A friend of mine is heading out to Mexico as part of a 24-7 project. He is going to a hugely needy area where the young people apparently love football, big time!
He'd really like to take them some footy shirts. If you have any that are now too small, wrong team, wrong player etc etc, e-mail me and I'll tell you where you can send them to (in the UK).
Shalom &
Ta muchly
Recruiting for several jobs: Details below
Not that I'm necessarily thinking of buying a caravan you understand, BUT I did somehow stumble across an advert for a second hand caravan, for which this was THE ONLY photo to persuade you that it was a worthwhile proposition:
I think it could be a really good deal, I can't see any marks or scuffs at all
I recently received a free (one of my favourite words) copy of Sex, Sushi and Salvation on the condition that I wrote some sort of review. I'm a much more voracious reader than writer which has delayed any reflection BUT in addition I found it hard to compose a review in my head (which is what I tend to do) as there was one part of the book I struggled with.
Christian George is clearly an interesting guy and it would be fun to spend time with him I think. The book is an energetic serving of metaphor, reflection, Biblical exposition, honesty and challenge. At times it feels like a cross between a stream-of-consciousness and an impromptu sermon, but overall it reads as a story-fuelled, well woven together, call to Christ-centred living. I found this a fun book to read and liked the Coupland-esque layout with indented quotes and a related quote at the start of each chapter. The energy, passion and messiness (in a good sense) also drew me in. It's pitched at the kind of level that older adolescents would also enjoy engage with I think.
I did struggle however with Christian's criticism (and in my opinion mis-representation) of Brian McLaren and the Emerging Church. This to me was not in keeping with the tenure of the book and rankled in my mind with the book's pursuit of a living, questioning, engaging and real faith.
On the whole though, a good book and an engaging piece of communication for those who have ever considered the existential themes of sex, sushi or salvation, I'm glad I read it.
Er, the notices!
The legendary Wayne of Scripture Union asked me to mention their holidays and especially the promotional video they've put together (he also asked for a specific plug for GET REAL, a holiday for 14-16 year old), details in 'continue reading.' Talking of camps, one teen' camp that's made a a huge impact on my former youth group (so much so that some of them now lead it) is SAIL n SURF up in the lake district, if you know young people who want a water sport based venture then I'd HIGHLY recommend it. Oh and while I'm doing plugs, I could still do with a few more leaders for YELLOW BRACES (July 4th-6th) and there are still places left on the young leaders programme.
I'm not doing a summer camp this year as such but will be at GREENBELT (yay) and if you want to be Greenbelting too PLEASE note this is the LAST day for discounted tickets.
At the weekend we manged to obtain an old record player and could thus dig out my collection of albums and singles. The children thought this was great and once they'd enjoyed the novelty of records at the wrong speed, really enjoyed the tactile experience of putting the records on and lifting the needle onto the correct track in order to listen to the music. My youngest was frustrated that he couldn't find 'side B' in the sleeve and I had to explain about it being on the other side of the disc :-)
All good fun and as I hadn't heard Fat n Frantic, 'Agressive Sunbathing' for years, a thoroughly nostalgiac outing. Fab!
Ok this may sound like another one of my money making ideas BUT that's probably because it is. However this is a win-win situation 'cos it's a good recommendation :-)
I recently discovered IJT direct who supply some electronic gadgets, printers, cartridges and memory cards .... all at EXTREMELY good prices. I have one of their 2gig MP3 players with colour display that was £17.95 including postage, and is fab!
Anyway, have a look. If you are thinking of spending over £25 e-mail me before you order, I send your name/ad as a referral, they contact you and we BOTH get a £5 Marks and Spencers or Tesco voucher! Job done!
The only weakness I can find with them is that they are not the fastest at delivery, but given the prices that seems like a worthwhile compromise.
My 13 year old has difficulty with speech (he has Cerebral Palsy) and so it can take some time to gain a picture of his day. We haven't got to the bottom of who pushed him over today or why, but as he doesn't seem bothered by this, I guess it's ok. What we have learned over the course of the evening though is that over his lunch break he had to look after a baby (an electronic doll if I have understood him correctly). We managed to learn that this was part of PHSE and that he didn't drop 'her!' Any attempts though to garner what understanding, learning or reflections he had gained from the experience were unsuccessful. I was therefore delighted when, as he was going to bed, he thoughtfully stated,
"I didn't like looking after the baby"
Eager to hear his reflection on parenthood (albeit only a brief simulation) I inquired as to why. His response, "Cos' I wanted to play football!"
Details of the Sophia network, specifically a couple of gatherings and a request for info.
