New Christian Teen Magazine online

If you're a little bored over the Christmas holidays, why not check out this new Teen Magazine online. Streetband has topics covering all aspects of life including exams, surviving your parents' divorce, interviews, faith issues and music.

Nearby Job Opportunities

Youth Worker
Duke Street Chapel
Sutton Coldfield - West Midlands

When we say we are looking for a gifted, full-time youth worker, we are not looking for the impossible we are looking for a vibrant, committed Christian to work with an enthusiastic team in helping lead and motivate our young people’s and children’s groups.

For all you need to know try this website (may not yet be live) or see their main site.

Youth Minister
West Cheltenham Team Ministry, Gloucestershire
Salary minimum £19841

Closing Date Fri 27 Feb 2009

West Cheltenham Team Ministry is a group of three churches with people from mixed backgrounds and with a wide age range. Many of us have struggled to find or hold onto faith at times. Our lives are still “untidy” in some ways. We believe God loves us all and that’s why he holds us together. We try to support and encourage each other – sometimes we fail! We want to show our community that Jesus Christ is Good News for us all.

We are looking to appoint to this post someone who:-
• Has a heart for the Lord Jesus and Young People
• Is gifted in pastoring and discipling 11 – 18s
• Can lead, envision and manage a team of volunteers
• Can expand our ministry in new and emerging ways.
• Can further develop our relationships with secondary schools and other youth agencies within the Parish

Salary minimum £19841 depending on relevant training and experience.
(JNC point 11 plus assistance with housing,)
Closing date for applications 27/02/2009
Contact Details Initial enquiries to: Rev Paul Harris, St Mark’s Rectory, Fairmount Road,
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. GL51 7AQ

Youth Evangelism Fund

Next Year Worcester Diocese is one of the dioceses to receive the Youth Evangelism Fund. All yougn people throughout the diocese will have the chance to apply for money (up to £2,500 for any single project) for work they are doing with other young people which brings them into contact with the church.

Three members of the youth council and I went up to London for the day on Saturday 6th December to hear all about it.

We saw the work of various groups which have already benefitted from money in other diocese including a skate park project, a youth puppet group, a cafe church for young people and a group who went out and worked in their local community to improve the appearance and facilities for other local residents. It really got us thinking about some things young people around the diocese could do.

Our diocese will be allocated over £20,000. Some dicoese haven't put in enough bids for their full allocation and others have ended up receiving more than they were allocated. I'd like Worcester to be in that latter category.

So in readiness for the fund coming to Worcester... what could your young people do with £2,500?

Safer Internet Day 10th February

Many people ask me about advising young people and parents onf using the internet safety and others ask about using the internet safely with their youth groups.

CEOP are suggesting a SAFER INTERNET DAY for 10th February and will have a resource pack for people who have registered to download next year.

Treasrure Trails

Has your youth group done every outdoor activity there is?

Stuck for some new ideas?

I picked up information about a fabulous organisation called Treasure Trails.

Not only does the pack offer you a walking guide to help you get them out in the open air but it also gives you a puzzle to solve - either a treasure hunt, murder mysery or James Bond style spy trail. There are trails in Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

There are also trails for Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Enjoy!

Job Opportunity with Dudley CVS

Volunteer Development Officer

Starting Salary: £26,067 (initially funded for 2 years)

Closing date 24th November 2008

Interview date 9th December 2008

For further information, application form and job description Tel 01384 573381

Internet Safety

The Internet Safety Presentation ‘Think You Know – Do You?’ aimed at raising parental awareness of internet safety will be held at Tenbury High School, Tenbury Wells on THURSDAY 13th NOVEMBER 2008. The event will start at 7pm and will finish about 9pm. Radio 4’s The Today Programme will be present and will be seeking to speak with and get comments from members of the audience.

The presentation is not designed or intended for children.

The presentation is an open session and all our welcome. Organiser Simon Davies says:
"I would ask that those wishing to attend email Simon Davies so I can coordinate numbers. "

On the Radio

The young people from mass@Barnabas also known as youthmass recorded the service for Sunday morning on BBC Hereford and Worcester this morning. They're using some of the prayers from my licensing as Diocesan Youth Officer which were AMAZING.

