Author: zephaniahtrust

If just one child remembers…

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Emma Allison is an A-level student, talented musician, top demonstrator of actions, and one of our fabulous volunteers. She joined the Zeph Family when she did work experience with us…
 
My friends and I often discuss what our work experience weeks were like. They tell me about an office job, and I tell them about my week with Zeph. Of course when I mention a certain Mr Froud, they all get extremely excited and start reciting actions that they learnt when they were in primary school. I remember from primary school having Mark and Julie coming in and doing those action songs and telling us stories. I even remember the work experience person coming with them to my school assembly and doing what I would later move on to be doing myself. The fact that I remember those assemblies so well made me want to help out, and possibly be the work experience girl that just one child might remember. If going crazy at the front of a hall full of children meant that I could impact just one child’s day, then I was not going to miss the opportunity for anything!
My work experience was jam packed. I took part in drumming workshops, bought fabric to set up displays, and did the actions to as many different songs as I can remember (I still seem to be pretty good at getting My God Shall Supply up to a quick speed). I extremely enjoyed, of course, seeing the kids faces when we walked into the hall as the kids realised it was a Zephaniah assembly. But also seeing the day to day running of a charity, and how many people give their time and money to such a good cause. I met so many lovely people and had a brilliant time talking to the kids. I recall one child asking me if I was Mr Froud’s wife. Of course, the majority of the Zeph team happened to be there at the exact moment, which meant that I didn’t live it down for the week!
 
The work that I saw on my week with Zeph was incredible. Whenever we went out, someone would say hello, or give us a wave. It’s a true testament to the work that they do. Everyone knows who they are! I feel totally privileged to have joined the Zeph family, and I love to help out where I can with Zeph. I guess once you’ve joined, you never really leave!

Something Profound…

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Who knew that serving Jesus would almost get you arrested, give you a deep love of curries, and get you mistaken for a Pop Idol contestant?

My journey with the Zeph peeps began about 15 years ago, when I unwittingly agreed to join a missions team ‘Up North’. Being from Wales anything Midlands and beyond is North so I didn’t really have an idea of what I was letting myself in for as I boarded a train and journeyed, for what seemed like days, I mean it was no Lord-of-the-rings-esque quest! During this week of helping a church to share the love and grace of God, I met a very tall, very northern, Jesus loving, song writing, guitar playing, cheese eating and all round top bloke – John Froud. Thus began a great friendship with John and the Zephaniah Trust.

During my ‘year out’ after university, I was trained in evangelism by Mark Greenwood (FortyThree Trust); part of this training involved regular missions with John and the Zeph peeps and trips to Bradford. I’ve had the privilege and pleasure of serving alongside these great people in schools, churches, universities and even a lovely town in France! John Froud and I were almost arrested in said French town for trying to hand out leaflets! It’s ok – we were marched out of the marketplace with threats to never return. Just an ordinary day serving Jesus!

A great memory was being mistaken for a Pop Idol contestant when I sang along with John in a school assembly in Idle and having ‘paper’ snowballs continuously thrown at me as part of Holiday Club, where, against character, I was found to be the villain of the piece!

Something Profound...

One of my favourite times has to be the schools week in Malvern, where a collective of Zephaniah and Forty Three Trust people partner together with local churches. Over the years we have been involved in hundreds of lessons, assemblies, Christian Unions and youth events. A particular lesson that sticks in my mind was one where John shared the story of his recent visit to the Philippines, showed his trendy bag made of plastic rubbish and sang beautifully. You could hear a pin drop and there was a sense that God was doing something profound in these young lives. Another highlight were the Sixth Form ‘grill-a-Christian’ type forums. Like victims to a firing squad we were lined up and asked questions, from ‘What is the meaning of life?’ to ‘Jesus isn’t really real, is he?’ from ‘Prove creation to me’ to ‘How can you trust the Bible?’ It was great to be part of such a good team that answered with grace and insight.

I have learned so much serving with the Zephaniah Trust – that there are many ways to take light into dark corners so give your availability, unleash your creativity, add in some faith and watch what God does!

Sarah Whittleston is Associate Pastor at Elim Church Kingstanding and an Associate Evangelist of the Forty Three Trust, alongside John Froud. Her vocals feature on John’s Don’t You Know kids’ album and she is a longstanding Zeph Friend.

