September/October issue highlights from Martin

For the print subscribers amongst you, welcome to a new look Adult & All Age (AAA) magazine. The weekly content is changed little as the new design has focused mainly on making the pages more readable and easier to use. However, a couple of items have moved online to give more breathing space on the page, and there are some new features online too, including a much more detailed list of hymn and song suggestions than we have room for in print.

The biggest change in the AAA resources is the new section called Bread & Wine. This new regular feature offers resources to help you plan and lead all-age Communion/Eucharist worship, designed to work in parallel with the weekly material. The content and style has been shaped by the trials and consultations we undertook, but we are always open to feedback and suggestions. And if you use it, we would love to hear stories about what and how, and how it was received. In this issue there are two case studies where people share their experiences of all-age Communion. We hope to feature similar case studies in future issues – it could be yours!

Also in this issue, you will find an interesting and thought-provoking article on prayer spaces in school by Tim Abbott, founder and national team leader of the organisation called Prayer Spaces in Schools. And this issue’s Discovering God feature is an exploration of Halloween. Not the commercial trick-or-treating, wizards and witches Halloween that has become so popular in recent years, but as an opportunity to explore issues around death and dying. Even if you are inclined to avoid Halloween completely, you may find the resources and ideas helpful in preparation for, or even as part of, the remembrance services that many churches have during November and December.

Martin Adams,
Adult & All Age Editor
martin.adams@rootsforchurches.com