Tune in On Sunday between 7 and 8 or listen again here.

It's particularly exciting as it is the beginning of National youthwork week (1st-7th November) part of which encourages places to let young people "takeover" for a day. Have a look at the National Youth Association page for more information.

Young people in Halesowen and Cradley

Young people from Halesowen and Cradley are being asked to give their views on shaping future services in the area.Dudley Council's Youth Service has a team dedicated to the Halesowen and Cradley area and are inviting 13 to 19 year olds to join the youth forum.The forum will take on board the views of its members on issues affecting young people in the local area, including the services they would like to see provided.Two members will also get the opportunity to become representatives of Halesowen and Cradley on Dudley Youth Council, where they will join young people from other areas across the borough and take part in regional and national debates.For more information contact Dominic Tipping on 01384 816284.

Church Army Marches into the Future

There's a new website for the Church Army which looks very exciting with video blogs from Chief Exec Mark Russell. Go and have a look as it develops

Christmas resources

I know it seems rather early but there are some good Christmas resources for churches over at SGMLifewords. Have a look at the audio visual stuff as well as the crafty creations for children including a finger puppet nativity. Don't miss out seeing the liturgy including some great Advent/Christmas themed prayer stations.

There are some other resources here:

Pesterpower leaflet for families at Christmas.
Some ideas from "downunder"
Lots of ideas from over the years at rejesus.

more as I get them!

Job Opportunity

YOUTH PASTOR
Kinver, Staffordshire
£ 20,000 (plus benefits)

This is an exciting new post for an enthusiastic and passionate individual, with experience of and a heart for developing the Christian discipleship of young people.

Working as part of the alive and kicking leadership team, you will help to further develop the pastoral care and discipleship of a growing Christian community of young people. This will include furthering good relationships with local churches, schools and communities.

You will need to be a self-motivated, organised, flexible individual who can work as part of a team. You will receive support, training and guidance and in return you will be given the opportunity to inspire Christian youth work in Kinver and the surrounding area.

ad33 is a Christian charity established and supported by Churches
Together in Kinver and Enville.

For further details or an application pack please contact us
or visit our website.

Be Prepared

In the News today...The Scouting Association has issued some new guidelines for their leaders to assist in dealing with enquiries from young people regarding sex and relationships. They have issued a document for leaders and supporting materials (access to members only as well as establishing an online directory of links to agencies that can give young people further support and guidance. The guidelines for leaders do take into account that there may be some religious and cultural issues, especially for those groups which are sponsored (e.g. those attached/affiliated to churches).

Funding Opportunities

Futurebuilders England offer grants to voluntary agencies. Contact them for a pack.

CSV offer grants of £500 to young school campaigners and are currently offering 10 such grants under the banner od Crick Challenge. Awards support schemes run by young people up to the age of 16 which are designed to improve the world. See their website for details.

Fundng Opportunities

For those in the Dudley Borough there are some exciting possibilities for funding at the moment. Some of these may also be open to those in other districts. See the individual websites for details:


Community Spaces: Small and Medium Grants, rolling programme until January 2011
Size of grant available: £10,000 - £49,999 (100% funding available)
Funder aims: Availability of better local places which are safer for everyone
Funder outcomes: Better local environments with an increased number of people actively involved
Additional information: 2 stage application process for all, with availability of facilitator at 2nd stage to assist
Contact details: E-mail
Advice Line - 0845 3 671 671
Web Site


Community Spaces: Large and Flagship Grants, deadlines - Large 9th January 2009; Flagship 30th January 2009
Size of grant available: Large: £50-£100,000(100%); Flagship: £100,001-£450,000 (contribute min £50K)
Funder aims: More places for children to play and increased availability of greener spaces
Funder outcomes: Increase in areas of recreation/play and improvement in partnership working
Additional information: Mostly capital expenditure (25% maximum revenue costs allowed)
Contact details: as above

