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April 30, 2006
Theology for Breakfast and Sustaining Faith
Just got back from the Diocesan Curates conference which was SO cool. The theme was 'Sustaining Faith' and the input was built around sustaining faith in self and others. I was leading workshops around 'young people and faith' and thoroughly enjoyed the energy and engagment of the two groups I 'work-shopped' with.
I presented a critique of the way we, as the church, are getting it wrong at the moment IMHO and explored these themes:
Words as a default and complete approach to sharing faith
Dualism between Church and Everyday (especially school) life
Programme Orientated
Black and White trite answers
Hierarchical Structure
Material religion
Dull
An established and unquestionable ecclesiology
Conformity model of discipleship
Failure to share and listen to faith stories of how God is at work in people's lives
I also celebrated what I believe we are doing well as a Church, i.e:
All age community
The possibility of spirituality
A real heart and concern for young people
The workshops were really honest and one or two of the Curates shared their anxieties about talking to teenagers. I was really encouraged by the conversations and especially how able the curates were able to look at young people and the opportunities presented with fresh eyes.
About ten of us in the bar last night ended up having a top time with the conversation ranging from the profound to the idiotic and back again constantly, a celebration of life, faith, the divine and the ridiculous. (Enormous thanks to the curate who produced a bottle of single malt once the bar closed). Hit the sack at about 1am this morning and am consequently 'a little' drowsy. Didn't stop an awesome discussion on theology, philosophy and constructed narratives this morning at breakfast in which we explored Existensial Psychotherapy and critiqued its approach WHILE tackling a full english! Nice!
Posted by ian at 03:48 PM
April 28, 2006
Values and detached youth work
Richard has posted a question on SUNDAY PAPERS about the values that drive detached youth work and how people define and understand their detached work. Truck on over to his blog and give him some of your thoughts and feedback (and whether that view has changed).
I would like to know the answer to this too? (but I'll read the comments at Richards blog)
Posted by ian at 12:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Random chats
Having a mad week this week with stuff going on every night including Saturday and Sunday (Ug) although I am looking forward to the preach on Sunday evening. The other cool thing though has been LOADSA time with young people this week and some great conversations. Last night I was interviewing a group for the grove Booklet I am supossed to be writing and had a fun discussion. The teens were really good at articulating why their group was important to them and why adults they trust (who aren't their parents) are so important. I have a whole tape of stuff to transcribe but at least it's full of laughter.
The group are linked to a church who are looking for a new vicar. The girls were very keen that the Vicar was 'fit' and young! How's that for evaluation criteria!
Posted by ian at 08:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 27, 2006
Death by powerpoint
Am CURRENTLY in a lecture on 'How to use Powerpoint' as part of my JNC course. I need the course credit for being here but it's a VERY VERY BASIC how to create a slide type gig and I'm bored. I've produced my slide and am now messing about on-line and if there is ANYONE out there, here is my slide ..... I knew you'd be interested ;-)
I have some questions about video formats useable within powerpoint and whether it's possible to disable the sound of a video and have a sound file overplaying, but I don't think it's the right time to ask?
Fifteen minutes until the redemptive refreshment of the Tea break, YES!
This 'post' filed under 'Inflicting my boredom on the world wide web'
Posted by ian at 10:37 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 26, 2006
Auf wiedersehen
Well I left club last night, or at least ended my regular twice a week commitment. It was a good evening overall with some real encouragments including one of the parents specifically coming down to the club to wish me well. A couple of the young people were more ambivalent about me going ......
But I had nice comments from some of the teens and one of the lads who we have really struggled to engage with shook my hand which was odd but really great. It feels strange to be closing this chapter, part relief and part regret. I shall miss the young people but not the constant battles.
Good fun with the team afterwards though and we have quite a few shared laughs and experiences after 12 months together on this project. We have developed the sort of camaradery you'd find in wartime bomber crews ..... and the same amounts of nervous twitches!
Posted by ian at 01:58 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 24, 2006
Youthwork job adverts
I blogged last month about the diversification of job adverts in Youthwork magazine and this trend contnues. Legendary youth workers Y & A just contacted me about the ad' in which a Christian Farmer is seeking employment through this months mag? I'm unsure whether it's a spoof in response to my suggestion .... or for real. I'm tempted to ring the number but last time I tried that (in response to a Help Line number on a packet of MARGERINE!!!!) I encountered someone with no sense of humour and it was a bit awkward.
