games involved some form of player protest.

Three Dolphins’ players, including Kenny Stills, were the only ones to kneel during the anthem. The gesture wasn’t lost on Colin Kaepernick, the former 49ers quarterback who started the movement.

In Philadelphia, Malcolm Jenkins and De’Vante Bausby raised their firsts before their game against Pittsburgh. Jenkins, who’s been an outspoken advocate for social change, released a tweet before the game to explain his gesture.

Much like a dog yapping at a squirrel in a tree, President Trump couldn’t resist commenting on the protests.

Year three of player protests and the corresponding jeers from the patriotically-correct crowd, appears to be on its way. Maybe this will be the season the president, and many of his supporters, will realize the protests aren’t about patriotism, but asking America to live up to the values that make them stand for the Anthem in the first place.

Share image by ABC News/YouTube

Recently on GOOD Sports


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Chiefs cut RB Kareem Hunt after TMZ releases video of him shoving and kicking woman

Yahoo Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs and NFL took their time. They waited more than five hours after TMZ released a video of Kareem Hunt shoving and later kicking a woman to say anything about the story everyone was talking about Friday.

When action finally came, it was swift. The Chiefs cut Hunt, who led the NFL in rushing yards last season.

Scroll to continue with content

Hunt was put on the commissioner exempt list by the NFL on Friday night. Shortly after the Chiefs released a statement, saying Hunt wasn’t truthful about the February incident, which was shown in the TMZ video. They said at the end of the statement they were cutting the second-year back.

After Hunt was released, he put out a statement through Ian Rapoport of NFL Network:

Here is the entirety of the NFL’s statement regarding Hunt going on the commissioner exempt list:

“The NFL has placed Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs on the Commissioner Exempt list, and as a result, he may not practice, play or attend games. The NFL’s investigation, which began immediately following the incident in February, will include a review of the new information that was made public today.”

As with linebacker Reuben Foster, who was claimed by the Redskins off waivers after the 49ers cut him following an arrest on a domestic violence accusation, Hunt will go through waivers because he’s on his rookie contract. Hunt, a third-round pick last year, is 23 and one of the best running backs in football.

Kareem Hunt incident happened in February

The Chiefs and NFL knew about the incident in February. It was widely reported. Hunt had been accused of physically assaulting a 19-year-old woman at a Cleveland hotel. reported then that one police report listed Hunt as a suspect, and another report listed the woman Hunt shoved, Abigail Ottinger, as a suspect. A woman who was with Hunt’s friends said Ottinger assaulted her.

Presumably due to those conflicts and, until Friday, the lack of video evidence, the NFL and Chiefs decided to move without Hunt facing discipline. Hunt also wasn’t disciplined after it was reported by TMZ in June that Hunt got into an argument with a man at a resort in Put-In-Bay, Ohio and punched him.

Rapoport said the NFL and the Chiefs had not seen the video before Friday.

Once TMZ released the video of the February incident, it became impossible for the NFL and Chiefs to ignore it any longer.

Hunt was big part of Chiefs’ offense

While the football part of the story is minor compared to the rest of it, there is a clear impact on the Chiefs. They are 9-2 and considered a Super Bowl contender. That’s in part because of Hunt, who was the NFL’s leading rusher last season as a rookie and ranks fifth in the NFL with 824 rushing yards this season. Spencer Ware is the likely replacement, and he has only 22 carries all season.

Football-wise it’s a big blow to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl hopes. In the big picture the football ramifications don’t matter much. The Chiefs, and the NFL, have much bigger questions to answer.

A video of Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (27) shoving and kicking a woman was released by TMZ on Friday. (AP)
A video of Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (27) shoving and kicking a woman was released by TMZ on Friday. (AP)

More from Yahoo Sports:
Jason Garrett may have saved his job with Cowboys
TMZ video shows Chiefs’ Kareem Hunt striking woman
Cubs sticking with AddisonRussell despite domestic violence suspension
Reasons why Jeff Brohm changed his mind and is staying at Purdue

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at or follow him on Twitter!

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What to Read Next


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Legal California Online Gambling, Poker & Casinos

Bingo Gambling Daily Fantasy Lottery Online Betting Poker Sports Betting

Beyond Nevada and New Jersey, California is regarded as having one of the most relaxed penal codes regarding gambling. Since the state's expansion in the 20th century, California has a long and proud history of regulated gambling.

Today, Californians are permitted to place legal bets across a plethora of gambling markets, from casino table games and horse racing bets to lottery and daily fantasy sports bets.

Some 58 tribal casinos now exist in California, along with 90 specialist poker rooms, generating annual revenues of $7 billion.

California Gambling Laws - Summary and Look to the Future

Presently, Californians can place any kind of online bets they desire, so long as it is done so with an operator based offshore. Even those who place online bets with a US-based online operator will not be breaking any laws. However, the operator would be considered to have broken the law by accepting a bet, which could result in your accounts being seized and betting funds lost.

At the time of writing, no legislation exists addressing the legality of online gambling in California. It's hoped that, given California's relatively contemporary and liberal appearance, it will soon look to take a stance in favor of the online gambling industry.

California Gambling Laws - A Brief History

  • 1933 - The Californian state opts to legalize betting on all forms of horse racing.
  • 1984 - The new California Lottery is established.
  • 1998 - The Californian state passes a new Gambling Control Act, regulating the operation of card rooms along the west coast.
  • 2000 - The Californian state opts to legalize tribal casinos.
  • 2007 - A new Bureau of Gambling Control is established.

What Types of Gambling are Legal in California?

  • Casino Gambling – Casino Gambling is legal in California and it has a number of Indian operated casinos. California also has card clubs that can also play some casino style games but the difference being is that a player takes on the house position as the house cannot spread the games.
  • Sports Betting – California has live horse betting as well as simulcast racing. California does have recent sports betting bills being introduced and you can follow the progress of sports betting in California here.
  • Online Betting – Online betting in California currently is just horse racing and most of the major online players like TVG, Twin Spires, and BetAmerica all accept California players.
  • Daily Fantasy – the large DFS operators like Fanduel and Draft Kings claim an exemption as a game of skill and they accept California players.
  • Poker – Poker is legal in California both at Casinos and Card rooms. Online poker bills have been attempted nearly every year and none have passed.
  • Bingo – Bingo is legal in California on a charity basis.
  • Lottery – California has a full lottery including number draws, scratch off tickets, as well as interstate lotto drawings like Mega Millions and Powerball.


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The 20th Year of Revival

Just back in the UK from the Partners in Harvest & Catch the Fire 20 year celebration.

What started out as an incredible Grace/Holy Spirit outpouring at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (Now known as Catch the Fire Church Toronto) has become a global movement of thousands of churches and tens of thousands of revivalists in many many nations. I remain completely amazed how this fire of God is spreading unabated in so many different places. We heard revival reports from Russia, China, Southeast Asia, India, Europe, North America, and many nations too sensitive to mention by name. In one church alone in Russia there have been 30,000 documented and reported healings.

