Children's and Families' Worker

My Role

My role within the church is to build trusting relationships with the children and families in the minster and to build on the connections we have between our churches, schools and homes to encourage the development of spiritual growth.  It all sounds quite heavy but, in reality, I’m here as a welcoming face and as someone you can come to if you or your children have any questions about God and the church.  As I tell the children – there is no such thing as a silly question and they can be asked at any age.

About Me

My background is that I am a qualified teaching assistant with a strong faith in Jesus and lived experiences that mean I can relate to some of the challenges families face that can make them feel that they’re not “good enough” to go to church or be loved by God and a part of my role is to break down those barriers and make you feel as loved as I do through my own faith.

You’ll see me doing a range of things in the Minster and not all of it happens in a church or school.  I can be found supporting collective worship in the primary schools, organising Messy Church, being a friendly face to someone who is finding life challenging and sourcing avenues to help people through their time of need.  This has included organising a community Christmas gift drive (Give a Gift) to provide presents for children of families in our area who are experiencing financial hardship; issuing food bank vouchers and helping families to access items they need but cannot afford through Acts435. 

If you have any questions you’d like to ask me or feel that you need some support with yours or your children’s faith journey you can reach me at jen.hopkins@alcesterminster.org or – as the children do – if you see me out and about, you can yell “hey, blue-haired church lady!”  

Every blessing.  Jen