Posted by ian at 03:32 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Contemplative Youth Ministry
Contemplative Youth Ministry by Mark Yaconelli ...... ROCKS! This is a REALLY important book if you have a heart for sharing your faith with young people, I'm reading it with an incredible feeling of 'Yes' inside me and gradually turning the pages a different colour with the amount of highlighter I'm using as I stumble across resonant theme after resontant theme. Go BUY this book!
Mark's charge is that communicating faith has become words, words words! His thesis is that the real crisis for those of us who seek to share faith with youth is:
'We don't know how to be with our kids
We don't know how to be with ourselves
We don't know how to be with God'
The book goes on to tell the stories from the 'youth Ministry and Spirituality' project offering models to be learned from, embraced and tried
I know I've been a bit slow to pick this one up, Jonny B was recommending it a month ago :-)
Posted by ian at 02:55 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
April 23, 2006
Dazzled
'One day you're waiting for the sky to fall.
The next you're dazled by the beauty of it all'
Drop-in at the Youth Centre on Friday was a real encouragment, especially given my previous post. Numbers were small but for the few that were there it was an awesome session. For possibly the first time during my placement there, a conversation started in which there was genuine discussion, honesty and empathy. It was a beautiful moment and we let things go over time a bit as the young people didn't want to leave. There was no great recordable outcome, it would be hard to match against ECM oucomes BUT it was a beautiful time and I'm thrilled to have been able to listen, chat and be allowed into the experiences that were shared.
I approach my last official session on Tuesday with interest. There is going to be a 'sending off' party for me and I'm not sure how the teens' will react. I guess I'll find out BUT for at least a small group they have glimpsed the 'possible' rather than the usual and I pray that will set the agenda for the future!
* Quote is from Bruce Cockburn and blatantly out of the context of the song!
Posted by ian at 01:34 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 21, 2006
Aaaaarrrrrggghghghgh
My placement is nearly at an end, I only have two more sessions left to do. Sadly I don't feel like I'm leaving on a high as things have kicked-off again big time!
The residential was so good with me feeling like we had at last broken through to a place of trust in terms of the way the young people viewed the team and the centre. I printed off all the photos and laminated them for a great diplay at the centre, a focal point for the shared memories and for the young people to see what they had achieved. HOWEVER the Easter holidays have seen several steps backwards! One incident I can't write about and several I can, such as eggs being pushed through the door (sadly not chocolate!), posters ripped down, abusive behaviour and language towards the team.
I feel really frustrated. This is the first bunch of young people EVER I have not been able to build a relationship with. I will miss the team enormously and I feel very low about leaving without having made a difference to the young people who I really like despite everything.
Posted by ian at 08:47 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
April 20, 2006
Having fun, fun, fun
Currently writing up 450 hours of placement up against the National Occupational Standards for youth work and evidencing competency in each of the 26 demands! If that sounds like fun to you then YOU NEED to get out more. Hey Ho! It will mean though that soon I will be Pukka full-on reflective informal educator and qualified card carrying, hoody wearing Yoof Wurka! Result!
I probably should stop blogging and get on eh?
Posted by ian at 09:43 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 19, 2006
Hoody Hord in Easter church yard incident
From one of our own correspondents .....
Its dusk, the shadows are long and threatening, somewhere an owl hoots... a large group of dodgy looking teenagers are seen running and shouting in St Mary’s beautiful church yard. A concerned citizen calls the police and says there is criminal damage taking place this very instant and the police jump into battle (they were very quick to the scene of the crime – very impressive) only to be met by the Rector's youngest son with a cheery "evening officer" and discover it’s the Church youth group! The amused officer radios back to base “no criminal damage Guv, it’s an Easter egg hunt”
I hope the police had a good laugh because we most certainly did
Filed under classified (to protect the innocent)
Thanks Max :-)
Posted by ian at 11:30 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
I can do random
I'm sitting at my desk listening to German Radio (as you do), actually it's really cool as Antenne Bayern plays nearly all English rock and 80's and in between songs I get to improve my German, (not always usefully I admit e.g the traffic report for Munich is hard to work into conversation). Anyway I need to do something with all the info that's cluttering up my desk SO I'm lobbing it into the blogosphere .............. over to you!