If you are a woman you can click on 'continue reading' (If not, you can't ...... obviously I have no idea what it says as I averted my eyes when copying and pasting the info)
Long term reader(s) of the blog may remember the rivetting (or at least nailing) account of the Youthblog shed and my 15 minutes of fame as the Google top authority on Creosote substitute*. Well you'll imagine my delight then when I discover that a Youth work job in Oxford Diocese lists among the benefits, '3 bedroom town house with garden and shed!'
Dissapointingly though the job spec' doesn't show a picture of the shed, I hope though that during the interview process there'll be chance to see it.
I'm delighted to see shed's being listed as a perk and an inducement.
More importantly though, please circulate this job spec' to as wide as audience as possible. Thank you :-)
* I'm now only 12th on google for "Creosote Substitute"
CMS/Jonny baker have set up 3 of their 'blah' days with Brian walsh and Sylvia keesmaat next term.
Their book 'Colossians remixed' is probably the most remarkable commentary I have ever read! In it they explore how Colossians critiqued and subverted the prevailing Roman Empire, exploring what it has to say into our culture and presenting a call to culture subverting faith. In the book they use 'Targums' (a Jewish teaching approach where the text being read is not only translated into the language of the hearers but re-framed for the culture into which it is being spoken) which I think will be a really useful idea to explore as Youth Ministers and Preachers!
Here's your chance to score some high grade theological professional development, knock four and a half times on this door and say Youthblog sent you
I'm going to the Oxford one (let me know if you are going, need a lift from the station etc)
My youngest two children acquired a couple of Easter chicks each (the results of some neo-Eastery craft activity or other) and decided they had enormous play potential. They spent Saturday afternoon creating micro tableaus for the chicks to star in, then photographing them. I was muchly amused by the results, so by way of a blog post, here are three examples .......
It's quite cool tnat the photo's came out as well as they did as they were taken on a cheapy point n' shoot digital. Oh and apologies if you arrived at this entry via a google search and these 'cool chicks' were not what you were looking for :-)
Christ has died
Christ is risen
Christ will come again
One of the discoveries I love making is when you find that something you wasted a whole heap of time on in the past, suddenly and unexpectedly actually has a use now. The time previously wasted is partially redeemed by the surprising discovery that it was in fact, albeit unbeknown at the time ... useful.
Sometimes this can be very close to the event e.g Newton having a lazy sit down under an apple tree and thus inventing gravity. Sometimes (and more usually) the distance between the time wasting and the redemptive discovery are huge. An example. Most of my time at Sixth form college was 'wasted' by avoiding the onerous task of working and instead spending all my time with people in chatting, listening, debating and talking. This had a somewhat detrimental effect on my academic achievements and could be perceived as a classic case of wasting time. However within a few years it turned out that all this time doing nothing but talking paved the way for my jobs in sales, training and youth work where communication is at the heart of what I needed to be able to do. Fab!
Anyway, how did I arrive at this muse you ask? Well, cycling through Oxford yesterday I was cutting through the backstreets and lanes which necessitated, every so often, riding directly across busy pedestrianised shopping streets from an alley on one side over to the road or alley on the other. Crossing these on a bike is a complex business as it involves looking for a small break in the two way perambulating flow, zipping into it then applying the brakes, balancing for a moment until the next break opens up. Sometimes some slight adjustment, peeling sideways in the direction of flow is a good idea to open up access to a more useful gap (while not being swept to far from the exit you are aiming for).
Anyway, while in this precarious game of tactics; balance, zoom and stop, I realised that all that time playing Frogger in the 80's was no longer time wasted but was now redeemed into tactical cycling skills. Hurrah!
All I have to do know is find some redeeming use for the vast array of information about second world war aircraft gleaned (and have retained) during a particularly nerdy phase of my adolescence.
the great Asbo
I've been listening to Aftershock, short podcasts for young people. Aftershock is put together by a bunch of volunteers .... and well worth checking out.
Thoroughly enjoyed this article, The atheist delusion in the Guardian at the weekend. John Gray unpicks some of the arguments unleashed by what he calls the "literature of proselytising atheism." He also points the arguments against "religion" back at credal atheism and shows that it's a case of throwing stones in glass houses. well worth a read IMHO
Colin Chapman, the man who founded Lotus, had a great design mantra. His aim was to:
"Simplicate then add lightness"
This has been resonating with me for several days now, not as engineering advice but as a maxim for life and faith. Jesus (quoted in John 10) talks about 'life to the full' which to my mind involves a lightness of being and spirit (even in the midst of difficulty). However our culturally driven technological materialism seems to produce the opposite of lightness and of life to the full, more of a, complicate and become busy ... with resulting heaviness.