I believe one of the main reasons for this continual outpouring is the honour with which we host the presence of the Holy Spirit and the centrality of the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Truly a word and spirit fusion which is causing spontaneous growth around the world. When this is combined with a humble dependence on the Holy Spirit and the healing of the emotions, soul and spirit in the Father’s love it becomes a sweet smelling fragrance of adoration and love going up to The Lord.

It is very true that this is only one small expression in the wider Body of Christ with its 2 billion Christian members, but I believe it is a sweet smelling and precious thing in the sight of Jesus and a healing balm in the body of Christ for the sake of the nations.


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13:06 GMT +318 January 2019
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    Kosovar Albanians walk under the EU and Kosovo flags in the main square of Pristina on May 4, 2016.

    EU-Kosovo Rapprochement Depends on Pristina-Belgrade De-Escalation - Berlin

    © AFP 2018 / ARMEND NIMANI
    Get short URL

    BERLIN (Sputnik) - The normalization of relations between Serbia and the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo is a crucial condition for rapprochement between Pristina and the European Union, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Thursday.

    "The normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo is a central condition for Pristina's rapprochement with the European Union," Maas said at a press conference after his talks with Kosovar Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli.

    Maas added that Germany supported the prospect of all Western Balkan nations to join the European Union and, in the case of Kosovo, was ready to "actively work" on this matter.

    READ MORE: Protests Against Serbian Authorities Held in Belgrade (PHOTO, VIDEO)

    The foreign minister recalled that Germany was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of the republic in 2008 and had supported the path chosen by Kosovo from the very beginning.

    The relations between Kosovo and Serbia have recently become particularly tense in light of the self-proclaimed republic’s decision to create a national army. Moreover, in November, Kosovar authorities set a customs duty of 100 percent on all products from Serbia and also banned all goods that were not marked with symbols of Kosovo, as is required by the rules of the self-proclaimed republic. However, several foreign companies producing goods on Serbia's soil were exempt from the tariffs.

    The partially recognized Republic of Kosovo has been vying for EU membership almost since proclaiming its independence from Serbia. The third stabilization and association council between the bloc and Kosovo was held in Brussels in December to look at Pristina’s progress in implementing political, economic and other provisions needed to pursue EU membership.

    US Designates Ex-Serbian General for Murder of 3 Albanians After Kosovo War
    Washington Urges Serbia, Kosovo to Lower Tensions - US Diplomat
    Serbian Envoy Slams Kosovo’s Army Creation: Blow to Stability of Entire Balkans
    stabilization, independence, Kosovo War, Heiko Maas, Pristina, Serbia, Kosovo
    Community standardsDiscussion
    Comment via FacebookComment via Sputnik


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Polymer vs. mini.css vs. UDash

Hacker News, Reddit, Stack Overflow Stats

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  • 1.85K
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GitHub Stats

What is Polymer?

Polymer is a new type of library for the web, designed to leverage the existing browser infrastructure to provide the encapsulation and extendability currently only available in JS libraries. Polymer is based on a set of future technologies, including Shadow DOM, Custom Elements and Model Driven Views. Currently these technologies are implemented as polyfills or shims, but as browsers adopt these features natively, the platform code that drives Polymer evacipates, leaving only the value-adds.

What is mini.css?

mini.css is a lightweight CSS framework (under 7KB gzipped) designed with mobile devices and modern browsers in mind. Responsiveness, ease of use and customization are some of the main features of the framework, while accessibility and extensive documentation are some of the secondary focuses of the project.

What is UDash?

A Scala.js framework for building beautiful and maintainable web applications.

Want advice about which of these to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

Why do developers choose Polymer?
Why do you like Polymer?

Why do developers choose mini.css?
Why do you like mini.css?

Why do developers choose UDash?
Why do you like UDash?

What are the cons of using Polymer?
No Cons submitted yet for Polymer
Downsides of Polymer?

What are the cons of using mini.css?
No Cons submitted yet for mini.css
Downsides of mini.css?

What are the cons of using UDash?
No Cons submitted yet for UDash
Downsides of UDash?

What companies use Polymer?
51 companies on StackShare use Polymer
What companies use mini.css?
5 companies on StackShare use mini.css
What companies use UDash?
0 companies on StackShare use UDash

No integrations listed yet
No integrations listed yet
What tools integrate with UDash?
4 tools on StackShare integrate with UDash

What are some alternatives to Polymer, mini.css, and UDash?

  • Bootstrap - Simple and flexible HTML, CSS, and JS for popular UI components and interactions
  • Material Design for Angular - Material Design for AngularJS Apps
  • Foundation - The most advanced responsive front-end framework in the world
  • Semantic UI - A UI Component library implemented using a set of specifications designed around natural language

See all alternatives to Polymer

Interest Over Time


text:
Services available in the community

The CCG has commissioned a number of services that you would have traditionally gone to hospital for and made these available in your local community, to ensure you receive the right care closer to home and some offer you a choice of providers and locations to be seen in. If you have had a referral to a hospital or community service, read more about what to expect in this  pdf Patient Specialists Leaflet (88 KB) .

These services include:

  • Hearing Services
  • Vasectomy Services
  • Non-Obstetric Ultrasound Services
  • ENT Services (more information coming soon)
  • Dermatology Services

Hearing Services

Hearing Services have been commissioned under an  Any Qualified Provider (AQP) Programme which aims to give patients more choice as to where they receive select healthcare services.  There is no competition on price, as all services will receive a standard tariff for provision against an agreed service specification.

All providers offering AQP services have gone through an assessment process in order to become an accredited AQP provider, ensuring that all providers meet pre-defined quality standards.

The Hearing service specification from April 2017 is based on the national recommended standards

The list of hearing providers in your area can be downloaded here.

For additional information, advice and support please see NHS Choices, or Action on Hearing Loss

Vasectomy Services

Vasectomy Services have also been commissioned under the AQP programme and are available in your local community.  If you are considering a vasectomy procedure, please book an appointment to see your GP.

If you wish to continue with a referral the vasectomy providers in your local area are:

  • BPAS (British Pregnancy Advisory Service)
  • Community Medical Services Ltd
    • Balance Street Health Centre, Balance Street, Uttoxeter, ST14 8JG
  • Midlands Community Services Ltd
    • Brewood Medical Practice, Kiddemore Green Road, Brewood, Staffordshire, ST19 9BQ
    • Stafford General Infirmary (SGI) Ground Floor South Wing, Madford Retail Park, Foregate Street , Stafford, Staffordshire, ST16 2PA
    • Cannock Hospital - Outpatients Department, Brunswick Road, Cannock, WS11 5XY
    • Bilbrook Medical Centre -Brookfield Road, Bilbrook, Wolverhampton, WV8 1DX
    • Sports Medicine Partners  - 12a Lombard Street, Lichfield, WS13 6DR
  • North East Community Health Network Ltd (NECHN)
    • Aldergate Medical Practice, 10 Salters Lane, Tamworth, B79 8BH

Please also see the NHS choices website for more information on the procedure.

