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the brand new Coombe Club

more pictures on the oxygen galleries

New Malden, 3pm Tuesday 27^th March and a buzzer sounds and hundreds of school doors fling open. For the team running the first ever (taster) session for the brand new Coombe Club, after school project in New Malden these are expectant, slightly scary moments, will anyone turn up, will they be interested, is there enough drinks to go around, what about equipment will it be safe?

The reason for the team being at Coombe Boys School was exciting, for they were there to run a taster session for the brand new Coombe Club, an extended schools project run by Oxygen in partnership with the School and the Borough, providing a place for young people in years 7 and 8 in Coombe Boys School a place to go after school to hang out with friends, engage in games and discussions as well as learn and participate in projects that will seek to change them and the world around them.

So it was when over 50 young people packed the room for the free drinks and biscuits where the club was being held on Monday the team were thrilled. During the next hour over 25 of these young people stayed on to plan, organise, dream and prepare for what is going to be Kingston Borough’s first Extended Secondary School club. At this club, that will be piloted properly in the second half of the summer  term before being launched in Sept 2007, they will study, chill and engage in project work, supported by a new Oxygen project coordinator and Gap year workers and hopefully at a couple local church volunteers. Part funding for this work will initially come from the Borough, then long term support will come from fees paid by parents (under the child care tax credit system).

Other schools and areas in the Borough have already enquired with Oxygen about setting up a Club in their school. From just a few weeks time, the noise of that school buzzer will now mark the start of a new, exciting work that needs your prayers and support. So will you

Pray

• That we find the right person to run and coordinate this club
• That as we run this work, young people will learn to explore, understand and take on discovery and following of Jesus for themselves

Please consider

• Would you consider asking a financial donation to cover the initial cash flow of this club. This work will be self funding within a few months, but in the short term it will require supporting and careful monitoring.

Why not

• Joining us at one of the sessions Monday – Friday either every week, or now and then when the club launches in June. It will be open from 3 to 5.30pm. We are looking for people to
• Make drinks and snacks and work with some of the pupils showing them how to do this
• Provide homework support to pupils who are struggling with Maths, English, Science, etc
• Come in and run creative projects with art and music. Teaching 11 – 12 years old how to make and explore music and art

technorati tags:new malden, coombe, coombe club, schools, extended schools, room 1, story

Urban nites Surbiton finishes inside!

Urban nites Surbiton has now completed its winter sessions. Spending several months inside the rooms at Christchurch Surbiton has allowed the team to get to build on good conversations established with the young people whilst out and about It has also seen the launch of a new weekly Bible study with some of the young people we have got to know.

After a short break for Easter Holidays the Urban Nites Surbiton Team return to work, this time back outside in the middle of the Alpha Estate. Please pray for the work of Urban Nites Surbiton. Some great things are happening, but as expected there are some real (mostly behavioural) challenges that come with it.

In the mean time to be kept up to date with Urban Nites Surbiton Prayer request please email urbansurbiton@oxygen-online.org

See more pictures on the oxygen Gallery

technorati tags:surbiton, christchurch, stories

Come to chill out this Saturday: COMMA

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Come to chill out this Saturday: COMMA

This Saturday Hye MI from the Oxygen team an event that as the name suggests is a pause and a time to relax, place that people can chill out in the afternoon. COMMA will take from 2pm~6pm at the Oxygen Hall. At COMMA, young people will be able to play computer games which called Star Craft, Pro Evolution Soccer on the playstation and board dames. A coffee lounge will be around for a time out from busy and stressful lives. But to make this project work, she needs your help - Security, youth workers, a music DJ and people to come to COMMA to enjoy it.

If you can't make it, it would be amazing if you could pray for COMMA for encouragement.

Urban NItes Kingston

About 12 months ago I wrote an article for churches in Surbiton about Urban Nites in Surbiton set for real growth and blessing in the year to come. This has come true during the last year as during this time we have seen a regular group get established and a new Bible Study group get going on Thursday evenings alongside the regular Wednesday outreach. This blessing of work in Surbiton follows the exact pattern of New Malden 12 months before, where the young people who had been contacted for a number of months came to  stage where they wanted to go further with God and the Oxygen and Church workers. 

Now I would like to make the suggestion that in 12 months time, God and volunteer willing I believe we will be talking and raving about Urban Nites Kingston and the great things that are underway there. The reason for my suggestion is that tonight for the second time in a month I went and joined the team of Oxygen workers and young people who are out meeting and engaging with the dozens and dozens of young people. Despite the fact that there was only a few workers tonight there was so much opportunity for engagement and development of good relational, god inspired youthwork. All around the graveyard of All Saints Church and down on the river there were large groups of young people, willing to chat to Oxygen workers who at this stage are just on a fact finding mission.

We now have Urban Nites projects in New Malden, Surbiton, Kingsnympton and Kingston Town Centre, alongside these we also have two going deeper groups, one in New Malden and one in Kingston. Now with two new Urban Nites scheme launched in the last few months in Kingston and Kingsnympton could I ask you to pray:

• For more workers to start to join us: we have done the investigative work and discovered and made basic contact with the young people. We now need to establish a regular presence out and about
• For safety for the young people we meet: Many of them are drinking too much alcohol and taking illegal substances. We need to be out showing them another way to live, but we also need them to be protected in the dark night time

Oxygen :: Infuse :: Gallery

Prisons work and a new found love for Kingston

The latest Oxygen audio podcast is now available for downloading and watching online on youtube. It is taken from an interview with Anne Owers, Chf Inspector of Prisons who was interviewed on the Simon Mayo show recently talking about the need for fresh thinking about how work with young offenders is carried out. This fits with current explorations for a new Project called New Hope prisons mentoring the aim of which is is to give prisoners and ex-offenders new hope and a future by mentoring them in prisons and to continue mentoring and befriending them once the are released, to see this become a reality in their lives. Our hope is to see re-offending reduced and prevented and that those we mentor come to faith in Jesus Christ (to find Him, when the seek Him with all their hearts) and be transformed by the one who give us ALL a NEW HOPE and a NEW FUTURE.

