Hi All,
This past few months has been really exciting, and work with our young people and visiting others has been a real blessing.

Just before I go any further, I have to introduce you to KMC and Lucy. KMC is a giraffe and Lucy is a moose. They are our Seniors and Impact mascots, and love coming to church to mix with the young and the not-so-young!!!

I have been working with Knutsford Methodist Church for just over 6 months now, and am very settled and really enjoying the job. I now am able to call most people by their names with the exception of a few that I don't quite seem able to get into my head. What's the minister's name again!!!! (Only kidding).

On the pastoral side of things I am getting more relaxed and am enjoying meeting everyone at church and during the week. I feel very privileged to share in the stories of life and faith, and many have fascinating stories to tell. I hope I am as animated and steadfast in my faith when I reach that time in my life.

The Tuesday Afternoon Fellowship is a place where I get to catch up with many of the ladies and have a cup of tea (I can smell the kettle going on!!!!!), and they even invite me in to share in their party times. What more could a Lay-worker wish for! I feel a real part of their group even if I am not there on a regular basis. I went one afternoon as their speaker and shared a whistle-stop tour of my life and faith-journey so far. They even got to laugh at me as a kid in some of the most awful photos you could imagine. Did you ever wonder why your mother dressed you in those clothes, and then let you out the house!?!

Mums and Tots on a Wednesday are planning to have a couple of Praise and Prayer Services, one in March and one just before Easter - watch this space for information.

I am beginning a course on 'Listening' in March and am very much looking forward to gaining some new skills and rising to some new challenges; watch this space - I shall be checking with those I visit whether they can spot the difference.

On the side of my job that is 'youth work' things are really taking off. January saw a couple of our TnT young people come and ask if they could start cell-groups. (These are younger versions of our adult house groups.) They wanted to meet in smaller groups to encourage each other through prayer and study and to support each other. We now have 4 groups meeting, and, after the first feed-back session, all is going well with a few things needing tweaked as with anything new.

The young people are so enthusiastic about it, and are really benefiting from these times they spend with each other. As a whole group we have been to the last ever Planet Life at the Apollo, and some went to another 'Gig' at Cheadle Hulme. At Easter we are going to Easter People at Southport and are all very much looking forward to it.

As we go to press we have some issues over accommodation as there will be 22 of us all together; however, God has it in hand and we are waiting for the confirmation to come through.

TnT plan to put on a 'Gig' ('concert', for those older ones among us) at church, mid to late June, bringing in a band called 'YFriday'. They plan to invite their Christian and non-Christian friends to it, and we hope you will pray for the organisation and staffing of the event.

Impact/Seniors is going very well and we have between 10-15 on a Sunday morning and 4-10 on alternate Tuesdays. Impact has been to the Trafford Centre Shopping before Christmas, and to The Crocky (very, very, muddy) Trail (thanks Liz!!!!), near Chester, as their Christmas Party. We are planning a trip to Chester Zoo and hope to have a full report next time. (Any missing you might find among the chimps!!!!)

The work among our young people is really exciting and their energy, enthusiasm and thirst to know more are quite fantastic. I gain as much from them as they do from me. We are slowly building good relationships and gaining trust from each other. God has shown his power and grace through our young people many times in the past few months, and I hope that they will continue to walk in His way.

Thank you once again for your support through prayer, care and meals that have been given to me; I really do appreciate it.

Please pray for:-
• Issues surrounding Easter People, accommodation, transport, fund-raising.
• The 'Gig' in June, for the band to confirm and give us a cost, the publicity, and backing from the church.
• Mums and Tots' Praise Services
• For the visits I will make this month.