As a minister I want to be living and modelling a counter cultural living faith and I'm liking the description of that model as 'Simplicate then add lightness'
I am currently away at Woolhope Cockshoot (the best residential centre IN THE WORLD*) and enjoying the stunning view whilst using the space (chronological and geographical) to some useful ends, namely:
1. Have some Space and time.
2. Prove that I can work from literally anywhere (and in fact, the middle of nowhere)
3. Meet with a Structural Engineer to see if we can stop the building next to Woolhope dramatically demonstrating the theory of gravity.
4. Actually getting some work done towards my M.A
5. Do some much needed cleaning of the centre
Although that list looks kind of busy it's fine as I started the process last night and I have a whole heap of time which I'm loving. Shalom
* No really, it is!
The seven deadly sins have been in the media recently (Envy, Pride, Sloth, Greed, Lust, Anger, and Gluttony) by virtue of the fact that the Catholic Church may or may not have been exploring some additional ones. Musing on this in a coffee shop (as I kill time before an evening meeting) I thought about what the seven deadly sins of Youth Ministry might be?
I don't claim this to be the definitive list but here is my Espresso fuelled seven to which I would welcome your additions and rejections.
I'm loving this compilation of THE top 20 Religious T Shirts from the Times, making me laugh. My two favourites:
Well the budget yesterday was GREAT news for the charity sector as Gift-aid will not be going down with the new lower rate of income tax (thank you, Darling!), a transitional arrangement is being set up which will allow the 28p on the pound claims to be retained! Yay, this is great news for charities, churches and the like, much rejoicing in the 3rd Sector!
So where's the bad news. Well supposing (hypothetically) as as Diocese you'd just taken delivery of 63,000 leaflets explaining the effect of reduced gift-aid rates. That would be frustrating eh? Doh!
But overall, GREAT GREAT news and of huge relief to agencies and churches who employ youth workers and battle to raise salaries. I say it once again (because it makes me laugh), Thank you Darling!
(Captain's log supplemental: I made it onto the Church Times blog, way cool)
For Hope 08 in Oxford there is a concerted initiative for May 3rd - 5th called "Hope on the Streets" .... The pack they have put together for churches and youth groups is good stuff and I attach a copy in case you can translate it into something for your community.
I seemed to have been simultaneously tagged by Doc Brush (DYO of Worcester) and Sci Fi Author Michael Brush. The challenge relates to writing about one's life in 6 words, as detailed here. So here goes .......
An unfolding adventure blessed by friendship
Youthblog! To our members we are the seventy fourth emergency service!
I'm loving the networking of needs that happens through the Youthblog page here, fab! Latest success is to find a speaker to the holiday that 'lost' theirs? good job! Latest test of the Youthblog emergency service, "Does anyone know of an organisation that could take on the Youth and Children's programme for a BIG Parish weekend away?" ........ let me know if you do and I'll forward the answer on to, er ..... 'Mrs Trellis of North Wales'
I nearly bought the Times this morning, This unusual for me as I normally find reading the Times about as dry as eating crackers without cheese (metaphorically speaking). The Times almost pulled me in today though as the picture on the front is SO good (not viewable online sadly) but in the end I picked my usual purchase, The Guardian! I prefer the Guardian to any of the other newspapers. I like it's coverage, it's range, it's questions, it's wit and it's pictures but most of all, of all the newspapers, I think it gets the importance of story the most and so allows a story to live (rather than just writing an account). A good picture is still important BUT you can't trump story. I believe in Story!
And whilst I am, for no apparent reason, occupying a train journey by writing a free advert for the Guardian, what of the other newspapers?
I think the Daily mail should be banned. A journalistic style that is essentially: here is the story (i.e shocking calamity) but you need to understand that the actual issues are single-mums, teenagers, immigrants or all three!
The Telegraph has Matt who is brilliant. I do however struggle with the Tory-graph especially at the weekend when they seem to be stressing over how difficult it is to secure a nanny/maid for the third property in Aspen or marveling at a great new thrifty restaurant where one can actually eat for less (fractionally less) than £75 a head!!!!
Oh and I like the Church Times a lot (especially this week, WHICH has nothing at all to do with the fact that I am quoted several times in it! *laughing*)
On Friday night when I was at a party I met someone who was an aficionado of and contributor to, Pimp that Snack.
Creating 'monster' versions of well known snacks isn't everyone's hobby (I assume) but I did think it could be an awesome youth group project! Check out these gargantuan Gummi Bears positioned behind their normal sized selves, cool huh?
Go plan, create and upload!
Real live preacher has written a STUNNING telling of the story of Jesus in the Desert. It's in three parts and weaves the short Biblical narrative together with an imaginatively put together context. It's a very powerful piece of work!
