16 March 2018
New campaign aims to get children to bridge the generation gap
A new campaign was launched this week by the Methodist Church toencourage children to learn from the wisdom and experience of oldergenerations.
'Timetravellers' is being run by the Children's Section of theMethodist Church. It will encourage children's groups from localchurches to establish links with older people, for example in thechurch or local homes for the elderly.
The project was launched this week at the Black Country LivingMuseum in Dudley, West Midlands. At the launch about 60 children,parents and grandparents from the Wolverhampton Trinity MethodistCircuit shared stories about growing up and teach each other songsthat they learned during their childhood.
Timetravellers aims to get people of different generations tocome together:
- To enjoy each other's company
- To learn from each other and cherish eachother
- To broaden understanding of the values andgifts of each generation
- To see God in and through eachother
Leslie Noon, Children's Work Project Officer for the MethodistChurch, said that the two-year project would enable children'sgroups to gain a greater understanding of older generations. Shesaid: "We take seriously the contribution that people of all agescan make to the life of our community and to enable people ofdifferent ages to understand the values and gifts of eachgeneration." Educational material for children's workers is beingpublished to help children to imagine themselves in the place ofstreet children or elderly people who feel isolated from other agesand groups.
The Methodist Church's Children's Section is joined forTimetravellers by the MHA Care Group, a charity which cares forolder people through residential homes, sheltered housing schemes,housing projects and live at home schemes. The project also makeslinks with churches around the world, especially the MethodistChurch of Kenya, which run street children projects.
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