Access to Nature: through Big Lottery "Changing Spaces" programme/Natural England - rolling programme to June 2010
Size of grant available: £50,000 - £500,000 for capital and revenue funding up to 5 years
Match funding required: Grants up to £100,000 - 10%; grants up to £500,000 - 20%
Aims and outcomes of funder: Main themes: Community awareness, education and wild-life rich places
Additional information: Open to charities, community groups, statutory bodies, churches/faith groups
Contact details: Peter Loat, West Midlands Adviser - Web Site Address


Nationwide Foundation's Supporting Families: Small Grants programme - no deadlines
Size of grant available: Up to £5,000 (Registered Charities only with income below £500,000 per annum)
Average size of grant: £4,500 (2007/8 - almost £630,000 funding provided) across all 3 themed areas
Aims and outcomes of funder: Promote well being, improve quality of life, provide support through rehabilitation
Additional information: 3 themes to achieve aims: Domestic Violence, Prisoners' Families, Young Offenders

E-Mail
Web Site Address

Youth Music Open Programmes Awards: Closing date 15th December 2008
Size of grant available: £5,000 - £30,000
Target areas: First Steps (0-5 year olds) and Make it Sound (5-18 year olds)
Aims and outcomes of funder: To ensure that young people have access to music-making opportunities in England
Additional information: Support activities out of school hours/delivered by non-profit making organisations
Contact details: E-Mail
Web Site

The Gannett Foundation: Closing date Friday 24th October 2008
Size of grant available: £1,000 - £5,000
Aims and outcomes of funder: Various - youth development, disadvantaged, cultural, environmental projects
Additional information: All applications to be processed via Newsquest newspapers, e.g. Dudley News etc
Contact details: Telephone: 01384 444944 E-mail
Further details: On Newsquest site follow link to Gannett Foundation;

HBOS Foundation: No deadlines for applications
Size of grant available: Community Action Programme Awards up to £10,000
Aims and outcomes of funder: Money advice/financial literacy and developing/improving local communities
Application procedure: 3 page application form, download in PDF format from web site
Additional information: Only available in those communities where the HBOS bank operates
Contact details: Via Regional Co-ordinators - see web site for details


The Ibrahim Foundation: No deadlines, applications can be made at any time and grants are awarded twice a year.
Size of grant available: £500 - £10,000
Areas of interest: 4 preference areas are: community building; environment; strengthening "not for profit" organisations; supporting families.
Aims and outcomes of funder: Improve quality of life for people and communities
Additional information: Initially submit brief letter of enquiry, pending invitation to submit full proposal
Contact details: "Contact us" on web site or by e-mail
Web Site

Death of a Teenager

The Worcester News and BBC Hereford and Worcester have both covered the news of a crash yesterday in which a teenager died and three others were injured. My condolences go out to all family and friends affected by this sad news.

For those who may be looking to support young people who were friends of the young man you may find suggesting this site is useful as it has sections for young people, as well as for schools and those working with young people.

Residential Centres Update

If you are looking for somewhere to take your young people for a weekend away, I've recently stocked up on brochures from various places. Come and browse at the Old Palace.

Christmas in 30 seconds

The Church Advertising network have set up a competition for all you video creators out there.

all you need to do is create a video which tells the nativity story in less than 30 seconds and you could win £500! The competition closes on 30 November 2008.

Have a look at the video below to see the inspiration for the competition. Can you do better than the three wise guys?

Christmas Day Volunteer Opportunity

Are you free on Christmas day to lend a hand?

Maggs Day Centre in Worcester are looking for volunteers to help out at their day centre on Christmas Day.

The centre will be open from 7.30am-2pm and Maggs are looking for volunteers to work either 7.30-11 or 11-2.30pm.Volunteers duties would include helping with the Christmas breakfast and Christmas Dinner, sitting talking and listening to clients, playing pool, cards etc. We are also hoping to open the Night Assessment Centre (NAC) from 5pm to allow rough sleepers to come into the centre with the specific aim of playing games and relaxing in a fun and supportive environment. Volunteers for this session need to be enthusiastic and want to play games and help keep clients entertained. Maggs will also need volunteers to help with the preparation of a small buffet meal in the early evening. The times for volunteering here are 5-7pm and 7-9pm.