(Just in case you've not seen it, "40" by Si Smith is also a great piece for a Lent reflection)
Ruth Gledhill on addiction
'If it is not in drink, the addiction in an addict will surface, such as in gambling, drugs or food or, if you're lucky, in something useful, like blogging.'
(Church of England Newspaper 29/2/08)
I've just ordered a copy of a new resource from FYT called GLIMPSES!
This is what Nigel Pimlott has to say about it:
"Even though i say it myself, it looks and feels really good: a big 180 page full colour resource packed full of ideas for youth workers to help develop spirituality with supporting dvd for only £13 per copy fully delivered. (A saving of £4 on the full published price)"
Full review will follow but I'm confident enough to plug it now :-)
A quote from the Guardian today that is amusing me:
"But we do fear for the future of our hobby. Eventually, trail riding could be driven underground".
The article, here, is about 4x4's and Motorbikes having access to off-road trails in national parks. Apparently the number of routes are diminishing and the TRF (Trail Riders Fellowship) are promoting what they do and actively campaigning. Hence the concern that their sport will be "driven underground!"
I need to deliver a lecture today while my head is occupied with the mental image of someone pot-holing in a Jeep Cherokee!
Although the idea of some sort of registration for youth and children's volunteers and employed workers has been around for a LONG time, I was gob-smacked to find it's arrived. The Independent Safeguarding authority web site says there will be a ministerial announcement imminently and the process will begin. All volunteers and workers will need to be ISA registered and cleared, a process that will happen through the CRB system. Roll-out of this will be this year but I'm not sure when?
Thankfully ISA membership will be portable and the registering is going to be phased, started with new people BUT this is massive and I wouldn't want to be a Diocesan Youth Adviser with the work/flak this may create. (Doh, just remembered I am one!)
Anyway: Hurrah that it helps to protect young people but aaarrrghghgh for the process, and 'woa' about how much by surprise it's taken me.
Public information roadshows explaining the role of the ISA are taking place across the country. Find your nearest roadshow and register to attend.
March 6 Cardiff
March 19 London
April 10 Liverpool
Not quite the licence we speculated about but it will be interesting to see if there's a future conversation that links registration to training.
The new Occupational Standards are finally released (yay) and you can find them here.
Initial reading looks like they encompass a greater number of skills BUT the emphasis on "and community" in youth and community work seems to have been dialled back and although 3.2.1 is "Engage with the local community" ..... the symbiosis between youth and community work seems to be missing IMHO.
During the consultation phase a number of us had been keen to see 'spirituality' finding a place and as Mark pointed out, (thanks) it's Section 1.1.4 'Encourage the spiritual development of young people'
I like the layout and the way that the individual standards are broken down into "Outcomes" "Behaviours" and "Knowledge and understanding!" This should be helpful in training as it's a useful matrix for reflection and evidencing.
The purpose of youth work as stated in the document is:
"Enable young people to develop holistically, working with them to facilitate their personal, social and educational development, to allow them to develop their voice, influence and place in society and reach their full potential"
I only got to see a copy last night which is a challenge as tomorrow I'm lecturing at Ruskin on Social Exclusion and now have very little time to absorb the new NOS into the section on policy, practice and intervention in 'youth and community work' BUT hey ho, 'if you can't take a joke you shouldn't have joined'*
*one of my maxims for life.
I had a fun weekend! On Friday night I was out in Chesham at a tween' group at a Fairtrade chocolate evening and enjoying just being rather than having any specific responsibility. In the last half hour though there were quite a few young people who were getting restless so I popped out to the car to get my emergency-run-a-session-in any-situation-bag. A lot of fun (or Chaos) as we did some balloon modelling. Simo is the expert on this in the diocese but the Young People seemed very happy with trying to make the classic "is it a giraffe is it a poodle?" model with the braver attempting a "parrot in a perch"* (I found the picture of the dino' on Marko, there's a model I'd like to try!).
Saturday saw me leading a discussion on a benefice away day on engaging with young people, helping the assembled group to think what building on their work with young people might look like. It was a rural benefice of 9 churches and although their engagement with adolescents was limited they had much to build on. One thing that REALLY impressed me was that in one of their Churches there were "Junior Church Wardens" ..... cool huh!
Last night I was at a great meet-in-a-home type group and leading a session on parents. As per the 'magpie' image in the post where I flagged this up, I nicked quite a few people's ideas and will post the session later in case it proves useful to anyone else.
*the parrot in a perch is just a parrot in a circular stand-on perch, not some Damien-Hurst-esque partialliy digested bird inside the guts of a transluscent fish type deal.
