WAVE - We're All Valued Equally
Come along to North Bank at 4pm on the first Sunday of every month and you’ll see a group of people singing, learning about Jesus, taking part in drama, praying together and generally having a good time. This is WAVE and it’s a monthly church gathering tailored to meet the needs of young adults with a learning difficulty.
WAVE stands for We’re All Valued Equally and we’re a relatively new group of people from local churches. We had our first gathering in June and are now growing, both in size and confidence!
Bernice Hardie, one of the founders of WAVE and a member of St James Church, saw the need for a group like this when her daughter Jessica, who has Downs Syndrome, reached the age of 18. “She’d gone to Sunday School and all the church youth activities” explains Bernice, “but having outgrown these, there wasn’t anything that was sufficiently accessible for her”. Jessica, who is now away at residential college but comes home for the WAVE gathering each month says, “WAVE is like a different place, where we all have something in common (God!) – it’s simple and good fun”.
We know that having a learning difficulty means you can sometimes struggle to make sense of the sermons and talks usually included in church services. Informal enquiries showed there to be relatively few adults with a learning difficulty attending local churches in Muswell Hill, yet we know many in our community.
The ambition behind WAVE is to make it easy for anyone who comes to our meetings to join in, and to learn more about (or simply experience) how much God loves and cares for each one of us as individuals.
WAVE gatherings are very informal and easy-going. There is singing (with Makaton signing), bible teaching using pictures, symbols and drama, and prayer time which is interactive and often very touching. Some of us actively want to join in while others are more shy, and that’s fine too. We have a chill out area for anyone who feels more comfortable there than within the big group. We always finish with a chat over a drink and homemade cake.
The group is very grateful to the Methodist Church for providing us with such great facilities to use each month.
If you, or someone you know may be interested in coming along to WAVE then please take an invitation card (these are available in the church) or get in touch with Bernice Hardie via the church office on 020 8883 6277 or churchoffice@st-james.org.uk.
We’re all excited about this new venture and the opportunities it brings. But the last word must go to one of our group who says, “There’s something very special that happens when we meet – it would be wonderful to have others come along and experience it”
Please let us know if you will require support to attend meetings.
