All Saints & St Barnabas News

A lovely Monday morning at the Kenley Memorial Hall as our Church helped at the community Family Craft event. Lots of monsters running around, numerous spiders scuttling by and tons of poster paint creations as we celebrated Halloween.  And plenty of yummy refreshments to keep us going.  A great start to the half-term break!

  The Animal Blessing Service at St Barnabas on Sunday was packed with a menagerie of animals.  We saw dogs, cats, snails, worms and even a chicken! What a celebration of all God's creatures, great and small.  Rev Elizabeth gave a wonderful sermon on endangered animals, both worldwide and at home.  We learnt lots about our resident hedgehogs and what we can do to protect them. It was wonderful to see the church so full of humans and animals, of all ages, joining together to celebrate the wonderful creatures of our world.

October is Black History Month in the UK, an occasion to recognise and celebrate the invaluable contributions of black people to British economy, culture, and history. At the beginning of October, as we continued our ‘Caring For Our World’ season, we discussed the devastating impact of climate change on the Global South. Due to shortages in crops and water scarcity, as well as the contamination of water sources,  citizens in the Global South are vulnerable to malnutrition and dehydration. Prolonged droughts and heatwaves are affecting 3.6 billion people in developing countries, who are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. The efforts that we can make here in the UK, to tackle global warming, will have the biggest impact on those more vulnerable than ourselves. Thought provoking stuff… especially as it’s sometimes hard to stay motivated if you don’t think what you’re doing can possibly make a visible difference. Later in the month we will focus on Black Music in Croydon...

  October is ADHD & Dyslexia awareness month.  These neurotypes often (but not always) go hand in hand, both causing executive function and processing issues, but also providing the world with incredible creative minds. It is estimated that 40% of people with Dyslexia, also have ADHD. With this combination, they use 5 times more energy to complete mental tasks, which can lead to fatigue. Both conditions are commonly misunderstood and ADHD is often thought of as a label for “fidgety” or “naughty” boys, whilst dyslexics are often dismissed as just “poor readers” or “not very academic”.  In fact, both ADHD and Dyslexia are gender neutral conditions, affecting biological males and females equally. However, women can present very differently to the stereotypical indicators and, as such, often go undiagnosed, in comparison to their male counterparts. Historically, it is thought that societal expectations of girls and women meant that “daydreaming”, disorganisation or “i...