Flight Deck meets in the Main Hall and is designed to create space for children to learn more about God in a fun, friendly and safe environment. Parents and carers are very welcome and even encouraged to stay with their children and experience Flight Deck first hand!

Flight Deck is also supported by Runway which provides activities for younger children and their parents or carers. Runway is space for parents to engage with their child in a creative and fun environment.

Who is it Flight Deck for?

Flight Deck is for children who are in their final year of pre-school through to the end of Year 6 and their parents / carers.

What Happens at Flight Deck?

The normal Flight Deck routine is:

10.30am: Sign-in:
As you arrive at Flight Deck the doors will open and you will need to sign in. This is to ensure we know who is at Flight Deck each week and that we have the necessary information.

10.30am: Workshops:
These are 30min long art, sport or activity sessions. Each one is hosted by a team member and they are designed to help us get to know each other better.

11.00am: Main Programme:
This is a mix of music, dance, teaching and games to create space for children and families to discover more about God and His love for us.

11.45am: Team Time:
We finish each week with some time where we break into small groups to learn more about God through the Bible. Team Time provides space for teaching and learning, prayer, reflection and questions.

12.05pm: Finish

The only regular change to the normal routine is the first Sunday of the month when we meet altogether with the adults and young people for communion. This generally finishes at 11.15am when we go into the main Flight Deck programme. The other changes to the programme are because of special events including Big Sundays, Christmas, Easter and Remembrance Day. Details of these events can be found on St. Thomas’ website www.sttoms.co.uk

Who makes Flight Deck happen?

Flight Deck is led by Jono Harvey, St Thomas’ Associate Minister, and is resourced by a team of dedicated volunteers who give their time, energy and expertise to make the whole morning run smoothly. All the team are CRB checked and work to St. Thomas’ Church Child Protection Policy, which is available at the back of this pack. To help you spot the team, they all wear Flight Deck T-shirts and an ID badge. If you are interested in helping as part of the team please have a read of the Volunteer Guide which is also included in this pack.

What About Younger Children?

Runway is the space we provide for younger children, aged 0 through to the September before they start school. We ask that children in this age group are accompanied by a designated adult over the age of 16 (parent / carer / grandparent / sibling / friend...) who remains with the child throughout the session.

There is a dedicated Runway space in Wyvern Main Hall where there are a range of toys and activities set up for you and your child to enjoy together. Feel free to join in with the Flight Deck Workshops and Main Programme with your child but we ask that during Flight Deck Team Time the younger children return to the Runway area - this helps the Flight Deck children to focus on their own Team Time. We hope that Runway is a place for young children and their parents / carers to enjoy church together.


What About Adults?

The adult congregation is called Emerge, it starts at 10.30am in Windows on Wyvern cafe for coffee before heading over to the Nursery Block around 11.00am where the service continues with worship, prayer and teaching.