If anyone is interested then please can they contact Mel Kirk, our Volunteer Coordinator, on 01905 25027. Spaces fill up quickly so if anyone is interested then please contact Maggs ASAP.

Job Opportunity with YFC

YFC is part of Youth for Christ International, which specialises in communicating the Christian faith to young people.Residentials Coordinator National Office, Halesowen

British Youth for Christ are looking for an enthusiastic person to lead the 11-14’s ‘Fort Rocky’ Residentials - YFC’s programme of evangelistic weekend residentials for young people aged 11-14 held in various centres around the UK.

The Role encompasses the following aspects:
The development and running of the Fort Rocky Residential programme
Further developing the strategy for evangelistic Residentials within YFC
Developing teams to run the weekends and working within the wider National YFC team.
Liaising with hundreds of youth groups from around the UK

You would need to be:

• Passionate about reaching 11-14s with the Gospel
• Experience in Youthwork with 11-14s and a heart for Residentials
• An energetic self-starter
• A Good team-leader and gatherer of people
• Excellent interpersonal skills and some experience in leadership, communication, planning and administration.

Salary: £17,120 to £20,808 depending on experience
Closing Date: 7 December 2008


Contact Details
Application forms available from Chris Nightingale at Youth for Christ, Coomswood Way, Halesowen, West Midlands B62 8BH, call 0121-5029620 or email.

National Youthwork Week

It's National Youthwork Week from 1st-7th November. The National Youth Association site has details and a pack you can download. This is a great opportunity to raise the profile of your work with young people with the rest of the church, thank all your youth leaders or get people at your church thinking about work with young people. The pack contains ideas, encouragements and examples of work with young people.

Funding Opportunity (North Worcestershire)

WCVYS advised me about this available funding for voluntary and community group activities which help to increase community safety and reduce crime

What is it?
The North Worcestershire Division of West Mercia Constabulary is running a pilot project to offer funding to voluntary and community groups in North Worcestershire (Bromsgrove, Redditch and Wyre Forest). It will be offering grants of up to £500 from a £10,000 pot in 2008/09 for projects that can be shown to contribute to reducing crime, increasing the sense of safety in communities or supporting diverse communities.

Where has it come from?
This funding is part of a Community Safety budget held by the Division. It is working closely with representatives from the voluntary and community sector to make sure the application process is as simple and as fair as possible.

When must it be spent by?
As this is a one year trial period for the pot, the funding will be for projects running from January to March 09. However, the division recognises that this is a short time span so the funding can be used as match funding for existing projects, where organisations are struggling to find that extra bit of money.

What will it fund?
Examples of community safety projects that have been funded in the past:

· Providing purse alarms to reduce the likelihood of theft
· Crime prevention schemes
· Holiday activities for young people to reduce anti social behaviour during school holidays
· Financial support for community open days

These are just some examples of past projects but the West Mercia Constabulary welcomes all ideas that can contribute to the outcomes, which are:
· reducing crime and anti-social behaviour
· increasing the sense of safety in communities
· supporting diverse communities

How do I apply?
The application form will be available within the next six weeks on the West Mercia website.
The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 14th November 2008. E-mailed or faxed applications will not be accepted. Successful applications will be announced by 10th December 2008.

Where can I get help?
Your local policing team will be happy to help you. You can contact them by accessing the West Mercia website at www.westmercia.police.uk

Radio Active

So I was up EXTRA EARLY this morning to pop along to BBC Hereford and Worcester radio for a great chat with Phil Simpson. Apparently you can listen again I was on at 8 and the show started at 6 so it may take a while to get to my bit!

Get-away!

Are you thinking of taking your group away but don't know where to begin?

Do you want to liven up your weekend away?

Want to go self catered but no idea where to start planning a menu?

The diocese has just invested in the Resource sheets from CCI which give you all kinds of advice about planning, leading and reviewing your residential with young people.