Meanwhile you can watch the latest Oxygen video project on Youtube, Made by Students from Southbourgh High School in Kingston. This short movie was made in response to the brief, “make a film that introduces people who are new to the area to Kingston.

Information on subscribing or watching on youtube are on the Oxygen podcast link

The Americans have arrived!

It has been months in the planning and eventually hours and hours in the journeying, but finally the team of young people from Grand Family Church, Fort Smith, Arkansas have arrived into Kingston Borough and have already set to work with the local children and young people.

Throughout the next week the team will be spending time in a variety of projects with Oxygen, New Malden Baptist Church and the RBK Christian Schools Work Trust. This work will all culminate with a Freedom Party on Thursday evening at New Malden Baptist Church.

Please pray for the team as they set about their work, pray for the jet lag they will be inevitably feeling and also for a rapid and deep engagement with children and young people from across the Borough’s communities.

If you would like to meet and join in with the team then come along to New Malden Baptist on (22^nd March) Thursday evening at 7.30pm for the Freedom Party where they will be leading worship, sharing stories and playing games with around 100 local young people.

Oxygen :: Infuse :: Gallery

technorati tags:usa team, fort smith, grand family church, arkansas, london, oxygen, nmbc, kingston

Living life to the full

 

Living life to the full

Is all about choices

Is all about the choices

Made in response to every situation

Every circumstance

Good or bad.

Moving on is all about choices

Living in the past

Or moving on from the past

Making choices to step away from the past

Stepping away from the critical voices

Stepping away from a false security

Which keeps me stuck in a way of being

And stifles

The real ‘me’ inside

Stepping away is all about risk

Is all about taking the risk to make

The choice to live

Risk is uncomfortable

Risk is dangerous

Risk is adventurous

Risk is scary

BUT risk is necessary to moving on

Do I want to stay where I am - suffocating

Or move on – living?

Am I happy as I am or frustrated?

I choose to take the risk

To take the step

To move on

To live life to the full

It won’t just happen

I need to make it happen

That’s work

Hard work!

 

 

technorati tags:life to the full, risk

disappointing for Urban Nites Surbiton

About a week ago I asked people to pray for the Urban Nites Surbiton Weekend away. I would like to thank you for those prayers, but to let you know that we have had to cancel the trip due to the young people dropping out at the last minute.

This is sad and very disappointing for those who have put so much effort into organising it (Debbie Garden, Jenny Rogers, Jon Brook and Maddy Priest) but it is also a sign that what we with Oxygen is also hard sometimes, with great disappointments and lows as well as highs. We have chatted and analysed why we think that this weekend was cancelled, what we could do differently, what we didn’t do this time, but could I ask you to continue to pray for these young people in Surbiton. This weekend would have been great, would have had an amazing transforming effect on them, we will still keep working towards running another one but at this stage we need to just accept defeat and move on.

technorati tags:sad, weekend away

God comes to Kingston Borough on Mondays

Monday nights is God night at Oxygen! In New Malden it centres around the Parish rooms in Christchurch where a group of young people, supported by workers and volunteers from Oxygen and Christchurch New Malden meet to talk about God, life and the meaning of the Universe. This group are great and an honour to work with, they used to be the ones that hung around the streets of the area, sometimes getting into trouble, often getting a bad reputation. Now they meet on Mondays for a Bible study and discussion and on Thursdays for a social chat and pray.

Meanwhile in Surbiton on Monday nights a few Oxygen workers join Jacky Bone of the YMCA for discussion with residents of the YMCA hostel in Victoria Road. As Jacky says “things are good at the moment, we are getting so many residents coming, the group is becoming too large to add more people!”. This group helps to deal with people who have seen the hard side of life, often struggling from personal or situational issues that have caused dramatic crises in their lives leading to them being homeless. Whilst at the YMCA this “speak your mind” group provides a chance to chat and listen to what others and God has to offer.

Finally in Kingston Monday nights is Rock Solid night. This, longest running of Oxygen activities still meets 6.30 till 8pm in partnership with St Peters and works with a steady group of young people. Using different games, life skills and activities the well known group of young people regularly cover topics of belief, hope and faith as well as plans for the future and problems in life.

So no matter whether you are in Kingston, Surbiton or New Malden could you take time to pray for the groups that are underway at this time – because God truly is coming to Kingston Borough on Monday nights!

technorati tags:god, cell, groups

Pastoral Unity

Sunday 11^th March 2007 will go down as a great evening in many many ways. For it was on this evening that the second group of Kingston Street Pastors were commissioned and prayed for. Not only this but it involved a service at a United Reformed (formerly Congregational Chapel) led by the churches minister, but included prayers from a Roman Catholic Priest and a sermon from an Anglican vicar. Those prayed for included members of the Baptist, Methodist and local free churches. This truly are great, united times of service and blessing. The church in Kingston is really leaning to put the discovery and following of Jesus above their own distinctiveness. My prayer is that this will continue, and we will learn to love the least for the sake of him who first gave all for our own sake.

Please pray

For the second batch of Street Pastor as they start their work on the streets of Kingston

For the protection and inspiration of this work, pray that God will continue to guide Paul who heads it up and the Street Pastor leaders who have to make decisions each evening that affect the direction of the work

Check out photos on the Oxygen Galleries