Over the last few years, Emma and I have been so pleased to see churches engaging with the Worcester Spirit Mark. This scheme helps parishes celebrate their good practice with children and youth. It seeks to help parishes identify ways in which they could improve how they reach out to children and young people and the ways they are welcomed into and included within worship and day to day activities of the church.
Recently we have awarded Bronze Awards to Drakes Broughton.
The Bronze Award itself represents a set of minimum standards in children's and youth work and ask questions such as ‘Are all those who work with children and young people possess a Criminal Records Bureau Enhanced Certificate?’ For parishes which are going further in the way they include and welcome children and young people and the diocese will be awarding Silver where, for example training has been completed and Gold awards where children and young people are routinely involved in the planning and delivery of services.
Now that the scheme has been running for three years we are pleased to be able to promote these churches which are demonstrably welcoming to children and young people through our forthcoming Children and Youth Friendly Churches page of the diocesan website. All those who have achieved any level of the award will be listed as a church recommended for families looking for a church to attend.
We’d love to be able to add more churches to this page so do have a look at the details of the scheme or download the Bronze award booklet. Do get in touch if you would like advice about exploring the Worcester Spirit Mark in your church.
Friday 7 September 2012
Wednesday 5 September 2012
Christmas resource
You might be interested to follow the progress of this new Christmas resource from SGM which presents the Christmas story for teens in a Japanese graphic style.
Celebrating the Kingdom
New term, New Resources
For those starting secondary school, Scripture Union have something they have perfected over the last few years called It’s your move. See their leaflet for churches or the website for more details
If your young people are older and heading off to university then Youth for Christ have produced a new Mettle book designed for the first term at university.
The Fusion network also offer a School leaver Pack to help young Christians connect with others at their new university as well as find churches in their new home town. Fusion also offers a leaders’ pack of four sessions to run with your teens before they head off to university.
Other new resources in the diocesan WARes include Soularium from Agape International which offers a set of images for reflection which would work really well with teenagers. The pack includes fifty images and five simple exploring questions that allow the user to engage in one-on-one or group spiritual conversations with non-believers.
Lording it up!
Young people from churches in Worcester Diocese are being offered the opportunity to visit the House of Lords and meet members of the Lords as part of a group including two other diocese.
The EIGHT young people will join with others from Derby and Oxford Diocese as well as members of the Church of England Youth Council (CEYC).
We will be meeting on Tuesday 30th October (Half Term week) to plan our visit sometime in the new year.
On the day of the visit we will be leaving Worcester early and arriving at the House of Lords for lunch before viewing the afternoon session. We will then meet with some members of the Lords for a discussion and may go on to have a tour of Westminster Abbey.
Members of our Youth Council will be among the group but there are also spaces for others who would like to participate.
Please do get in touch with me as soon as possible if you have young people who would like to take part.
The EIGHT young people will join with others from Derby and Oxford Diocese as well as members of the Church of England Youth Council (CEYC).
We will be meeting on Tuesday 30th October (Half Term week) to plan our visit sometime in the new year.
On the day of the visit we will be leaving Worcester early and arriving at the House of Lords for lunch before viewing the afternoon session. We will then meet with some members of the Lords for a discussion and may go on to have a tour of Westminster Abbey.
Members of our Youth Council will be among the group but there are also spaces for others who would like to participate.
Please do get in touch with me as soon as possible if you have young people who would like to take part.
Revive Positivity campaign
ALM Children and Youth
Emma and I will again be training a group of Children and Youth Leader’s as part of the specialism for the Authorized Lay Ministry course on two full Saturdays on 13th October and 1st December from 9.30-4.30.
It would be really good if you could hold the people on this course in your prayers as they reflect on their work with children and young people.
We will also be gathering together all our previous ALM Children and Youth Specialists on Saturday 8th December from 11am-3pm (including lunch) If you have been part of one of our courses before please do put the date in your diary.
It would be really good if you could hold the people on this course in your prayers as they reflect on their work with children and young people.
We will also be gathering together all our previous ALM Children and Youth Specialists on Saturday 8th December from 11am-3pm (including lunch) If you have been part of one of our courses before please do put the date in your diary.
Worcester suburban mission seeks co-workers
Tolladine is an area in Worcester of acute multiple deprivation. Parts of it are ranked amongst the 2% most deprived in the latest government index of multiple deprivation. Around 10,000 people live there.