Non-Obstetric Ultrasound Services (NOUS)

NOUS services are the third service which is available under an AQP programme. If you are not pregnancy but your GP feels you need an ultrasound scan for another reason they can refer you to one of the following providers:

Provider Clinic Locations
Harmonic Medical Sonography Ltd

1. Dr M Murugan's Surgery Hednesford Valley Health Centre, Station Road, Hednesford, WS12 4DH

2. Glascote Heath Medical Centre 60 Caledonian, Glascote, Tamworth, B77 2ED

3. Dr J Chandra's Surgery Hednesford Valley Health Centre, Station Road, Hednesford, WS12 4DH

4. Dr VK Singh's Surgery Hednesford Valley Health Centre, Station Road, Hednesford, WS12 4DH

5. Norton Canes Health Centre Brownhills Road, Norton Canes, Cannock, WS11 9SE

6. Aelfgar Surgery Church Street, Rugeley, WS15 2AB

7. Salters Meadow CentreRugeley Road, Chase Terrace, Burntwood, WS7 1AQ

HealthHarmonie Ltd

1. Aelfgar Surgery Church Street, Rugeley, WS15 2AB

2. Burntwood Health & Well-Being CentreHigh Street, Chasetown,  Burntwood, WS7 3XH

3. Norton Canes SurgeryBrownhills Road, Norton Canes, Cannock, WS11 9SE

4. High Street SurgeryHigh Street, Cheslyn Hay, Walsall, WS6 7AB

5. Brereton Surgery88 Main Road, Rugeley, WS15 1DY

6. Hill Street Health and Wellbeing Centre Hill Street, Stapenhill, Burton On Trent, DE15 9LD

7. Norton Canes Medical Centre Brownhills Road, Norton Canes, Cannock, WS11 9SE

Mediscan Diagnostic Services Ltd

1. Glascote Health Centre, 60 Caledonian, Glascote Heath, Tamworth, B77 2ED

2. Essington Medical Centre, Hobnock Road, Essington, Staffordshire, WV11 2RF

3. Ahmad M S, 11 Longfellow Road, Burntwood, Staffordshire, WS7 8EY

4. West Gate PracticeChurch Street, Staffordshire, Lichfield, WS13 6JL

5. Bideford Way Surgery, 24 Bideford Way, Cannock, WS11 1QD

6. Sandy Lane Health Centre, Sandy Lane, Rugeley, WS15 2LB.

7. Collingham Medical Centre, High Street, Collingham Newark Nottinghamshire NG23 7LB

8. Littlewick Medical Centre Nottingham RoadIlkestonDerbyshireDE7 5PR

9. Ruddington Medical CentreChurch StreetRuddingtonNottinghamNottinghamshireNG11 6HD

Physiological Measurements Ltd

1. Balance Street Health Centre Balance Street, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, ST14 8JG

2. Hillsprings Surgery/Horsefair Springfields Health and Wellbeing Centre, Lovett Court, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 2FH

3. Northgate Surgery Carters Square, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, ST14 7FN

4. Rising Brook Surgery Merrey Road, Stafford, ST17 9LY

1. GP Suite Cannock Hospital GP suite, Brunswick Road Cannock Staffs WS11 5XY

2. Brewood Medical Practice Kiddemore Green Road, Brewood, Staffs, ST19 9BQ

3. Nile Practice High Street, Cheslyn Hay, Walsall WS6 7AE

4. Lakeside Medical Centre Church Road Perton, Wolverhampton Staffs WV6 7PD

5. Wetmore Road Surgery 12 Wetmore Road Burton on Trent Staffs DE14 1SL

6. Alrewas Surgery Exchange Road, Burton on Trent, Staffs, DE13 7AS

7. Moss Street Surgery Moss Street, Chadsmoor, Cannock, Staffs, WS11 6DE

8. Wolverhampton Road Surgery Wolverhampton Road, Stafford, Staffs, ST17 4BS

9. Winshill Surgery Melbourne Avenue, Winshill, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, DE15 0EP

10. Colliery Practice 60 Hednesford Street, Cannock, Staffs, WS11 1DJ

11. High Street Practice 19 High Street Cheslyn Hay, Walsall, WS6 7AB

12. All Saints Road Surgery28 All Saints RoadBurton on TrentDE14 3LS

University Hospital of North Midlands

1. County HospitalWeston Road, Stafford, ST16 3SA

2. Royal Stoke University HospitalNewcastle Road, Stoke on Trent, ST4 6QG

Global Diagnostics Ltd

1. Beaconside Health CentreWeston Road, Weston Road, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST18 0BF

2. Mansion House GP PracticeAbbey Street, Stone, ST15 8YE

3. The Crown Surgery23 High Street, Eccleshall, Stafford, ST21 6BW

4. Salter’s Meadow Health CentreRugeley Road, Burntwood WS7 1AQ

5. Wilnecote Health Centre49 Smithy Lane, Wilnecote, Tamworth, B77 5LB

6. Stoneydelph Health CentreEllerbeck, Stonydelph, Tamworth, B77 4JA

Please see the NHS Choices page for more information on ultrasound scans:

Dermatology Services

Dermatology Services in Stafford & Surrounds / Cannock Chase are now provided in the community by HealthHarmonie. These clinics run from a number of locations to ensure patients can be seen closer to home with shorter waiting times, for all routine dermatological conditions. Most patients will be offered an appointment within 4 weeks from the date of their referral, and in the majority of cases patients will only need to be seen once in a ‘one-stop’ clinic.

All urgent suspected skin cancer referrals will continue to be sent to an acute hospital for diagnosis and treatment.

More details about our provider HealthHarmonie can be found on their website, including a list of the conditions they are able to see and treat.

Patient Self-Care Information

The British Association of Dermatologists has a number of patient information leaflets available on their website that cover a range of skin conditions. These provide information about the condition, how it can be managed and when to seek further medical advice.

Your Feedback

We are always looking to improve our services and welcome your views on the service. These can be fed back by our ‘Contact Us’ page.

We use cookies to improve your experience of using this website. how we use cookies


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New books!

I’ve just bought some new books for the Diocesan Resource Centre – they’ll be officially catalogued soon, but you can borrow them informally immediately if you want.

Diddy Disciples is a wonderful resource to help you worship with babies and toddlers. You can use it on Sunday mornings in the creche, or in toddler group, or anywhere else you meet with this age group. It’s very user-friendly for the adults, and physically engaging for the kids. You can find out more (and see sample videos and materials) on their website.