These cover all aspects of planning:

No 01 - Planning and Budgeting
No 02 - Recruiting your team
No 03 - Choosing the best venue
No 04 - Safety and liability
No 05 - Insurance
No 06 - Protecting children
No 07 - Minibuses
No 08 - What to put in your brochure
No 09 - Team Building
No 10 - Training your team
No 11 - Risk Assessment
No 12 - Programming with a purpose
No 13 - Taking your group overseas
No 14 - Catering: the DIY approach
No 15 - One to one with young people
No 16 - Under canvas
No 17 - Discipline at your event
No 18 - Coping with a crisis
No 19 - Development Training Games
No 20 - Outdoor activities
No 21 - The art of storytelling
No 22 - Bringing the bible alive
No 23 - Quality follow up
No 24 - Evaluating a programme
No 25 - Keeping your holiday effective

If you would like to borrow these or would like any advice on planning your residential with young people, please do get in touch.

CCI also has a free venue finder service which will pass your details to all the residential centres that meet your requirements (size, location, catered/self-catered etc). Or you could consider taking over a youth hostel as a group. Locally you can choose from:
Leominster, Coalbrookdale, Clun Mill , Dimmingsdale and Kington.

I can also suggest a few places locally which you might like to consider as a place for your residential.

Locally:
For group activities and mucking in together
Far Forest Centre near Kidderminster (Self-catering)
Woolhope Cockshoot near Ledbury (Self-catering)

For a retreat
Holland House near Pershore (catered)
Beautiful Gardens and quiet (not for all teenagers!)

For a more adventurous time:
Astley Burf near Bewdley (catered and self-catering) lodges and camping
The Pioneer Centre Shropshire (catered)
Viney Hill Gloucestershire (Catered or Self-Catering)

A little further afield
Chellington Bedfordshire (Self-catering)
Fabulous converted church with STUNNING view
Woodcroft Chepstow (Self-catering)
Great facilities and access to all kinds of activities
Cloverley Hall - Shropshire (Catered)
Fabulous building with very comfortable rooms and great grounds
Quinta - Shropshire (Catered and Self-catering)
Wonderful grounds with outdoor activities available. Choose the big hall or the little bungalows!
Pentrenant Hall Welsh Borders (self-catering)
Two hundred year old building in a beautiful setting

Some other centres worth contacting:
Oakwood Court Warwickshire
Morley Derbyshire (Catered)
Shepherd's Buildings Lichfield (self Catering)

Young People's Sunday

Watch out for forthcoming details of this national initiative on the Frontier Youth trust site. There will be a set of talks, dramas, prayers, stories, bible studies and other creative ideas free to download.

Re-Inpsired

INSPIRE our planned event on 27th September has now been postponed until Saturday 7th February.

We will be sending details of the new date out soon.

If you have any pressing training needs please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Children's Pioneer Minister

St. Philip's Church, Bradmore
Salary £18.5k-£20.5k
Wolverhampton
Closing Date Fri 3 Oct 2008

Description We are looking to appoint a gifted leader to help pioneer new projects and develop existing work within our expanding vision for children and families. The successful candidate will be a team player with the ability and motivation to help initiate fresh expressions of church and re-imagine how children and families worship as church. The person appointed will be encouraged to grow professionally and spiritually and benefit from being a member of the Fresh Expressions network.
St. Philip's is a vibrant evangelical church in the suburbs of Wolverhampton, working to make a difference in the community.

Salary £18.5k-£20.5k

Contact Details For information contact: Revd Tim Lomax
www.pennfieldsparish.co.uk
Closing Date: 3rd October

Children's & Families' Worker

St Peter’s, Pedmore, (Stourbridge, West Midlands)
Salary £20 000 to £24,000

Closing Date Mon 6 Oct 2008
We are a friendly parish church within the open evangelical tradition with a vision and sense of God’s call to extend our work with children and families.
Are you an enthusiastic, committed Christian, able to take a lead in growing our mission to children and families?
In this new post you would build on our existing ministry and develop outreach programmes.
Salary between £20 000 and £24,000 dependent on qualifications and experience.


For further information and an application pack please contact
The Administrator,
St Peter’s Church Centre,
Pedmore Lane,
Stourbridge,
West Midlands
DY9 0SW
Tel No 01562 887287 (9.30-12.30 weekdays) or email This post is subject to Criminal Records enhanced disclosure
Closing Date noon on October 6th 2008
www.stpeterspedmore.org.uk

New term, new ideas?

