Building Healthy Community
“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”
Romans 15:7
As Christian people we believe that God has a heart for building community and invites us to join him. In practice this has meant people from Kingfisher church being involved in a range of activities that provide support to different people in our community.
At Kingfisher Church we run a number of Christian programmes, integrated with the life of the church, focused on reaching out into our local communities of Paxcroft Mead and Castle Mead, with the aim of building up the church community.
See here for details of the latest course.
At Kingfisher Church our desire is to reach out into the local community to show the love of Jesus, but also to work with the local communities and organisations in practical and supportive ways.
IMPAX – is a weekly youth club for 11 – 15-year-olds meeting in the Paxcroft Mead Community Centre and run by local churches. This provides a safe environment for young people to come together and enjoy playing games and hanging out with each other.
We enjoy a good relationship with the Red Admiral pub and support seasonal events such as Carol Singing and an Easter Egg Trail
We support monthly litter picks around the Paxcroft Mead estate (2nd Saturday of each month at 10am)
We support the Parent and Toddler Group which meets weekly in the Paxcroft Mead Community Centre
What are Baby Bundles?
Baby Bundles is a scheme which provides essential items for families who are expecting a baby or have recently had a baby, where there is financial difficulty. The scheme was originally run by the NCT in Marlborough and provided bundles for families in that area only. Ruth Brooks-Martin, Spurgeons Together for Families Worker, is now working in partnership with the NCT to expand the scheme to other areas of Wiltshire, including West Wiltshire. Her links with other organisations, including churches, Mothers Union and Little Pickles Markets has increased donations, meaning that more families in need can benefit from the bundles. Families have to be referred for a bundle by their Midwife, Health Visitor, Social Worker or through a Children’s Centre Family Support Worker. Kingfisher Church is actively supporting Baby Bundles through donating and making items.
How can you help?
Donations – We would appreciate any donations; please don’t hesitate to drop them off at the Red Admiral on Paxcroft Mead or at the Mead Community and Castle Mead Primary schools. Essential items for both mother and baby, can be found from the list below:
- Essentials for mother:
- Breast pads and maternity pads
- Toiletries
- Late maternity clothes
- Comfort items, e.g. chocolate
- Essentials for baby:
- Nappies, either disposable or re-usable, preferably sizes ½
- Wipes and other toiletries
- Baby clothes: baby vests, sleep-suits, scratch mittens, day clothes, cardigans, hats and coats/snow-suits. Sizes include tiny baby, new-born or 0-3 months and all items should be new or of good quality second-hand.
- Bibs
- Baby blankets
- Small baby toys, e.g. rattles or baby books
Community Crafts – come along to The Red Admiral on Monday mornings (from June) 11am – 1pm, where you can knit, crochet or sew for the Baby Bundles or just enjoy a cuppa and a chat.
Prayer – please pray for love and support for local mothers and newborns who are in need.
We have enjoyed an excellent relationship with the Mead Community Primary School since we started meeting there in 2009. Latterly we have also developed a good relationship with Castle Mead Primary School.
We enjoy supporting the schools in several ways:
- we speak at assemblies at the schools, telling the children about the church, and sharing our faith with them
- we provide volunteer 1-1 support for individual children
- some of our members serve as governors at Castle Mead
- we present Living Nativity and Easter Experience events to bring the Christmas and Easter stories alive
At Kingfisher Church we seek to be connected not just with our local community but to impact the lives of people around the world as well as those closer to home.
Storehouse is a food bank providing everyday essentials to local families contributed to and run by churches in Trowbridge.
Traidcraft is a fair-trade organisation fighting poverty in developing countries.
Compassion is a Christian child sponsorship program which aims to meet both the spiritual and physical needs of children living in poverty. As a church, we sponsor a child called Dominic in Nicaragua.
Mercy Ships send out crews of doctors, nurses, water engineers and agriculturalists to the world’s poorest countries providing life-changing services free of charge.
