{"id":3973,"date":"2022-11-30T00:51:26","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T00:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/?page_id=3973"},"modified":"2022-11-30T16:52:23","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T16:52:23","slug":"oxford-and-swindon-area-meeting-update-on-children-youth-and-families-cyf","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/december-2022\/oxford-and-swindon-area-meeting-update-on-children-youth-and-families-cyf\/","title":{"rendered":"Oxford and Swindon Area Meeting Update on Children Youth and Families (CYF)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Julia Dover <\/strong>
\nChildren Youth and
\nFamilies Development Worker
\n(Thames Valley)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best thing about winter darkness is how aware one is of the light: the glow of the hearth, how lamplight within a room spills out into a garden, on a pavement at dusk. It\u2019s as if the stars of the firmament have come to Earth to offer their radiance (light is inherently generous).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by SL Granum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If I walk along a high street after dark, as a game I squint my eyes and behold! – shop windows transform into shimmering constellations. Where I\u2019m from in frozen Canada, the snow glows blue at night. So, it is why I associate these months with illumination.<\/p>\n

In this spirit of twinkle, I\u2019ll share briefly what I\u2019ve been up to as your CYF folk. I\u2019ll highlight a fun all-age event in early December, as well as couple of events I\u2019ve planned for early 2023 for your diaries. I also give a taste of activities I\u2019ll roll out across the year so you can dream about them.<\/p>\n

Since my arrival in September, I\u2019ve been up to the nose with induction training; I travelled to as many meetings in Thames Valley as possible, learned about Quakerism, listened to friends across the region about your concerns and joys \u2013 what I\u2019ve come to call \u2018intuitive anthropology\u2019. It\u2019s an immense privilege of this post to meet so many magnificent, wise, friendly humans.<\/p>\n

All these activities have been necessary to prepare the ground to seed new CYF programming. Highlights have included a fascinating visit to Newbury Meeting (which included a trip to Greenham Common) and a Woodbrooke-led Restore workshop at Wokingham. The conversations I\u2019ve had with parents who are passionate about children\u2019s provision in Quaker communities inspire and inform the programming I am developing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m excited to meet with Sibford and Leighton Park Schools in early December to discuss innovative outreach ventures which involve communities in new ways. I will be offering a series of creative all-age themed activity days across both Area Meetings in 2023. Stay tuned for Wonder Days, \u2018Me and my Sock Puppet\u2019 and \u2018To Boldly Go: The Wonders of Outer Space\u2019- to name but a few.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also leading five adult workshops in 2023 across the region that invite qualities of joy, play and reverie into the daily life of adult friends. I will provide more details of these events in the New Year. I\u2019m delighted that Abingdon Meeting has invited me to facilitate a distinct session in January; should other Local Meetings be interested in a similar workshop I\u2019d be glad to arrange.<\/p>\n

Some fixed dates to note:<\/p>\n

Movement and Imaginative Play<\/strong>: Saturday 10 December 2022, 13:00-15:00 Oxford Meeting House (Hall)<\/p>\n

All-age in-person session with games and gentle movement activities that inspire imagination and group fun. Hot spiced apple and nibbles on offer at the end. The playful imps amongst us all welcome, whether 9 or 99 years old.<\/p>\n

Meet and Greet Julia Session<\/strong>: Thursday 19 January? 2023, 17:30-19:00, Oxford Meeting House (Garden Room)<\/p>\n

For all those in OSAM who are eager to spark the Children, Young People and Families provision with new life \u2013 I\u2019d love to meet you!! Whether parents or otherwise, drop by Oxford Meeting House for refreshments and a chat about ideas and opportunities. Those who\u2019d like to explore new volunteering possibilities are also welcome to come.<\/p>\n

Meet and Greet Julia Session (Zoom)<\/strong>: Friday 20 January 2023, 19:30-21:00<\/p>\n

For those across Thames Valley who could not attend an in-person session, an opportunity to meet me and share your thoughts\/ideas via Zoom. Email me directly if you wish to join and I\u2019ll send a Zoom link to closer to the date.<\/p>\n

Parents and Toddlers Cake and Play<\/strong>: From Tuesday 17 January 2023, 10:00-12:00, Oxford Meeting House (Garden Room).<\/p>\n

A new weekly morning chat and fun session for parents and toddlers starts mid-January…a warm welcome and relaxed atmosphere to light up Tuesday mornings!<\/p>\n

If you would like to attend any of the sessions above, please let me know.<\/p>\n

My administrative base is Oxford Friends Meeting House. Feel free to drop by to say hello, or send an email at any time to introduce yourself, with thoughts\/queries\/ideas. It would be lovely to meet\/hear from you.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n
Previous Article<\/a><\/td>\nNext Article<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Back to December 2022 Newsletter Main Page<\/a><\/p>\n

Forty-Three<\/em> Newsletter \u2022 Number 524 \u2022 December 2022
\n<\/strong>Oxford Friends Meeting
\n43 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LW<\/p>\n

newsletter@oxfordquakers.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2022, Oxford Quakers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Julia Dover Children Youth and Families Development Worker (Thames Valley) The best thing about winter darkness is how aware one is of the light: the glow of the hearth, how lamplight within a room spills out into a garden, on a pavement at dusk. It\u2019s as if the stars of the firmament have come to … Continue reading Oxford and Swindon Area Meeting Update on Children Youth and Families (CYF)<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":0,"parent":3908,"menu_order":14,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3973","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3973"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4018,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3973\/revisions\/4018"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}