You are a shining light…

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Hilary’s Story
 
Once upon a time, a storyteller and a singer-songwriter came to shine their light in the schools of a small town in Dorset.
As they set off to school on that first morning they took with them Hilary, a local girl who was also keen to share the light with the young people of Wareham.
In the first class they visited, they sang songs, told stories, and read poems that brought the light of Jesus to all who heard.
Hilary listened, and enjoyed.
In the second class that they visited, they handed the poetry book to Hilary and invited her to join them at the front.
Hilary did as she was told, and enjoyed.
As the day went on, Hilary found herself more and more inspired by what she saw and heard, and she began to think “I wonder if I could do that?”
On sharing that thought with the storyteller and the singer-songwriter, they assured her that she could most certainly do that.
So she did – and does – and is still enjoying.

 

Thanks John and Julie.
Hilary Bond is one of our Zephaniah Associates, working in schools in Wareham, Dorset, where she leads assemblies and runs weekly in-school clubs, tells wonderful stories and writes wonderful songs, and lets visiting Zephaniah staff linger in her fabulous library…

The Ministry of Cake…

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Heard us mention Cake Club and wondered what it’s all about? Here’s Laura Wood, Youth & Children’s Worker at St Peter’s Church Shipley, to tell you all you need to know…

As St Peter’s Youth & Children’s Worker, I have the pleasure of working with Zeph for various projects such as holiday clubs and the Light Party; yet the one which I enjoy most is our weekly visit to Salts High School for Cake Club.

Cake Club runs every Tuesday during term time in the school lunch hour. It is a drop-in style club where young people come to have some cake and a natter. We have a bunch of young people who come each week to see us, but we also have individuals who turn up for a one-off visit.

The purpose of Cake Club is not to convert, but to simply be a space for a young person to feel welcome; regardless of their behaviour in school or what has happened in the previous lesson, they know they are always welcome. We hope it is a place where they know they will be listened to, where they feel supported and cared for. We are trying to show, through our actions, God’s love for them. It is a classic example of Zephaniah spreading light into dark corners.

The conversations reflect this and can range from comical to more personal and serious. Some weeks the main topics can be as simple as, ‘did you see this on telly last night?….’, or more puzzling: ‘did Moses have a moustache?..’ Yes, biblical questions can appear, as they are aware we are all Christians, yet they usually are as obscure as the one stated above. At other times, the young people will talk to you about things that are on their mind more, such as how school or home life is for them at the moment, about the argument they have had with their best friend etc.  It is in these conversations that the value of Cake Club can be felt most clearly. It is humbling that these young people feel that they are able to share their worries with us.

There is also the cake! Every week we bring a different cake in to be tried and, in some sense, tested. They are baked by several individuals linked to either Zeph or St Peter’s,

but our most regular cake provider is Hazel Wilmshurst. Cake is discussed at length sometimes in the club. After all, cake is a key part of the club, something the young people never forget! Each cake is usually given a critique by one regular-goer and awarded a score out of ten. It provides an easy conversation-starter for shy newcomers and even a welcome snack for passing teachers too.

Salt’s High School seems to welcome Cake Club. The students that pop in seem to enjoy the welcome break (as do passing teachers) plus the normality of having a slice of cake and a catch up in the middle of a sometimes busy and stressful school day. They regularly bring out games to play such as Connect 4, Who’s Who and Jenga. I think the novelty of having someone else willing to sit down and play a game with you, in person, not over a computer is something that the members of Cake Club value; although if asked they would still say computer games are better!

I really enjoy Cake Club and working with all the team from Zeph! I hope they continue putting light into dark corners for the next 20 years to come.

Our School Report

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We thought we were too old to get a school report now! Here’s a teacher’s view of the Zephaniah Trust…

Schools can be quite stressful places, so whenever John and friends come along with smiles and the Gospel message, it is a tonic for everyone.

When I was a teacher, the children would all cheer when they were told it was a ‘John Froud assembly’.  Can you imagine, children cheering about going into assembly?  The staff cheered too.

John wants to bring fun – more than that, he wants everyone to participate in silliness and he manages it all in a way that demonstrates just how wonderful is the love that God has for each one of us.

So, we all flung our arms as wide as they would go (‘So wide you can’t get round it’), tilted our heads so that one eye’s higher (Isaiah 58: 11), twirled around on the spot with hands performing a ‘flashing’ motion (‘build a lighthouse to the nation’) and picked a friend’s nits! (Biblical reference uncertain, possibly Revelations).

In and amongst all this hilarity the clear message: ‘I’m special to Jesus, He’s my best friend’ made its way into the hearts and minds of the children, and the adults, and we all came out of assembly feeling better.