The Story of King Jesus, by Ben Irwin is a beautiful re-telling of THE WHOLE BIBLE, from Genesis to Revelation, in child-friendly language. Full of awe and wonder, this book is especially good for situations where you might only have one or two sessions with a particular group – school visits (“this is what the Christian story is”), holiday clubs, etc – though of course it’s great for Junior Church, Messy Church, etc. as well.

Outdoor Church, by Sally Welch is a terrific and accessible resource for helping churches connect with God’s creation.

It’s ideal for rural churches, but her introduction includes ideas for how to make it work even in churches with very limited outdoor space (or none at all – suggestions are included on how to bring the outdoors in).

Each season has five sessions included, focusing on Bible stories and parables. There is an emphasis on COLLECTING, CREATING, FEASTING, and CELEBRATING, which allows room for people with different spiritual styles and gifts to participate. books3

If you would like to borrow any of these books, get in touch on . And I’d love to hear your recommendations – what should we add to our Resource Centre to help your ministry?

New resource – labyrinth!

The Diocese now has a LABYRINTH, which is available for churches, schools, and other groups to borrow for use in their own programmes.

If you’re thinking, “what is a labyrinth?,” this short article can tell you a bit about their history and how they can be used for prayer.

Here is ours – in situ in a meeting room at Diocesan Office. It will look even prettier in your church, your churchyard, your school hall …

How can I borrow it?

Simply contact or and let us know when you’d like it. If it’s available, you can come and collect it.

I don’t have an enormous vehicle and seven weight-lifters to help me transport it – what do I do?

That’s okay! The labyrinth is made of plastic-backed canvas, so it’s very lightweight and it rolls up easily. It can fit in the passenger seat or boot of most cars, even small ones, and I can personally testify that a small woman who doesn’t work out very much can comfortably carry it under her arm for a ten-minute walk.

How do we use it?

There are no right or wrong ways to use a labyrinth. The simplest way is to walk through the path, slowly, pausing whenever you feel like it, and then walk back out.

You can also provide meditations or prayer activities at certain points along the path.

You can encourage people to walk the labyrinth barefoot.

You can line the path with electric tealights and dim the room the labyrinth is in.

You can play music, have incense burning, or have other sensory elements added.

You can use it as part of a story, as a response to a story, or as prayer.

You can just have it available when your church is open, or deliberately use it as part of a service or activity.

It’s up to you!

The only ground rules I would recommend you make clear to children are those you would do with any physical activity – giving other people space, not pushing or shoving, and a reminder that a labyrinth is a quiet and peaceful time, not a race.

Is there a leaflet to go with it?

Here’s the text that goes with it in its current space in the cathedral. You are free to use or adapt this as you like:

Our lives are like a long trip.

Sometimes the path is wide and easy, sometimes it’s narrow and hard.

Sometimes we feel far away from where we’re going, but actually we might be nearby. Sometimes we feel near to where we want to be, but we’re actually far.

People of all ages can walk this labyrinth.

You might want to think about all the places your feet have travelled through your life, and pray for the people in those places.

There are a few mistakes in this labyrinth. Maybe they remind you of times when things have gone wrong, and you’ve had to try to fix them.

Maybe they remind you that our lives, and ourselves, aren’t perfect, and that’s okay.

A labyrinth is a place to spend time walking with God. Take your time. Pause. Breathe. Pray.

I’d like to make my own, since I don’t live in your Diocese or I want to use it without having to play far ahead. How can I do it?

Here’s the tutorial I used. The total cost was about £50.00 – two dust sheets, duct tape to hold them together (I didn’t spend time sewing, like in the tutorial), paint, string. I had to adapt it slightly because I used two dust sheets and that meant the circle had to be an oval instead.

The Prodigal Daughter

In 2016, I went to the European Conference of Christian Educators, where I saw Bibliologue storytelling done with chairs – you can find a short summary here.

I then used it when I did Prodigal Son prayer stations with Readers a few weeks ago – you can find a write-up of that here.

Now John Griffiths and Jonathan Evans, of St Cuthbert’s Church in Rye Park, have done a script using the image of a mother and two daughters, and given me permission to share it. They used it in worship on Mothering Sunday.

Note how most of it is simply the Biblical text, with a few small changes – and how the story is stopped at different points to wonder about how characters are feeling at that specific moment. By focusing on each section of the story individually, you might draw out details that would get missed if you saved up the wondering until the end. (However, for some people, it might interrupt the flow of the story, and they would get more by waiting until the end for wondering. This is why mixing up different approaches can be good.)

The Prodigal Daughter

Place three chairs by the steps of the sanctuary carpet.  One larger and two smaller and say:

There once was a woman who had two daughters.

Move the ‘younger daughter’ (i.e. a smaller chair) over in front of the mother’s chair.

The younger daughter said to her mother, “Give me my inheritance NOW
so that I can enjoy it.”

So the mother divided her property between them.

Move the ‘younger daughter’ a little way along the road.

Place the mother in the centre.

Move the ‘older sister’ off to the side (almost out of the scene).

move to the younger daughter chair and say

The younger daughter gathered all she had and travelled to a distant country

She spent her money on wild parties and having a really REALLY good time.

Move the ‘younger daughter’ towards the ‘end of the road’ (top of the central aisle)

I wonder. What is the Mother thinking?

I wonder. What is her older sister thinking?

But the day came when she had spent all the money her mother had given her and she had nothing left.

Turn the daughter’s chair onto its side.

There was a severe famine in that country and she was hungry and poor.
So she went and hired herself out. To a pig farmer. Who made her look after pigs.

She was so hungry that she would have been grateful if she was allowed to eat what the pigs were eating; but no one gave her anything.

Then she came to her senses, she said to herself

“All my mum’s maids have plenty to eat, but here I am dying of hunger!

I wonder What is the younger daughter thinking?

I know what I’ll do. I will go to my mother, and I will say to her, “Mother, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your daughter;  could you give me a job around the house?”

Move the daughter on the road towards the other two chairs

So she set off to return to her mother.

Move the mother down the road towards the daughter, say:

While she was still far off, her mother saw her and was filled with compassion;

Her mother ran and put her arms around her and kissed her.

Move both the mother and daughter close to one another at the bottom of the aisle say:

Her daughter said to her, “Mother, I have sinned against you;

I am no longer worthy to be your daughter.”

But the mother said to the staff, “Quickly, bring a dress – my very best one  – and put it on her; put a ring on her finger and my favourite shoes.

Remember her favourite meal? – go and make it, and let’s eat and celebrate;
for my daughter was dead and is alive again; she was lost and is found!”

And they all began to celebrate.

