We have had an exciting time since I last wrote, our clubs are growing, we have started a few new things and we have had the small occasion of the Bridge Re-Opening. If you don’t live in Tadcaster you may wonder what bridge we are talking about.
During Christmas 2015 the bridge that joins Tadcaster together was washed away in a flood and it took 14 months to restore it. During that time the people of this lovely town could only move across the river on a temporary footbridge. The bridge was officially opened in a fabulous day of celebrations on the 19th of February and we were thrilled to take part in it.
We were asked to open Manor Farm for entertainment and refreshments and the outdoor area for a skate park. We ran a cafe, had a mosaic for people to get involved in, had a jester and story teller, and crafts for children. We also made 700 bridge shaped biscuits, with the help of Tadcaster Grammar School, which we took around in big trays and gave away to people on the day. Each biscuit had a ticket attached, saying who we were. It was a fabulous day of serving the community and telling people who we are and what we do. It is no surprise that since then our primary aged club ‘The Tribe’ has doubled in size.
I have also been spending time updating our policies and checking that our foundations are strong. I have been interested to find that I am still learning new things about the Bridge Project, and to realise that I don’t know what I don’t know! We are very fortunate to have willing and able people around who are happy to help us as we get ready for growth. We are grateful to have this time before Manor Farm becomes our more permanent base, to prayerfully consider how we may grow in the future.
I am happy to report that our first ‘I’m The Girl I Want To Be’ course (for raising self esteem in teenaged girls) has just finished. We had up to 11 girls between the ages of 11 and 16 attending for 8 weeks on a Wednesday afternoon. The course is a good mixture of chat, video clips, activities and craft. The highlights for the girls were the dressing up, and the film making at the end. We have had some good feedback from the girls, for example:
‘I have learnt that I can just be myself and I have begun to accept myself more’
‘The best thing about the course is that I learnt something new and that is to be yourself, and it has been fun’
Shannon and I have learnt a lot from running the course this first time and we are looking forward to the next time.
After half term it seemed to be the right time to re-start our home visiting programme. We now have team who go out every Monday evening to visit the homes of every child who comes to ‘The Tribe’, taking a colouring in sheet, and the homes of any of the older children who may need a visit. This is vital to us expressing our vision that we operate out of a place of love and care for people, and the families do really appreciate it.
So as I reflect on how I have used my time over the past month, and I look to the future where time invested in foundations will be well appreciated, I wonder what new things God is going to envision us with as we move forward into Spring.