And so the light shines on in dark places.  Thank you Zephaniah Trust and Happy Birthday. xxx

Elaine Schack, former Deputy Headteacher and Zeph Friend

Office Princesses: Jenny…

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The frontline work has been underpinned by a lovely succession of office princesses over the years, all of whom have taken on the task of running a small charity and providing some organisation amidst the creative chaos – here’s our current administrator, Jenny (who prefers to think of herself as the Office Queen!) on why she joined the Zephaniah team…

 

It is an odd thing to suggest that God has called you to be an administrator – to shuffle pieces of paper from one side of a desk to the other – but I was called, and ever since it has been clear that God has had a plan for me, for the Zephaniah Trust, and for my family.

Back in 2009 I was working as a teaching fellow at Leeds University. I loved the actual teaching but detested the undervaluing of staff, the constant changing of goalposts, and all the other rubbish that you get in such a vast organisation.

In February 2009 the Zephaniah Trust held their Birthday Bash at the Thornbury Centre, and I went along. It was the year that the team floated their vision of Julie becoming a full-time storyteller, by the employment of a dedicated administrator. I found myself thinking, “I could do that….I think I’d like to do that….but…..”. There were a lot of ‘buts’, but God has a way of just slicing through things. During the evening performance, when singing “If you don’t go, you’ll never know”, John Froud brought a word of challenge – sometimes you have to take a step, take a risk, come out of the cave in which you are hiding, to see what God has got planned for you.

It was the summer before the funding was in place and the Trust’s vision could happen. I took a step, and spoke to John about the administrator job. I took a risk, and spoke to my Head of School at the University, and discussed the possibility with him. I took an even bigger risk and raised the idea with Andrew, my husband…

If God was ever in something, then He was in this. I suggested to my non-Christian husband that I leave my permanent (the university had a no-redundancy policy) job to take an 18-month contract working more hours for less money, and he bought it! I started at Zephaniah in January 2010 and it has turned out to be a very long 18 months!

What the last four years have taught me is that God’s plans are amazing. Not only has the Trust been able to do more work in more schools and churches, but even Andrew has been known to comment that it was a good move, as I’m a lot less stressed (most of the time!). It was good for my son, Thomas, as I can drop him off and pick him up from school at the normal times – the holy grail for working parents. When Andrew was made redundant two years ago, I had a wobble, thinking, “What have I done?”, but it turned out that through working for Zephaniah I had picked up a multitude of new skills (accounts, websites, etc) making me far more helpful to Andrew as he started his own business.

We didn’t know what was going to happen when I made that first step, took that first risk – but God did – and He had it covered.

The Zeph Experience…

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We have had so much fun working with all kinds of lovely people over the years – including some fantastic work experience students. Here we introduce our guest blogger, the lovely Pippa, reflecting on her placement with us a few years ago. We’re looking forward to working with her again soon!
“My first contact with the Zephaniah Trust was when I was set up for work experience in lower school, I had no awareness as to what the time there would consititute and was told that most likely I’d be fulfilling admin duties. I did do this with the help of the friendly Jenny and Julie combo; I learned of how the Trust has evolved over the years and it’s involvement with schemes assisting children with all sorts including the transition between primary school and secondary school. Additionally, the community support clubs run at Shipley Baptist Church were running even with construction work going on! I had the chance to meet many of Zeph’s good friends over the years and also gain a taste for Interlude’s Tea Room.
However, my duties soon stretched beyond admin back at the office. My time with Zephaniah led me to recognising the celebrity figure that is the bearded John Froud; many of my schoolmates had prize memories of assemblies with him from youth and were flabbergasted that I was accompanying him. I too was surprised, it seemed on every other street somebody would wave, beep a horn, or call out ‘John’ leading me to the conclusion that indeed, everybody knows John Froud. I wound up a backing singer accompanying him along his blue van missions to primary schools all over the place, eating lots of cake and drinking lots of coffee in staff rooms (and feeling grown up because of this…). Throughout this time, I got the chance to work with lots of children who were crazily enthusiastic even during early morning slots and saw teachers transformed by the energy of John and often Julie from the moment we arrived (some tried to be resilient but always wound up joining with songs!).
I enjoyed my experience there so much that I kept in contact and returned with my good friend Esther the next year! I also plan to return this year for more adventures!”

Zephaniah Archive: Summer 2009…

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We had a great summer in 2009! Here are just some of the things we were involved in, providing opportunities for people to discover God and have a lot of fun doing it…

WHAT’S THE STORY ABOUT PENTECOST?
Saturday 30 May 2009

Mark and Julie spent an afternoon outdoors at St Peter’s Church Addingham, working alongside Otley Deanery Youth & Children’s Network (now Otley Christian Resources Hub) on their all-age Pentecost event. Mark led drum workshops, pulling together a scratch ensemble to play in the worship, and Julie dressed up to tell the story of Philip and the Ethiopian to visiting family groups, helping 200 people to hear about and celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit…


DRAKEFEST Saturday 27 June 2009

The Zephaniah staff team, and lots of their friends, headed off to a field in Burnsall to help Mark and Lydia celebrate their 30th birthdays in style at their very own summer festival. Alongside the Drakes themselves, the bill included John and Cath, Julie, and lots of Zeph friends, taking light into a field in the glorious Yorkshire Dales!