Christian Aid week is 14th-20th May. If you want to get young people involved then here's some ideas. Download file. Also the lastest MPower has some useful resources in.
Christian Resources Exhibition: 9-12th May at Esher. On the Thursday CHP are launching three books: Making sense of Generation Y, Mission-Shaped children and Youth emmaus 2! Details here.
Funding in Oxfordshire: If you are in Oxfordshire then there is a pot of money called the Chill-out fund that can be used to buy equipment or leisure opportunities for youth groups. If you'd like to know more, send me an e-mail.
Local Networking. A reminder that hooking up with your local Council for voluntary youth services is a top idea.
Oxford, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire is slightly different because it's a jigsaw of unitary authorities so check into Berkshire association of clubs for young people.
Oh and how's this for a great conversation? I bumped into one of the teens who used to be in my youth group. We'd worked for a long time with this guy and he'd been quite a handful (although we were aware of the reasons why) and lived through so many ups and downs with him. He was really welcome at stuff we ran but he'd nearly always remain on the fringes. Anyway he said to me,
'Ian, you'll never guess where I'm going this summer? ............. I'm going to Soul Survivor!'
I asked him, how come and he told me,
'I've drifted so far away from everything to do with christianity but when we went to Soul Survivor I experienced something there and I want to know if it's still real!'
COOL!
Posted by ian at 08:09 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 18, 2006
Announcing the arrival
As youthblog is very firmly (ok, loosely) wedded to Youth Ministry I don't get to write about cycling as much as I would like to. I would therefore like to announce the arrival of Pedalling my thoughts which was born over the Easter holiday weighing in (currently) at 5 posts and doing well. If your not interested in cycling then avoid it at all costs, if you are then please take a peek (visiting hours are very casual).
Posted by ian at 02:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Piloting my desk once again
I'm back! Not that I've been anywhere but I had a few days off from 'youthblog' after wrestling with the philosophical question,
If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there, does the tree still blog about it?
Basically I noticed that both the readers were away and decided I'd instead invest my creative energy in cycling and inventing mad games with my kids. It was a mellow Easter weekend with family and great friends. I have an injured knee but at least this time I hit a car while cycling rather than the more painful scenario of a car hitting me!
So now I'm back what shall I blog about? I've got a couple of youthwork happenings to post but that can wait, I'll probably do a splurge of info later when I've caught up with my mail. In the meantime I thought I'd flag up the most bizarre line I've read in a newspaper this weekend. Thorpe Park have a new Roller Coaster and the Guardian report on it flagged up this detail,
'The drop - the fourth steepest in the world - is vertical'
How can you have steeper than vertical? Youthblog readers and PhD Physicists please comment?
Posted by ian at 08:15 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 13, 2006
Easter Hope
Christ has died
Christ is risen
Christ will come again
(Will not be posting again until April 18th)
Posted by ian at 10:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 12, 2006
Matrix 2007
The Matrix conference in 2007 for employed youth worker/ministers in something I've been plugging for a while now (did I mention putting 5-7th March in your diary?) and am looking forward to. As other Matrixites know, my usual plan is to go to all the Keynote and worship BUT skive off the workshop programme to get the most out of a chance to chill and more importantly learn loads from the spontaneous discussions that evolve in the cafe area.
However there is a plot afoot to make me attend at least one seminar .......... Dark (I mean light) forces have conspired and asked me to lead a workshop. Aaaarrgh! Have provisionally said yes despite the blot this will put on my impressive non-attendance record :-(
I have a cunning plan: maybe i could change my seminar title to,
"Obtaining the maximum from the conference programme"
and run a non workshop!
Posted by ian at 10:23 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 11, 2006
I'm listening
Spent some time in the last fews days listening to young people .........
On Friday I hosted a bunch of teens' at Church House to gain their perspective on what the new Bish' of Oxford should be like. Really great bunch of young people and I loved the discussion we had, fab. We then trouped in to see the Archbishops advisor armed with my cheesy picture of a Bish AND most importantly the combined thoughts of the teenagers on 'stick it' notes around the pic.