The Tolladine Mission in Worcester has been chosen as one of an initial group of 10 pathfinder projects funded by the Church Commissioners and Archbishops Council to ‘Develop Church Growth in Deprived Areas’. The mission hopes to do so in innovative ways which are capable of replication elsewhere.
One of the key concepts underpinning the Tolladine Mission is that it should include a group of people living closely together in the mission area, bound together by a common purpose and sharing a simple ‘rule of life’.
The mission is now inviting people to join this group.
The mission began as church initiative engaging especially with the young people of the area. (35 % of the populations are children or teenagers.) It ran a breakdancing session in place of evensong on Sundays, ran ‘Open the Book’ sessions in all the local primary schools and prayed with open church doors on Monday evenings; and the young people came and joined in – sometimes chaotically. A young congregation and a number of baptisms and confirmations followed. In the second phase it has been able to employ a Church Army missioner. Together with his family he lives in the heart of the area and is building relationships with the community through his presence there and through projects such as building a community garden. (This has provided an ‘out-of-school’ opportunity for youth in the area with learning and behavioural difficulties, giving them - perhaps for the first time - a real sense of achievement and hope.) In much that the mission does, it works closely with the local authority who has designated Tolladine an ‘Area of Highest Need’.
At the same time, the practical responses to the needs of the community have gone hand in hand with developing more accessible forms of worship and the strengthening of the spiritual growth of the existing church. The next phase of the mission involves growing the residential aspect. At present the missioner and a candidate for pioneer ministry live and work in the area. From this September, however, the mission has secured another three bedroomed house.
The mission is now looking for people to live in the house who are willing to be points of Christian witness within Tolladine, demonstrating in their lives and by their openness and hospitality the value and challenge of the Christian way of life. They will form and observe a simple ‘rule of life’, and eat and pray together.
The mission is supported by the Diocese of Worcester, the Church Mission Society, and the Church Army. It is managed by a support group which includes the incumbents of the three local parishes, Bishop Chris Mayfield and three lay members with relevant experience. It is financially secure for at least the next four years. It has links with Mucknell Abbey.
The Tolladine Mission in Worcester has been chosen as one of an initial group of 10 pathfinder projects funded by the Church Commissioners and Archbishops Council to ‘Develop Church Growth in Deprived Areas’. The mission hopes to do so in innovative ways which are capable of replication elsewhere.
One of the key concepts underpinning the Tolladine Mission is that it should include a group of people living closely together in the mission area, bound together by a common purpose and sharing a simple ‘rule of life’.
The mission is now inviting people to join this group.
The mission began as church initiative engaging especially with the young people of the area. (35 % of the populations are children or teenagers.) It ran a breakdancing session in place of evensong on Sundays, ran ‘Open the Book’ sessions in all the local primary schools and prayed with open church doors on Monday evenings; and the young people came and joined in – sometimes chaotically. A young congregation and a number of baptisms and confirmations followed. In the second phase it has been able to employ a Church Army missioner. Together with his family he lives in the heart of the area and is building relationships with the community through his presence there and through projects such as building a community garden. (This has provided an ‘out-of-school’ opportunity for youth in the area with learning and behavioural difficulties, giving them - perhaps for the first time - a real sense of achievement and hope.) In much that the mission does, it works closely with the local authority who has designated Tolladine an ‘Area of Highest Need’.
At the same time, the practical responses to the needs of the community have gone hand in hand with developing more accessible forms of worship and the strengthening of the spiritual growth of the existing church. The next phase of the mission involves growing the residential aspect. At present the missioner and a candidate for pioneer ministry live and work in the area. From this September, however, the mission has secured another three bedroomed house.
The mission is now looking for people to live in the house who are willing to be points of Christian witness within Tolladine, demonstrating in their lives and by their openness and hospitality the value and challenge of the Christian way of life. They will form and observe a simple ‘rule of life’, and eat and pray together.
- They should be people who are seeking to spend some time in urban mission – at least 9 months, but ideally from two to five years, so that there will be a balance of time spans.
- They may be men or women of any age from about 20 upwards who are prepared to live in a ‘house of sharing’.
- They should be able to relate to young people. They should probably have, or be willing to seek, at least part-time employment, but we are able to offer rent-free living in exchange for a willingness to dedicate some of their spare time to the mission.
The mission is supported by the Diocese of Worcester, the Church Mission Society, and the Church Army. It is managed by a support group which includes the incumbents of the three local parishes, Bishop Chris Mayfield and three lay members with relevant experience. It is financially secure for at least the next four years. It has links with Mucknell Abbey.
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