HAVEN’T YOU HEARD? ALBUM LAUNCH Friday 3 July 2009

Almost 200 guests joined John, Mark, Julie and friends for the launch of John’s second children’s album in Bradford Cathedral at the beginning of July. Musicians Lydia, David, Alex, Liz, Andrew, Ruth, Cath and Esther helped provide a fantastic ninety-minute praise party, singing new songs alongside old favourites. It was great to see groups of children from some of the schools featured on the album, plus some children’s groups from Bradford churches, and lots of families and friend, all singing their hearts out – and we think God was probably joining in!


RIDDLESDEN GALA Saturday 13 July 2009

While John manned the Zephaniah stand at the Yorkshire Baptist Association assembly, Julie and volunteer Helen went to Riddlesden, near Keighley, working with Riddlesden Churches Together to run their stand at the annual gala. Helped by Rev Alf Waite and a team of volunteers, they offered free craft activities to children and families. Passers-by were also invited to think about what they would ask God if they could ask him anything and write their questions on the Big Question board. The responses ranged from silly to sublime and meaningful contact was made with more than fifty local families/residents.

SHOWSTOPPERS HOLIDAY CLUB Monday 27 to Friday 31 July 2009

 2009’s holiday club turned out to be a classic, with lots of fun and laughter! Using Scripture Union’s Showstoppers material, the theatrical theme used the performing arts to explore God’s Big Plan, through five key Bible stories – Creation, David & Goliath, Daniel & the Lions’ Den, Christmas, and Easter. A significant number of new faces arrived alongside the regular holiday club attenders, setting a new generation of Shipley’s children on their Zephaniah journey as one generation began to outgrow the club – and move onto volunteering!

And that was just one summer! You can fit a lot into 20 years!
Join us to celebrate and give thanks on Saturday 22 March, when we’ll be singing our hearts out to God in Bradford Cathedral once again!

Faces we’ll never forget…

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He was one of the naughty boys, the ones who couldn’t settle to their work, who were always in trouble after playtime, who had a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

He sidled up to me during ‘Golden Time’, the magic half hour at the end of the day when the children were allowed to choose what to do.

“Miss,” he said, leaning towards me.

“Yes?”

“What story are you telling today?”

“Well…” I said. “I can’t tell you the story, cos it would spoil it…”

His face fell a little.

“But… I could give you a hint or two…”

He looked up at me.

“There’s a frog in it,” I said. “And a princess. And a talking tree.”

He pondered this information briefly, then announced, “I’m going to draw the tree!”

And off he went. When he returned a few minutes later, he brought with him a sheet of paper with a felt tip drawing of a tree in the middle, orange and green, with a face carved into the trunk. And it was beautiful. He had a real talent.

“Would you like to stand and hold your picture up when we get to the bit with the tree?” I asked.

He nodded.

So that’s what we did. When I got to the bit with the tree and he stood up, there was a brief moment when his teacher wasn’t sure, when she assumed that he was doing something he shouldn’t, because that’s what he always did. But the moment passed, and he stood there, proudly holding his picture, for the rest of the story.

It was a small moment, just a brief passing of time in one hour of one day of his whole life. But that moment made a difference. Because in that moment he knew what it was to be proud of himself, to feel like he’d achieved something. It was a good moment that he could share with his mum as they left school together.

And from that moment, I knew that this was what I needed to do.

I still have the tree picture…

Zephaniah Archive: 1996…

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Way back in February 1996, Jenny was 19 and in her first year of university, Julie was 15 and in her first year of GCSEs, and John was … well … still quite old. And Zephaniah? Well, the Trust had just turned two and was holding its first ever birthday bash to celebrate!

Quoting from the press release, “most new charitable agencies apparently fold within the first twenty-four months. To be still up and running is something worth celebrating. John is now currently working regularly in some twenty-five schools.”

On Thursday 29 February, guests enjoyed fruit punch, a two-course meal and wine, magic from Mark Greenwood, an auction of donated items including signed photographs of David Suchet, and music from John and the Zephaniah band.

 

The programme contained handwritten messages from the original board of trustees, including these prophetic words from Linda Chapman: “Thanks for all your support over the past two years. Here’s to the next twenty!”

If you were there, we’d love to hear your memories!