On Saturday I was involved in interviewing some youth workers for a job. The young people had a session with the candidates and their feedback was really perceptive. Top job!
One of the leaders from the 'Pick a Bishop' session e-mailed me this conversation:
On the way home, I asked X and Y what they thought, and X said 'It was fun'. When I asked him what was fun about it, he said, 'It was fun that someone asked us what we thought.'
Posted by ian at 09:25 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Spring is in the air
I was at the park with my offspring yesterday and enjoying the spring vibe. There was a large bunch of teenagers on the grassy area by the playground larking about. The lads (and this is no exageration) were ALL in black hoodies and the larking about took the form of a series of mock fights. At any one time there were three of four groups of blokes pushing each other over or bundling into each other and the like. It was so funny, like some sort of Spring ritual. The energy and fun was making me smile, I half expected to hear a David Attenborough commentary in the background.
I wondered if any of the folk in the park were finding this behaviour alarming (having been brainwashed by the Daily Mail into believing ALL young people are automatically a problem) and how many were just enjoying the fact that young people were having so much fun.
I hope it was the latter.
_______________________________________________________________________________
As a loosely related aside: Does anyone else find this verse from the Bible a tad bizzare?
'In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war ...... '
2 Sam 11:1
Posted by ian at 08:56 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 09, 2006
Now that's what I call Alternative Worship
I'd like to coin a new genre within alternative worship, I'm calling it 'Spontaneous Alt Worship!' (you read it here first!) This is all about something quite trad' randomly crossing over into a more creative expression of praise, reflection and connection with God. Not to be taken too seriously BUT this is the true story .....
This morning the kids had all jumped into bed with Jo and I. As it was Palm Sunday and we were going to miss the morning sevice as we were travelling to see relatives, we decided to start the day in Worship where we were.
We started off with a rousing rendition of 'Lord I lift your name on high' (a favourite of the kids) and then read the account of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem from Matthew. We discussed what this meant and why it was important. I then suggested we prayed. My eldest boy (with cerebral palsy and speech difficulty) IMMEDIATELY launched into the Lords Prayer. He did this by saying the first word of each line loudly and doing the rest with sign language while we completed the words. Very cool.
The service was going so well that my youngest boy (aged 5) thought that more celebration was needed and spontaneaously began signing 'Ba ba black sheep' which we duly joined in with. My daughter then wanted us to complete morning worship by singing 'O little town of Bethlehem!' which we did.
Wasn't sure of which Blessing should follow this?
Now if this isn't Spontaneous Alt worship (Ok, there were no candles) then I don't know what is :-) As Jonny, Mark B et al always write up their stuff for others to use, I thought I'd do the same.
Congregation should be seated on Matresses holding mugs of coffee
(Note that dress code is very informal)
Lord I lift your name on high
Reading: Matthew 21
Discussion and Application of Bible Passage
The Lords Prayer (signed and said)
Ba Ba Black sheep (traditional version, sung)
O little town of Bethlehem
Filed under 'Random Family Experiences' and tagged, 'Why I'm never asked to lead worship'
Posted by ian at 04:14 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 06, 2006
You will Oscar, you will
I love quotations, the ability for a pithy line to make you think, laugh or give words to something you have experienced. I have a small notebook I've been scribbling in since 1991 which is the home to my collection, I also have various volumes of quotes scattered around my shelves.
"Christianity is like knitting: basically good but responsible for alot of bad things"
Milton Jones
Quotation sites on the web though tend to all re-hash the same well kmown stuff. However there are a couple of blog approaches that unearth some quotes/poems that are less familiar. My Small Boat gets updated daily. Miss quotation is a more recently started quote blog but I love it. Check them out!
"In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite"
Paul Dira
Posted by ian at 07:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 04, 2006
Jack of all trades for the Master and Son
Just had a fascinating discussion paper from Ali who wonders if churches actually really want a qualified youth worker or do, in fact, want someone who can do/be the following ......
