Dear Prime Time member,
Did you miss us? I’m so sorry that there was no Prime Time email last week. The gremlins had well and truly been at work with the Prime Time email account; so much so that we had to call in the experts and by the time the system was back up and running, it was far too late to begin emailing you. Many apologies if you spent time hunting through your inbox and SPAM folders looking for the weekly Prime Time missive – hopefully today’s offering will help to fill the void.
The big news this week is that the Church Office at the Old Rectory is now re-open! (Well – partially…) Due to social distancing requirements, the whole team cannot be in the office at the same time so we have been split into 2 ‘Bubbles’, with the result that each of us will spend part of the week working from home and part of the week working in the office. To make life easier for my colleague who was trying to sort out this rota, my day off has been moved from Wednesday and going forwards, it will now be on a Monday. You will currently find me working from home on a Tuesday and in the Church Office on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
I spent a very pleasurable morning yesterday catching up with our Prime Time Admin Assistant Karen Franks. Karen has been busy supporting her family throughout lockdown and so, apart from the occasional Zoom call and text message, we haven’t had much contact with her – so it was great to be able to catch up yesterday. Karen will be returning to work on Wednesday 7th October; initially at least, she will be working just one morning a week instead of the 2 she was doing prior to lock down and Wednesday will be her usual day to be in the office.
Karen is very busy at the moment, helping her eldest son Jack prepare to go off to university for the first time at the end of this month. I’m sure many Prime Time members reading this will recollect going through this rite of passage with their own children and will understand just what is involved in sending a young person off to university; both in terms of gathering all the required kit and also the requirement for emotional support as the day of departure grows ever nearer. When I left home for university, I remember that I had been told it was a good plan to have your own fridge, so my parents car was laden down with a small fridge in addition to all my clothes, books and household essentials! Karen hasn’t mentioned that they’ll be taking a fridge up to Warwick with Jack, but maybe we should ask when we next see her what was the most unusual item Jack felt he needed to take to university!
You’ll no doubt be thrilled to learn that Karen’s son Jack did really well in his A -Levels and was awarded an A* in History and an A in the other 2 subjects he took as well. Poor Karen and her husband Dave had a bit of a double whammy this summer as their youngest son Alex also took his GCSEs. Like his brother, Alex was similarly rewarded with some really good grades for all his hard work and Dave and Karen are quite rightly, extremely proud of both boys. Talking of proud parents, Andy and I couldn’t be more delighted for our own son Harry, as he too saw his efforts rewarded at GCSE level with the good grades he deserved. Many of you will have had grandchildren also receiving results over the summer and I hope that any young person known to you was not disadvantaged by the necessary changes in this year’s exam system. I have been astonished by the resilience of this group of young people and their willingness to accept and understand why the changes were necessary and then just when things seemed to be settled, to have to cope with seemingly ever-changing goal posts as exam results day drew near. For students who were facing exams this summer, their year has panned out nothing like how they would have imagined back in January; and without their usual network of friends and peers to support them, in the solitude of their homes, they have been expected to cope with some pretty seismic shifts in their expectations.
Transitioning from childhood towards independence and adulthood is always challenging, but possibly never more so than this year. Please do continue to uphold in prayer our young people who have resumed their studies this autumn term and particularly for those who are about to commence their university education and for whom the expectation of university life may nowhere near match the reality of a university education in a world battling Covid-19. Many university student-life rites of passage that we enjoyed (possibly endured!) are currently not open to them and once again this cohort’s resilience and ability to adapt will surely be tested.
Although none of us can say that we have lived through times like these before, I know that every Prime Time member has faced trials and challenging times during their lifetime – it’s just life; sometimes it doesn’t go according to our plan and this has required resilience and the ability to adapt; just as today’s 18 year olds are finding themselves having to do now. Sharing stories and suggesting advice on what strategies previous generations have employed in order to get through difficult times is a real gift that advancing age does not preclude you from being able to give. In fact, advancing age brings more life experience and therefore more wisdom as to how obstacles can be perceived and overcome (or at least navigated!)
"Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?"
If you would like to send a message of support to a local young person who is preparing to leave for university for the first time, then you are welcome to send a note, care of myself at the Old Rectory and through my colleague Anto our Youth Worker here at the church; I will ensure that it finds its way to a young person embarking on a new phase in their life and who may be feeling overwhelmed at times by the challenges that lie ahead. I can assure you that any message will be very much valued by its recipient.
Now that I am back at my desk, I am more able to turn my attention to the months ahead and together with the Prime Time Team, begin planning the most effective ways that Prime Time is able to support its members and enable you all to stay connected, both with us as a church but also with each other. With further limits on our ability to socialise a distinct possibility on the horizon, it is making it difficult to see how we will be able to meet together as a group, certainly in the near future – but we have a few ideas regarding ways to stay in touch and hopefully we can begin making these a reality in the not too distant future. If you have any suggestions of your own regarding activities that we can enjoy together in a socially-distanced way, we would love to hear your ideas; so please don’t keep them to yourself – do get in touch with us and share them. We love to hear from you!
Although the Corona Virus crisis rumbles on and it feels a bit like ‘same old, same old’; for those of us with school age children and who therefore work along the timeframe of a school year – September marks the start of a new year; an opportunity for a fresh start when people return, feeling refreshed and full of energy and ready to tackle the challenges that lie ahead. I’m sensing that as an organisation, this church is taking a fresh approach to doing things – both out of necessity and opportunity that the pandemic has brought us and our Older People’s Ministry is being seen as an integral part of this new approach. I have been very encouraged in recent weeks by the commitment being pledged to our work and this has renewed my energy too. So hang on to your hats, I’ve been having a few ideas … !
It’s great to be back and we look forward to catching up with you by email, phone or Zoom – maybe a combination of all 3, over the coming weeks.
With every good wish,
From Penny - on behalf of the Prime Time Team
Job to send a message of support to a local young person who is preparing to leave for university for the first time, then you are welcome to send a note, care of myself at the Old Rectory and through my colleague Anto our Youth Worker here at the church; I will ensure that it finds its way to a young person embarking on a new phase in their life and who may be feeling overwhelmed at times by the challenges that lie ahead. I can assure you that any message will be very much valued by its recipient.
Now that I am back at my desk, I am more able to turn my attention to the months ahead and together with the Prime Time Team, begin planning the most effective ways that Prime Time is able to support its members and enable you all to stay connected, both with us as a church but also with each other. With further limits on our ability to socialise a distinct possibility on the horizon, it is making it difficult to see how we will be able to meet together as a group, certainly in the near future – but we have a few ideas regarding ways to stay in touch and hopefully we can begin making these a reality in the not too distant future. If you have any suggestions of your own regarding activities that we can enjoy together in a socially-distanced way, we would love to hear your ideas; so please don’t keep them to yourself – do get in touch with us and share them. We love to hear from you!
Although the Corona Virus crisis rumbles on and it feels a bit like ‘same old, same old’; for those of us with school age children and who therefore work along the timeframe of a school year – September marks the start of a new year; an opportunity for a fresh start when people return, feeling refreshed and full of energy and ready to tackle the challenges that lie ahead. I’m sensing that as an organisation, this church is taking a fresh approach to doing things – both out of necessity and opportunity that the pandemic has brought us and our Older People’s Ministry is being seen as an integral part of this new approach. I have been very encouraged in recent weeks by the commitment being pledged to our work and this has renewed my energy too. So hang on to your hats, I’ve been having a few ideas … !
It’s great to be back and we look forward to catching up with you by email, phone or Zoom – maybe a combination of all 3, over the coming weeks.
With every good wish,
From Penny - on behalf of the Prime Time Team
Penny Naylor
Primetime Befriending Co-ordinator