The Sharon Award

On January 14th twenty members of DCF travelled to Emsworth, Hants for a very special presentation lunch. After the death of a very special DCF member - Sharon Key - three years ago, we have presented the Sharon award annually. The award, in the shape of a crystal key, is given to someone who displays the same qualities as Sharon. This year the award went to Linda Titheridge, and she was invited to join a group of us for lunch quite unaware that she had been given this award and that the lunch was in her honour! There was much chatter and singing as well as laughter for the time we were all together, with many memories of holidays together being shared amongst all present. Congratulations Linda from all at Through the Roof.

Childrens and Family Ministry Conference

Through the Roof are joining over fifty other organisations and ministries supporting the 2012 Hand-in-Hand conference (from Fri 3rd Feb to Sun 5th Feb), wanting to help train your team and resource your children's and family ministries.

Alan and Philippa from Integr8 will be there - running our stand and chatting to people about what our youth programme is offering and how we can help you. Alan and Alice Langtree (TTR Board Member) will be running a workshop on our innovative Parachute Bible Stories on the Saturday Afternoon.

Whether you have been involved in these areas of ministry for years or are just starting as a volunteer, then from 4pm on Friday 3rd February to 3pm on Sunday 5th February you’ll find helpful seminars, workshops, ministry showcases, exhibiting organisations and resources.

The programme includes plenary and optional sessions that focus on how we can make the most of the opportunities that major sporting events provide for churches to engage with their community. There will also be a stream of Messy Church sessions throughout the weekend. So if you already run a Messy Church and want fresh ideas, or if you are thinking about Messy Church as a possible new initiative for your church, you can choose those options. And, to encourage you to bring your junior leaders along, there is a half-price ticket for under 21s and some sessions aimed particularly at them.

Find out more about the conference by following this link.

New Year's Honours for Jenny

Huge congratulations to Jenny Edwards, who was awarded an MBE in the Queen's 2012 new year's honours list. Jenny received the honour for services to people with disabilities in Surrey. We're all very excited for her, and hope you'll join us in congratulating her on being recognised for her many years of hard work and care.