An alliance of Christian denominations and agencies has launched a new website for church toddler group leaders.
The 1277 website will allow people to be kept informed of upcoming training events and resources and help those looking for a toddler group find those nearest to them. A Facebook page has also been launched which will give church toddler group leaders the opportunity to discuss issues facing them and share resources. 1277 is on Twitter now too.
Organisations part of 1277, named after the average number of days between a child ’s birth and the start of formal education, include the Church of England, the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church, Baptist Union of Great Britain, Scripture Union, Mother’s Union, Care for the Family and the Salvation Army. The vision of the alliance is to enable ‘universal access to distinctive, excellent, safe, Christian toddler groups which are demonstrating God’s love at the heart of their communities’.
In the UK there are an estimated 27,000 toddler groups run by churches which, through an army of committed volunteers, provide support and care to over 50% of the nations’ preschoolers and their carers. They are supported by volunteer toddler group leaders making it by far the largest provider of support and care for young families.
Head of Mission for the Baptist Union of Great Britain,
the Revd Ian Bunce said, “We have come together to form 1277 so we can support church toddler groups and help release the mission opportunities that exist through them. This is a huge opportunity for the church - what other group in this nation has 52% in touch with the church?”
“I have been involved with toddler groups for over 14 years now and I know that they are a real lifeline to young families,” says
Fiona Burt, an expert and regular conference speaker on toddler groups who is part of the 1277 alliance. “The leaders who run these groups are amazing people who give so generously in all sorts of ways. I am delighted that 1277 is going to ensure that they get the support that they deserve. The new website will be a hub for information that will help them to run their groups more effectively, share best practice and network with other groups. I am looking forward to being part of it.”
Church toddler groups can register on the website and have information displayed on a map, so that people can find them easily.
There are none yet for Ipswich, so you may wish to add your church group!
