On Wednesday 18th August, 35 children and their parents had a wonderful day at the annual Footsteps day in Chearsley. They painted, stuck, sewed, tye dyed, constructed, acted, watched, ate and danced the day away whilst learning some of the stories that Jesus told.
They decorated plant pots and sowed a runner bean then watched a shadow play of the parable of the sower. After a picnic lunch in the sunshine they split into age groups to explore some more of the stories.
The youngest group made sheep and acted out the parable of the lost sheep complete with Barbie's Ken dressed up in shepherd gear! Then they searched for the Lost Coin, all the more fun because these coins were made of chocolate and they could eat them once they had found them! The middle age group built wise and foolish houses on rock and sand and then used water guns to try and destroy them. The oldest children went on a treasure hunt around the village to find the Pearl of Great Price which was hidden away in the bell tower of the church. The children loved climbing the 600 year old stone steps, something they had never done before.
At then end of the day, we all got back together again to share our stories. Two little girls Alice and Olive from the 2-3 year old group, beautifully re-enacted the story of the lost sheep, named Smudge. They were wearing Bedouin headdresses from Jesus' story of the lost coin, which we had also acted out. The 4,5 and 6's then sang the song "the wise man built his house upon the rock" complete with actions. This was followed up by a drama from our 7+ group where Oliver went shopping for various items with his slave boy Alex in tow. When they came across a fabulous pearl, Oliver sold everything he had, including Alex, in order to buy the pearl.The day was rounded off wonderfully with a party, complete with a feast and a disco.
Many thanks to all our helpers and those who came along to enjoy the day.
Sharon Sampson, Ann Persson and Yvonne Mullins