Move the mother and daughter’s to the centre of the sanctuary blue carpet

When the elder daughter came home, she heard music and dancing.

She called one of the maids and asked what was going on.

The maid replied, “Your sister has come home, and your mother has made her favourite because she got her back safe and sound.”

But the older daughter became angry and refused to go in.

What is the older daughter thinking?

What is the mother thinking?

Move the mother to the back of the carpet in front of the elder daughter, say:

Her mother came out and began to plead with her.

Twist away the elder sister and say

She said to her mother, “Listen! For all these years I have been slaving away for you, and I have never disobeyed you in anything; yet you have never given me a single night in with my friends.  But when young madam went off and played the tart and wasted all your money comes back. YOU treat her like a princess!

Move to the Mother chair, and say

The mother said to her, “Oh Darling, you are always with me, and everything that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate, because your sister was dead and has come to life; she was lost and now she’s found.”

What was your favourite part of the story?

What was the most important part of the story?

Which person in the story did you most connect with?

String Prayers

Ball of household string on white

I tried this prayer idea with a group today that ranged in age from 6 – 14 – and all you need is a ball of string.

I held one end of the string and told the group we were going to pass the ball of string around the whole group, one at a time, and make a web of prayer. When we held the ball of string, we could say a prayer out loud, or silently. We would the hold on to our place in the string and pass the ball of string to someone else, until everyone had had a turn.

I happened to have a very quiet group today, so no reminders about how to PASS or gently TOSS the string to the next person were needed – if some of our more boisterous members had been there, I would have taken a moment to do this.

When everyone had had a turn, we had a moment of silence with all of us holding our place on the string, connected to each other in prayer, and then we sang “O Lord, Hear My Prayer” twice.

To finish, I asked them to think of something that was worrying them, or making them sad, and when I counted three, to release their place on the string as they released that worry to God.

It worked well at providing a visual and tangible element to our prayers, and helping some of the little ones fidget less than being asked to just sit still does.

This could also work in All-Age Worship – maybe with groups of 20 or so at most. Under-5s might need some help thinking about what to pray – “what would you like to say thank you to God for?” or such like.

All-Age Prodigal Son Prayer Stations

On Saturday, I was asked to lead an hour and fifteen minutes of worship at a retreat/meeting day for the Readers in our Diocese. The ideas I used were supposed to engage the adults present on the day while also inspiring them with things they could take home and use with children in their churches. So they had to be TRULY All-Age!

I led about half an hour of worship at the beginning – the slides for this can be downloaded by clicking here: Readers Retreat Day. For the story, I used Bibliologue, which I’ve written about on this blog before. The song I used is a Hebrew melody, using language from Isaiah as a prayer for reconciliation – appropriate to the story of the Prodigal Son. If you don’t know it, you can hear a tinny recording of me singing it in my office here. The two parts can be sung together, as well – I had the congregation try this. The Lego prayers referred to in the slides can be found here.

Then we had about half an hour to explore prayer stations, which I’ve detailed below. During this time, I played my YouTube Lent playlist, to create a contemplative atmosphere.

In putting together the prayer stations, I was loosely guided by three things:

  1. The different parts of the story. Some had quotes on them from the story to show a focus on that particular element. Some were more general.
  2. The four spiritual styles detailed by Dave Csinos in his book “Children’s Ministry That Fits,” and based on work by several others: Word, Emotion, Symbol, Action.
  3. A model from a colleague who told me her prayer life operates in three ways – inward (ourselves), outward (others), and upward (God). (She may have got this from someone else – if so, please let me know!)

At the end, I gathered the group back together and talked about how the Prodigal Son is an apt parable for Lent – it shows a time of alienation, ending in reconciliation. Just like the son and father are reconciled at the end, we are reconciled with God at Easter. I read the following from an essay by Debie Thomas on the “Journey With Jesus” blog:

“How exactly did Jesus spend his time?  Was he tempted 24/7?  Did he walk for miles each day, or camp out in one spot?  Where did he sleep?  What was the silence like, hour after hour after hour?  Did he break it up by humming, laughing, or shouting?  Did he star gaze?  Play with birds?  Chase lizards?  As the days stretched on and on, did he fear for his life?  Question his sanity?  Wish to die? Mark — given, as ever, to brevity — leaves all of these questions unanswered.  But the few details he does include in his account are telling, and they give us much to cling to as we face deserts in our own lives.  I’d like to focus on three:

  1. Jesus didn’t choose the wilderness.
  2. The struggle is long.
  3. There are angels in the desert. “

Then I said that we are still in that desert time of Lent, but we know Jesus is with us even there, even in the desert. We closed with this wonderful video and some wondering questions.

So now, on to the prayer stations …

I focused several stations on the opening part of the story – the idea of leaving home and going to a distant land. Here, I invited people to think about those who are forced to leave home because of war, and to reflect on what they would bring if they had to leave home quickly. There were then ways to take action on refugee issues.

With children, I might not provide a “donate now” text code.

You can download the leaflet here.

Lots of people wrote prayers for countries where they had connections, or where there is violence. When I’ve done this with children, they often pray for the places their families come from, or places they have been on holiday.

This was a very popular station. The cardboard outlines of people are available from Baker Ross, and are a very flexible resource to have on hand.

This was also a very popular station … I can’t imagine why!

There is not just solemnity in the story, but also rejoicing. So I thought of the image of a party, and went with cake and balloons. Participants were asked to think of something that was going well, and write it with a Sharpie on a balloon. The balloon was left on the altar as an offering of thanksgiving, and then people served themselves cake.

I provided one cake that was Gluten/Dairy free.

readers13One thing I learned … make sure you have a plan for what to do with all the balloons afterwards! If you’re not able to pop them afterwards (we had lunch, then a Eucharist, so I couldn’t), bring a big bag to carry them out in! I did multiple trips to the car, and my back seat is now full of unpopped balloons …

For people who prefer contemplative silence, we had a side chapel available, with the words of reassurance given to the older brother – “child, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours” – and some glittery candles. These are electric candles, also available from Baker Ross, and great for staying safe with under-5s. Older groups may wish to use real candles, but still make sure an adult is on hand.

For those who pray best by talking and sharing with others, the Table Talk sets are great! These are available to borrow from Diocesan office – we also have special sets designed for use with Messy Church and for use with teens. Because this was a bought rather than custom-made resource, this prayer station wasn’t specifically about the story. But the fact that it has questions about the nature of God, and friendship/relationship, means it addresses some of the same questions the story does.

This station was about the story as a whole – and again, all these resources are available from Diocesan office. We had fuzzy felt, “The Lost” storybag with its wooden figures of the story, and the wonderful knitted pigs made for us by the Mothers’ Union. I printed out a copy of the story and encouraged people to read it and play with the materials.

And finally, there was a very general open-ended art table, with some ideas to encourage people who might feel stuck when told to “make anything.”

