On Monday children and young people across England will physically go back to school for the first time since December. Parents will rejoice, teachers will breath a sigh of relief that they no longer have to teach via video-link, and most of the children will be happy to get out of the house and see their friends again. But many, probably more than you’d care to imagine, are anxious. Young people are expected to have Read more…
On Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Day) my social media feeds were full of pictures of pancakes – I’m not complaining, I posted a few myself. One of them even elicited a follow from @fabandfitonabudget! When I was growing up we always had pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, loads of them with sugar and lemon juice. It was fun trying to flip them, and whilst to eat they weren’t anything special, the sense of occasion was memorable. Read more…
During Lent (17th Feb to 3rd April) we have put together 7 challenges for you to complete – one for each week. This #LentChallenge will get you thinking, moving, giving and praying – helping you to engage with God in new ways. Each challenge lasts the whole week and is really simple. They will challenge you each day to focus on God and your faith for just a few minutes. Did you know that it Read more…
A friend of mine asked the question on Facebook the other day “what unnecessary things from ‘before’ do you find yourself still doing?” He clarified his question by explaining that he still ensures he wears black socks on a work day, despite sitting in his living room on ZOOM all day. It got me thinking about the things I might be hanging onto from the past – both pre-lockdown and more generally from a time Read more…
It feels like we’re in a particularly weird place, even in this, the weirdest of years in living memory.Schools have re-opened in a variety of socially distanced ways, the National Youth Agency have declared that Youthwork is an Essential Service – meaning that some of the latest Government rulings don’t apply, and we are teetering on the verge of a new lockdown (at time of writing new annoucements are coming thick and fast) We recently Read more…
With the government announcement that from the 24th July face coverings will be compulsory in shops, I thought I’d start early, and put mine on and as is typical for me on a Thursday, I went to do my weekly food shopping. A few weeks ago my wife was experimenting with making her own out of old socks, and I had this mighty offering – obviously adorned with a bit of illuminate branding to make Read more…
The past three and a half months have taught me loads. Practically I’ve discovered how to edit video and how to continue youthwork relationships online; spiritually I’ve discovered the power of mindfulness and creating 10 minutes of space in my day, I’ve also re-discovered a love of reading; personally I’ve learnt not to raid the biscuit tin too often, and how amazing it is to have lunch together as a family every day. But in Read more…
Over the last few weeks its been a real privilege to be part of some of the zoom conversations between young people and Bishop Rachel for a forth-coming podcast. Together we’ve chatted about the challenges of being a young person in lockdown, coping with the isolation, home-schooling and lack of social life. There have been some really frank and honest revelations about how we’re all being affected. What’s also been fascinating is hearing all the Read more…
One of the key principles of youthwork that I love is that of empowerment. This is often best illustrated by thinking about space (as in somewhere to be, not the solar system!). In most contexts young people occupy space which they neither control or have ownership of, be it school, home or social spaces. Excellent youthwork empowers young people to take ownership and control of a space (normally a youth centre, but any space will Read more…
One of the first young people I mentored was a 12 year old boy called Matt. He had a complicated background and family, and I would often get confused by all the names and how they were related. One day I asked Matt to draw me a family tree – this was an amazing time as it gave him time to spend a few minutes describing each person and the relationship he had with them. Read more…