VES Team End of Week Update | Looking ahead to Easter!

Dear wonderful VES team,

Hope you are well - and thank you so much for another strong week together.

VES was 'post-Sarah' for the first time so there were plenty of opportunities for things to wobble, but the team carried things brilliantly. Thank you to everyone who stepped up, covered gaps, welcomed students, and ensured the people were served really well - amazing!

Spotlight this week: Easter at VES

As we approach the end of term, we’re beginning to turn our attention to Easter - a super joyful moment in the VES calendar. A couple of practical notes for the week after next:

Wednesday 25th March - No classes

A small change to flag - there will be no VES classes on Wednesday 25th.

Team availability is a little light that morning, but more importantly we want to funnel our energy into the Thursday Easter celebration.

Thursday 26 March — VES Easter Party

 10:30am–12:30pm at the ACH, Centralehttps://croydonvineyard.churchsuite.com/events/kx0o06gj

This will be a fayre-style morning, with several organisations hosting stalls and activities, including: Croydon Vineyard, Bluetouch, Croydon Ramblers, a fitness group and others!

Alongside that we’ll have:

• Easter activities
• some fun English practice
• time to connect with partners and friends from across the community

Around 11:30am we’ll gather everyone together for:

• some end-of-term recognitions
• live music from Zac Carpenter
• an Easter message from Chris Young

Please note: there will be no lunch that day, but we will be serving hot cross buns throughout the morning.

If you're reading this - I would love you to come! It would be really helpful if you could sign up at https://croydonvineyard.churchsuite.com/events/kx0o06gj  and if you’re able, add a note offering help - for example:

• hosting a simple table activity (cards, games, conversation etc.)
• helping distribute hot cross buns
• welcoming people at the door

This is probably the moment in the year when we are most explicit about the school being a ministry of the church, and we’re excited to share something of the hope and power of Easter with the whole VES community.

VES Dashboard — Week at a Glance

• 21 classes delivered across 4 days (plus 2 creche sessions and 1 youth drop-in)
• 241 student sessions enabled
• 70 volunteer sessions given (our joint highest ever!)
• Weekly participation number: 347
• +80% increase on this time last year

Behind each of those numbers is a person being welcomed, taught, and encouraged. Thank you for making that possible.

Dates reminder

• Last session of term: Thursday 26 March (Easter Party)
• Two week Easter Holiday: 30 March – 10 April
• Summer term resumes: Monday 13 April
• Save the Date: our third annual Welcoming Well Conference - Monday 1st June

Thank you again for all you carry and all you give - it really is making a difference in people’s lives week by week.

Have a great weekend, and I’m looking forward to seeing many of you next week.

Much love,
Andy Brims