Many of these ideas can be adapted VERY easily for use with other stories – and could be used in Junior Church, Messy Church, All-Age Worship, and more.

Stained glass that works!

There are so many ways NOT to do a stained glass window craft, and I’ve probably tried them all.

Black paper and tissue can work, but it means designs end up being abstract, with no opportunity for children to play with symbols and images.

Trying to draw and cut silhouettes requires a lot of practice – children don’t easily grasp the concept that the details you draw on your silhouette won’t show up in the window.

However, after much trial and error, I’ve now finally found a way to create the translucent effect in a user-friendly format.

You will need:

  1. Wax paper (available from Amazon). Please note, this is NOT the same as baking parchment.
  2. Sharpie pens.
  3. Ideally, a laminator.

If you don’t have a laminator, you can make frames for the windows out of stiff card – but this is probably more labour-intensive.

Simply cut the wax paper to the size and shape required, and let the children loose with the Sharpies. When they’re done, allow the work to dry fully before laminating.

  1. Some Sharpies are permanent. Roll up sleeves, use aprons, etc., if needed to protect clothing.
  2. The laminator should be used on a fairly low setting – I did a test piece with my own drawing to make sure the laminator didn’t melt the wax and destroy the work, but I can’t promise this wouldn’t have happened on the top heat setting.

Christmas Concentration

Who remembers playing concentration as a kid?

The rules were so simple – you mixed up the cards and set them out, face-down. You took turns turning over two cards; if they matched, you got to keep them. If not, you had to turn them back over. It’s gently competitive, hard to cheat at, can be played over and over without new equipment, and boosts memory and concentration skills.

It’s also a great way to reinforce the imagery of Bible stories.

A few Bible-based “concentration” games exist, like this one from Orchard Toys, or Alphabet Alley’s “Bible ABC” matching game. (Conflict of interest alert – I own Mustard Seed Kids, the source of that second link.)

But why not make your own? With card, an internet connection, a printer, scissors, and some glue, you can make unique concentration games for any Bible story or festival that has a variety of interesting images.

Here’s the set I made for Christmas:

If you want it to last longer, you should laminate the cards.

As always, when working with images, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. First of all, I’m not an expert on “fair use” of images – obviously, nobody’s making money off this set I made, but if you want to be on the safe side, use Wikimedia Commons for pictures that are free to use, or get a subscription to a clip art or stock photo site.

Secondly, I deliberately used photos for many of these to make the images more vivid – paintings are wonderful (see my previous post for some ideas on using paintings in Junior Church) but photos can help remind us that these were real people! (As can paintings that creatively re-set Bible stories in modern settings … but I’m getting off topic). The image of the shepherd is a modern Palestinian shepherd, and Mary is from the film The Nativity (it’s the same actress from Whale Rider.)

Thirdly, I included a few images they won’t already be familiar with, in the hopes that this game will inspire questioning and learning. The rose is not something we normally associate with Christmas. The blog, “The Jesus Question”, has a wonderful explanation of how rose imagery is used at Christmas by both Catholics and Protestants – with pictures, song lyrics, video clips, and more. The writer there says:

“There does arise one cohesive ‘Christmas Rose’ image: A plant (the Tree of Jesse, …), springing up from Israeli soil. God is the seed, Jesse and others (Abraham, Moses, David, etc.) are the roots, Mary is the stem, and Jesus is the crowning blossom. All the people in the lineage of Christ helped bring him into the world and make up this giant, leafy, flowering plant. And now non-Jews are being graciously grafted in (Romans 11).”

This game could also be included in a children’s corner in church, or as an activity in Messy Church, or as a prayer station in All-Age Worship …

What other festivals could you make concentration games for? What images might you use?

Easy Junior Church/Messy Church idea

Last year, my Junior Church did the Old Testament, in order (with breaks for celebrating major festivals). This year, we’re doing the New Testament. This means that last Sunday we did the Annunciation, and I decided to use one of my favourite lesson ideas – which can work for almost ANY Bible story.

Here’s what you do.

Either during, or after, you tell the story, you show a few very different artistic interpretations of one of the key scenes. Here are the Annunciation pictures I used:

annunciation-1824.jpgLargeannunciation-juan-de-flandes-1519-9eb786e3annunciation-tannerJN958 Canticle of Mary

Notice there are a lot of differences. I made sure at least one showed Mary with a darker skin tone, and they weren’t all “old masters” in style, and after that, I basically just went with what struck me.

I asked the children:

  1. What do you notice about these pictures? (They noticed Mary had a halo of stars in one, that she looked sad in some and happy in others, and more.)
  2. What do some of them have in common? (They noticed some of them had the dove, which meant we could talk about the dove as an image of the Holy Spirit. They also noticed that Mary was wearing blue in a lot of them, and this meant I could talk about how she’s traditionally shown wearing blue, and that up until recently, blue was a “girl’s colour” because of that. )
  3. What are the differences? (This allowed us to talk about how different artists have different ideas of what the angel might have been like, and what we thought about those different ideas.)
  4. Why do you think the artists chose those colours?

These questions got them examining the art, and the imagery, and the emotions of the scenes, in much more detail than a lecture would have. And it meant that our discussion – which ranged from “are there boy colours and girl colours, really?” to “why do we show the Holy Spirit as a dove?” felt like it belonged to them, rather than being imposed by me. Of course, because I had specifically chosen the images to suggest this kind of noticing, I had created a context in which these discussions could happen, but they picked it up, and ran with it, and made it theirs.

I then asked them to think about how they would show the scene. To think about the questions we’d asked about the artists whose pictures we’d looked at, and ask themselves the same questions – what do I want the angel to look like? What images do I include? What colours? What is Mary’s expression like? I had provided a variety of multimedia materials for them to play with as they did this.

For those who didn’t feel like doing that activity, I provided:

  1. Lindisfarne Scriptorium colouring images of the words of the Magnificat
  2. A toy and book corner, with a toy church, puzzles, Bible storybooks, a prayer station, etc. (We have this up every week, so it’s effortless)

Here are some of the results:

B represented the angel as a pillar of light and sequins – this reflects the imagery used in the Tanner annunciation above, and also the pillar of fire in Exodus. We have a stamp set that includes a bird, so she used that for the Holy Spirit.
S is using the Baker Ross scratch art sheets to copy the seated, awe-struck, nervous Mary from the Tanner annunciation. Copying is a legitimate stage of art – here she has clearly focused intensely on Mary’s body language and her facial expression, entering into the scene and training her eye in observational drawing.
In storytelling, we talked about how often God’s messengers tell people “do not be afraid” – and that this suggests that meeting an angel is a scary thing! One child incorporated these words into their work (like one of the Annunciations above included the words of the Magnificat). Mary’s body language is surprised and perhaps afraid, and the child has also included imagery of stars and doves from the art we looked at.
A very detailed angel took up most of the page here. Mary didn’t even get a look-in! Again, artists make very different choices in how they show a scene, and that’s perfectly fine.

Benefits of looking at different pictures of the same Bible story:

  1. It makes us think. When we look at one image, we tend to go, “oh, okay, that’s what it looked like, I’ll copy that,” and we don’t think, “maybe it looked different. Maybe Mary was scared. Maybe she was excited. Maybe she was both. Maybe the angel looked like a person with wings. Maybe it looked like a pillar of light. Maybe the room was dark.” It breaks our tendency to accept a pre-digested “default” version of the story.
  2. It shows us Christianity through time, and around the world. This is an opportunity to show artists of ethnicities outside Western European, artists who are women, portrayals of the Bible story set in different times and places, and much more.
  3. It gives us permission to experiment. If there’s no “one right way” to show the story, then that gives you freedom to try, and explore, and discover new things about the story and about God. And isn’t that the point?

For more on using diverse art in your Junior Church, Messy Church, and more, try these resources:

The Christ We Share

John August Swanson (Artist)

Jesus Mafa (the main website appears to be down, but many of the images are here)

New Shared Resource!

We’ve had a few people ask for a centralised resource bank where we can all share lesson plans, worship ideas, story scripts, and so on, that have worked for us.

I’ve created a Google account using the Children’s Mission Enabler email address – you can all log in with it, contribute your own documents, download other people’s, etc. All the resources are FREE, but by contributing your own, you certify that a) this is your work, and b) you’re okay with other churches and groups using it for free.

To log in, go to, and make sure you’re signed out of any other Google accounts you have. Then log in using:

Email address:

Password: matthew185 (for Matthew 18:5 “whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”)

So far, I only have three folders – I expect there will be more later on:

To add your own, double-click on the folder you want to save it in, then either drag and drop files, or use the blue “NEW” button at the top:

To download a resource, double-click on it. This will open it up in the browser. Then click on the download arrow in the top right. You can also print it directly from the browser using the printer icon next to the download arrow.

I hope this is useful! Do let me know how you get on – you can reach me on the email listed above.


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StarkLight’s Third Short Story Contest Rules

Well, here it is- StarkLight Short Story Contest #3!

Congratulations to Will Norton, a perennial StarkLight favorite, Hal Friesen of AstroHal fame, Robert Marquiss and all the rest of our second contest winners!

Here are our standard rules- and let it be known that previous winners may indeed submit fresh stories for submission.

Submission Length: 8000 words maximum, flash fiction accepted.

Submission Content:
Any subject matter of a speculative, science fiction or fantasy nature involving either original characters or characters published under the StarkLight Press imprint (ie: GAFF, Dor’iann, I’snian Characters or worldsets). Sadly, though we would love to hear your top notch fan fiction, we can’t accept any wider re-characterizations. Thinly veiled alterations of a truly original nature will be run past our legal department however, and will be considered for publication through our not-for-profit webpages.

Graphic novels, illustrated short stories consisting of grayscale (sorry, no color images) will also be accepted. Again, see content guidelines as above. We aren’t MAD magazine, so we can’t risk the litigation of a good caricature, even though we do enjoy them.

Submission Format: ODT, RTF, PDF formats. Images in JPEG only please, either embedded in file or tagged separately

Other requirements: Please include a five hundred word maximum bio that describes a bit about you and your writing career.

Also include a five hundred word maximum overview of the worldscape from which your story springs.

Include email address, webpages, facebook sites etc. Also include your phone number if so desired.

All submissions meeting the requirements will be considered, and all submitters will be contacted by July 26, 2014.

StarkLight Volume 3 will be published in September 2014.

Each winning contributor will receive:
a copy of Starklight Vol. 3
a Prize Packet of promotional materials including posters for the compendium, GAFF poster grab bag and a StarkLight t-shirt, hat, magic writer’s pen and mug.
Thorough, nay exhaustive publicity for the winner and their websites through StarkLight Media, including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, web coverage
an interview to be posted on the StarkLight Industries and Carraway Productions YouTube channel.

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Best Teacher awardee from Kodagu donates prize money for flood relief

Best Teacher awardee from Kodagu donates prize money for flood relief

Mysuru:  Kelapanda N. Manjunath (Kiran), who is serving as an English lecturer and NCC Officer at Government PU College, Ponnampet, has won this year’s State-level Best Teacher Award.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy presented the award to him at a ceremony held in Bengaluru on Sept. 5, to mark Teachers’ Day. In a noble gesture, Manjunath has donated the prize money to Kodagu Flood Relief Fund.

Son of late K. T. Nachappa and Kalamma, retired Head Mistress, Manjunath had won the District Best Teacher Award in 2007. He has attended two International, three National and 12 State seminars. A master resource person, he has trained many teachers as resource persons in Kodagu district and has also won many prizes in Education Department and is active in co-curricular activities.

Manjunath became NCC Officer after undergoing National Training at Maharashtra’s Officers’ Training Academy. He has sent girl cadets twice to National Hockey in Ranchi and Delhi from his college.

His daughter Nidhi Kiran has represented Bangalore University Football team as the Captain and is presently doing Master’s in Manipal University. His wife Rekha Kiran (Addengada), is presently a member of Hathur Gram Panchayat.

September 9, 2018

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Announcements, March 31

Outreach Committee Open Meeting Invitation, Saturday, April 2, 8:00am: The Outreach Committee at St. Dunstan’s oversees and coordinates all the many ways that the people of St. Dunstan’s serve those in need beyond our parish, by sharing our time and skills as volunteers and by giving funds and other resources. Outreach Committee meetings are always open to interested folk, but we especially invite those who would like to learn more or get involved to attend our upcoming meeting. We’ll offer an overview of our core ministries, and we’d love to hear about your ideas or passions! We gather with a simple potluck breakfast at 8am, then move into the meeting proper at 8:30am.

Little Free Library Planning Meeting, Sunday, April 3, at 9:15am: We will have a brief meeting to familiarize interested folk with our Little Free Library and discuss how to organize a team to maintain it in the months ahead. All are welcome!

Retirement Celebration for Deacon Sybil, Sunday, April 3, after the 10am service: The Rev. Sybil Robinson is a much-beloved elder of our parish, an Episcopal deacon, and a retired professor of theater and drama. Sybil has proclaimed the Gospel faithfully for us for many years, even at the age of ninety-one. Sybil will soon retire from serving in this capacity, though she will continue to worship with us as she is able. Come join us for a celebration of Sybil’s ministry. Please thank Sybil for the blessing of her beautiful and well-trained voice, all these years!

Backpack Snack Pack, Sunday, April 3, 11:45am: Every month St. Dunstanites of all ages help pack Backpack Snack Packs for local school children from low-income households, so that they have nutritious snacks available over the weekend. We’ll work in the Meeting Room following the 10am service.

