Woodthorpe, York

Nicola Cook

nicola.stjamesthedeacon@gmail.com

Tell us a bit about yourself

I live in Woodthorpe, York with my husband, 8 year old daughter and 3 year old son. My grandma had lived in the area for most of my life and had always been heavily involved in the church, so when we moved here, it felt like we belonged straight away. It has now been 8 years since we moved and over this time I have been involved in leading the Sunday school, family events and running the playgroup on a voluntary basis, and in September I was appointed as the Multiply Lay Leader in St. James the Deacon Church.

What attracted you to this role and to Multiply?

Prior to taking up the role, I had been a primary teacher for around 15 years. I left teaching a year ago and began my own toddler classes. Although they weren’t running as successfully as I had hoped, they did coincide with the Church’s new priority for growth and the hope of developing family worship within the church - which led to discussions of a new role and God led our paths led here!

Our church congregation is primarily made up of older residents in the area, and although our toddler group is reaching out to lots of families, it still isn’t drawing those younger people into church to worship. I loved the idea of this new role as it enabled me to continue working with and supporting children and families, which I love, and it also gives the challenge of introducing and encouraging families to connect with and engage with God and our Church, which is incredibly exciting!

How have you experienced your first month?

I have really enjoyed my first month in the role. We have introduced a Bible story as part of our playgroup which has been received really well by families.  As we are starting a new worshipping community from the very beginning, my role so far has been getting to know families, building relationships and formulating lots of ideas. It’s been fantastic to have the time and opportunity to plan out the future of worship in our church and I can’t wait to get the ideas rolling!

What are your hopes for the future with this role?

Our main aim is to introduce a dedicated service to create a brand new family worship community. We currently have no families attending the Sunday morning church services, so I have been spending time building relationships with families in our playgroup and planning what the new worship will look like. We have set some initial dates for starting the worshipping community - Junction Kids, and hope to create a space where faith and family come together.