• Child Psychologist
• Theologian
• Taxi Driver
• Chef
• Negotiator
• Bouncer
• Preacher
• Trainer
• Volunteer Recruitment Officer
• A DIY Construction Expert
• A Doctor/Nurse and Ambulance Driver
• Counsellor
• Entertainer
• Teacher
• An Assembly Taker
• An Artist
• A Computer Expert
• An SMS Texter
• Fashion Guru
• A Musician
• A Committee Chair
• Film Critic
• Referee
• Caretaker
• PA and Sound System Consultant
• Housemaid
• Health and Safety/Risk Assessment and Child Protection Adviser
• Holiday Rep. and Tour Organiser!!
Any others you would add from your experience?
Posted by ian at 11:43 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Residential Reflections
I have my brain back now following the intense residential of the weekend and have been musing on the mish-mash of stuff that made up a very encouraging weekend away!
One of the main activities was getting the ever funky Adventure Plus to come and lead a Canoe trip on the Wye. I was really keen for the participants to experience something new, face a challenge and gain a sense of achievement. Adventure Plus therefore arranged a 6.5 mile trip through stunning scenery with an excellent bunch of instructors. Result!
The young people however started to get quite lippy towards the end of the trip and let their fatigue slip into negaitivity with quite a lot of "This is boring!" comments, they had (I should point out) huge grins on their faces for most of the canoeing up 'til then.
Back on the bus one or two of them really started to talk the group down about the canoeing and their default negative position was having a really detramental effect ...... I intervened on this one and they happily focused on how much they hated Shephered Pie instead (the meal for the coming evening!).
A bit later we did some group work and I was getting everyone to say their best bits of the day, everyone had stories, laughs and great moments from the canoeing! Breakthrough moment when I then got them to look at how easily they had slipped into talking the whole thing down BUT how much they'd actually gained from it. It really felt like they recognised someting about the danger of neative moaning and was a great moment!
Some of them still wouldn't even try the Shepherds pie though, Hey Ho!
Other intersting thing for me is that there language was good all weekend and not marked by the stream of swearing and the like that regularly happens at the club. Fascinatingly then, the bad language is not their default position. It's either something the club enviroment produces or is an attitude that they conform too.
The bit I was really dreading was cleaning the centre before we left. I was expecting this to be a real battle BUT I was totally wrong. They all worked really hard and threw themselves into cleaning and tidying. I had to sort out an argument between the two teens who BOTH wanted to clean the bathrooms!
A weekend of challenges AND revelations, of battle and encouragments. I love working with young people and once again this has shown how much you can achieve on a residential. Fab!
Posted by ian at 11:13 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
ASBO mania
ASBO's (Anti Social Behaviour Orders) I'm glad to say are coming in for some criticism .... and rightly so. This Link points out they were only supposed to be given to under 18's in exceptional circumstances IN CONTRAST to the high numbers being given to TEENS. (The government deny this but if anyone would like to lend them a large sum of money they will probably be happy to agree, seeing as their E-bay peerage business has been exposed)
ASBO's are also fast tracking young people into custodial sentences in cases by imposing ASBO's that cannot be kept. (One ASBO was levelled at a young man who suffered from Tourette's syndrome, meaning that if he continued to swear he would face imprisonmnet, Duh!).
Liberty have been doing some great work on our absurdly low age of criminal responsibility and the way in which ASBO's and 'name and shame' are alienating and marginalising young people.
Posted by ian at 10:49 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 03, 2006
Technorati Favourites
If you use TECHNORATI you can click on the logo below and add this site to your favourites. It's also really helpful for me in terms of ranking and exposure :-) Thanks
Posted by ian at 01:44 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
I have survived
Back from the residential, exhausted, elated and a bit incoherrent! Wiith apologies to Gloria Gaynor here's the thoughts that are floating round my mind ......
I have survived
I have survived
and as long as I can get some sleep
I think I'll stay alive
I've got a minibus to unload
lots of kit to put away
but I survived
I have survived
It took all the strength I had
to get the young people to take part
kept trying hard to do group work
achieve some goals that were quite S.M.A.R.T
(I'd spent so many nights
wondering if it would work
So many 'sighs' ..... )
BUT NOW I HOLD MY HEAD UP HIGH
Because we're back
from the residential place
we've all just returned
with grins on every face
they've brought great memories back
and achievments from the trip
The teens grew strong
they learnt how to get along
I have survived
Posted by ian at 11:06 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack