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CHALK
Children at Leicester 'K'athedral
CHALK exists to enable children to worship, grow in faith and participate fully in the Cathedral. Under the banner of CHALK there are numerous activities to include those who are young and in their early years: Activities range from craft and games days to Sunday morning Young Church sessions, now run from the new children’s room in St Martins House.
In the last 12 months CHALK have enjoyed visits to Young Church by members of the Cathedral Clergy including The Dean, Vivienne Faull and Canon Chancellor, David Monteith, who helped CHALK bake Easter cakes. The Cathedral congregation are also encouraged to take part in CHALK activities which range from ‘clipping’ the Cathedral to building an Easter garden.
Members of CHALK have been involved in many different services throughout the year. Their involvement includes producing banners, reading prayers and bible passages, music and leading the Lords Prayer with actions. Children gain confidence when allowed to take on responsibilities, usually carried out by older members of the congregation.
Young Church (During the 1030am Cathedral Eucharist Every Sunday)
Children begin and end the Service with their families in the Cathedral. During the singing of the "Gloria" they meet at the south door of the Cathedral to go to their own activities. Young church meets in St Martins house’s dedicated children’s room where they enjoy a wide range of activities. Children above 12 months can attend although those under 2 yrs should be accompanied by an adult.
The Importance of Young Church
“God Commanded his people to ‘diligently teach’ their children his words” (Deuteronomy 6: 7-9).
Young church gives children:
- Space and time to explore the scriptures at an age appropriate level for the
- individuals
- Ability to talk and share freely life situations and needs
- Personal application of the scriptures with aged based activities
- A sense of belonging to the Cathedral Community
- Training and grounding in the Scriptures, to enable them to be more productive in church life when older
- The ability to develop under the guidance of Christian leaders who ensure a caring, safe and trusting environment for all
- Understanding of morals and values from an early age
- Encourages discipline and relationships with peers
- Grow in Faith
Activity Packs & Soft Play area
Packs are available at all services for those who don't want to go to Young Church or for services where there is no Young Church. Packs contain paper based activities and a set of pencils. Children can stay in the Cathedral and colour pictures, do word searches or answer quizzes, all based on well known bible stories. For some services special service sheets and activity packs are available which link to the readings of the service. Younger children can also use the soft toy area in St George’s Chapel, which is available for all services. The play area also has tables and chairs for older children to sit and work at, children should be supervised at all times while using this facility. Parents are asked to stay with their children while using these facilities which will not have a Chalk leader present.
Holiday Club
The Cathedral runs successful summer Holiday clubs for children aged 7 to 11 years. With the Cathedral turned into an exciting jungle or perhaps a scene from a lunar convention, children can learn about the Christian Faith through a programme of activities including crafts, puppet shows, games and presentations.
Children’s Craft Days
Thursdays during half term holidays, Rejoice week (End of July) and some Saturdays see children’s craft and games days. These days run in conjunction with T4Free so parents can sit and relax with a drink and cake while their children make stained glass windows, bible character puppets or play with the parachute.
Preparation for Baptism and Admission to Communion
When children are ready, courses are run to prepare them to receive the Holy Sacrament and to prepare them for Baptism if they are not already Baptised.
Involvement in the Cathedral Eucharist and Services
Preparations are underway to give children a greater involvement in the 10:30am Cathedral Eucharist on several occasions each year. In addition, children usually stay for the whole service when an Infant Baptism takes place and are encouraged to gather round the font for the moment of Baptism. During Cathedral All age worship services the children from Chalk take a more active role leading prayers, reading and sharing with the congregation. Children from Chalk have produced banners for transcendence Eucharist services which they have processed during the service. 
Mothering Sunday Clipping the Cathedral
For Mothering Sunday Chalk ask all members of the Cathedral to prepare paper chains representing their families, these are then placed around the pillars in the cathedral to clip the cathedral.
Easter
The community of the Cathedral including Chalk have built an Easter Garden in the Cathedral precinct in 2010 and 2011. The building of the Easter garden takes place on the Saturday before Easter Sunday and has been a fun occasion for all of the family with cakes and drinks for all involved. The Easter Garden is blessed by the Bishop of Leicester during the Cathedral Eucharist on Easter Sunday Morning. After the Easter 10:30 Eucharist the children of the Cathedral present the Clergy with Easter cakes they have made before taking part in an Easter Egg hunt around the Cathedral and Cathedral grounds.