Evening Eucharist, Sunday, April 3, 6pm: Join us for a simple service before the week begins. All are welcome.

Birthday and Anniversaries will be honored this Sunday, April 3, as is our custom on the first Sunday of every month. Come forward after the Announcements to receive a blessing and the community’s prayers.

Healing Prayer, Sunday, April 3: This Sunday, one of our ministers will offer healing prayers for those who wish to receive prayers for themselves or on behalf of others.

MOM Special Offering, Sunday April 3: This Sunday, half the cash in our offering plate and any designated checks will be given to Middleton Outreach Ministry’s food pantry. Groceries are welcome gifts too. Here are the top ten items most needed currently: pouch/canned meat, sugar, size 6 diapers, meals in a can, ketchup/mayonnaise, canned potatoes, laundry detergent, non-perishable lactose free milk, plastic grocery bags, paper grocery bags. Quality bedding items such as comforters, sheets, blankets and towels are always in need too. Thank you for all your support!

Easter Season Reflection Booklets: The young adults of the Episcopal churches of Madison (including two of our own) have written reflections for each day of Easter season. Pick up a booklet to enjoy in the weeks ahead!

Greeters Needed for the 10am service: If you enjoy making people feel at home, please consider signing up to be a greeter on Sunday mornings. Greeters serve once a month. Here’s a basic job description: arrive 15 minutes before worship starts, greet people as they arrive, help any newcomers or guests find what they need to participate and be comfortable. If you are interested or would like to learn more, sign up in the Gathering Area or talk with Bernice Mason or Rev. Miranda.

Coffee Hosts Needed! Please consider being a coffee host. We have several openings in April and May. Sign-up sheets for upcoming Sundays can be found in the Gathering Area. For more information, Contact Janet Bybee. Thanks for lending a hand.

Guest Preacher, Sunday, April 10: Vivienne Anderson will preach at both services. Vivienne is a storyteller, realtor, community leader and former pastor, who can fly, forgive sins, and sell a large house in a single day. We welcome Vivienne to our pulpit and look forward to hearing her reflect on our Scriptures!

Trans Issues 101, Sunday, April 10, 9am: The idea of transgender people is still new (and perplexing) to many of us. Vivienne Anderson, our guest preacher, is a community educator and would like to share her story and answer your questions. We’ll gather in the Meeting Room at 9am.

Sunday School, Sunday, April 10, 10am: Our 3-5 year old class will explore the many styles and meanings of crosses, while our 6 – 10 year old class will reflect on the conversion of the apostle Paul. Our Sunday school classes usually meet on the second and third Sundays of every month. All kids are welcome!

Spirituality of Parenting Lunch, Sunday, April 10, 11:45am: All who seek meaning in the journey of parenthood (at any age or stage) are welcome to come for food and conversation. Child care and a simple meal provided.

Easter Season 2016: Healing Democracy, One Heart at a Time – On Sundays at 9am in Easter Season, starting on April 17 (** please note date change **), we will explore techniques for creating safe spaces in which to talk honestly, strive to transcend partisanship and reconnect as human beings across the political gulfs that divide us. We’ll experiment with five habits that author Parker Palmer believes will help heal our hearts and the collective heart of our nation:

  1. An understanding that we are all in this together.
  2. An appreciation of the value of otherness.
  3. An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways.
  4. A sense of personal voice or agency.
  5. A capacity to create community.

In a year of contentious politics, let’s claim this opportunity to engage in deep conversation and strengthen the ties connecting our faith, our hearts, our convictions and our communities. Watch this space for more details, but please consider participating in the weeks ahead!

Sing Out Loud! Sunday, April 24, 3pm: St. Dunstan’s Choir is hosting a choir festival on April 24th at 3 p.m., to benefit Middleton Outreach Ministries (MOM). Choirs from MOM congregations will be joining our singers to present an afternoon concert. Please bring personal care or household cleaning items for the MOM pantry. Al Ripp, the Executive Director of MOM will speak to us about MOM’s work in our area. Help spread the word!

St. Francis House 100th Anniversary Dinner, Saturday, April 23, 4-8pm at St. Dunstan’s: On April 23, St. Francis House celebrates the ministry’s 100th anniversary, a celebration that belongs to all of the Episcopal churches in our diocese and to everyone who has been a part of SFH. The celebration begins at SFH with Evening Prayer at 5:15 pm, led by Bishop Miller, and the blessing of a large icon, gifted to SFH by the alumni family. Drazen Dupor, the iconographer, will be on hand to speak about the icon. There will be displays from different eras at SFH, a short program, and lots of new and old friends. The celebration continues at St. Dunstan’s, with dinner at 6:30pm. Ample parking will be available at St. Dunstan’s with a shuttle to and from campus for evening prayer. Tickets are $35. Seating will be limited to 100 people. You can reserve your tickets for the evening at

Madison-Area Julian Gathering, April 13, 7:15 – 9:00pm: The Madison-Area Julian Gathering has been meeting for six years, reading and discussing the hopeful theology of St. Julian of Norwich, and practicing contemplative prayer together. Upon having worked our way carefully through Julian’s 14th Century masterpiece of trust and joy in the goodness of God, we’ve decided to start at the beginning and do it all over again! If you’re interested in getting in on the ground floor, please join us!

Men’s Book Group, Saturday, April 30, 10am: The book is English Creek by Ivan Doig. Jack McCaskill accompanies his father on a horseback journey to count sheep onto mountain rangeland allotted by the national forest—a routine yearly duty that leads to the revelation of a long-kept family secret. Events develop over the course of the summer and end in a forest fire that brings the book, as well as the Catskill family’s struggle within itself, to a stunning climax.

An Introduction to Charitable Giving, Sunday, May 1, 11:30am: Come for lunch with several of the folk of St. Dunstan’s who have expertise in the areas of financial management, charitable giving, and taxes. They’ll outline the logistics of different ways of giving to your favorite organizations or causes, different kinds of gifts, and tax implications of giving. Questions welcome too! Folks of all ages and incomes are encouraged to come; child care will be provided.

Vacation Bible School Dates Set! Our summer Vacation Bible School will take place from Sunday, July 31, through Thursday, August 4, 5:30-7:30pm. Kids ages 3-10 are welcome to participate; kids 11 and up may participate as actors and helpers. We hope these dates are helpful to St. Dunstan’s families making summer plans.

40th Annual Women’s Mini Week – Surprised by Joy! – August 11 – 14, 2016, Camp Lakotah, Wautoma, Wisconsin: This is your time to retreat from your everyday routines, to allow discoveries and friendships to refresh you, to find comfortable activity or blissful quiet. Registration forms are in the Gathering Area. For more information, see the website at