There are lots of great resources around which would help you with your youth group programme. It's just knowing where to find them.
You could try checking out the links to the right and see what the organisations have to offer.

How about signing up for some subscriptions or mailing lists?
Here are just a few of them you might like to contact.
Soul Survivor: The Catalogue.
For books, music, and information about training, there is no postage to pay when you buy direct from the Soul Survivor website.
Save the Children:
Resources for working with young people aged 12 - 18. Lots of Issue based material for youth leaders and young people to get their heads around. Tel 01752 202301, email: orders@plymbridge.com .
Church House Publishing
The Essential Resources from the Church of England. This has a really good section on Children's and Youth work. Check it out. Tel Church House Bookshop 020 7898 1301
YFC The Catalogue
This is another great catalogue, packed full of youth work resources, everything from programme ideas to training courses, tel. 0121 550 8055, or visit the website.
Russell House Publishing:

Direct work with young people, activities and programmes that you can run yourself. This catalogue contains resources that will help you as a youth worker develop many new skills. This is a learn to do by doing resource. Get on their mailing and you will receive a regular update of new publications. Tel 01297 442 722 or E-mail: help@russellhouse.co.uk. Website.

Ukyouth:

The network for quality work with young people. This was known as Youth Clubs uk. Tel 020 7242 4045 Website.

For other resources you could try one of these online Christian bookshops:
Kevin Mayhew
Eden
St Andrew's Bookshop
or find a christian bookshop near you here.

Alternate

Stu Avis in Redditch is organising a fabulous musical weekend over 31st October 1st November this year.

If you want to hear Vera Cruz and bandwithnoname then Redditch is the place for you that weekend!

Check out his AMAZINGLY cool website here.

Youthwork Magazine

For ideas, resources and guidance for youth ministry, why not subscribe to Youthwork Magazine. Youthwork magazine is published every month chock-full of ideas, news, reviews and resources. Every issue you can benefit from the following:
The Source:
The latest important youth ministry news stories to keep you up-to-date on people, events and places. Columns on the statutory sector and schools work. All spliced together with cultural analysis and opinion on the latest trends and goings on in and around youth culture.
Twelve pages of Resourcebox:
All-new adaptable meeting plans, drama, discussion starters, music and movie clips, together with the innovative CPR, ideas for schools work, and much more.
Insightful & relevant features:
Written by some of the best youth ministry writers around, as well as in-depth interviews, theory and practise, book extracts, and much more.
Going Deeper:
Regular articles which aim to dissect the deeper issues of youthwork and ministry.
Reviews:
The latest book, music and video resources for youth ministry reviewed by people in youth ministry.
Jobsearch
The most comprehensive listing of youth and ministry jobs in the UK and abroad every month.
... plus much much more!
real-life case studies; reader's feedback; cultural icons; regular columns from Mike Pilavachi and Jill Rowe...

This is the most widely read resource serving Christian youth workers in the UK. One year £29 plus free copy of 40 more.Why not subscribe now? Just telephone the subscriptions department during office hours on 01903 602100.

The Christian Apprentice

Monday 27 – Wednesday 29 October 2008

Venue: The Shepherd’s Buildings, Pattingham, near Wolverhampton.

For girls aged 14 and over who want to develop their leadership skills.

You’ll take part in creative activities that increase your experience of leadership and teamwork. You’ll get individual feedback for effective leadership development.

The course will cover:
• the Bible on leadership
• the importance of character in effective leadership
• how you can be a good leader
• what your strengths and weaknesses are
• how to handle conflict situations
• how you relate to others on your team

Cost: £60 per person to include accommodation in dormitories, food and all training.

Leaders: come with your girls to get the most out of the event, but girls can also attend on their own.

For more details and a booking form, contact Sharon Prior 01425 674112; sharonprior1@btinternet.com

An initiative of The Sophia Network
run under the banner of Urban Saints

What do Muslims think?

Interesting video here from Muslims in America when asked "What would you want to say to America?"

This could be a useful discussion starter for groups looking at difference, prejudice or people of faith.

• What is there about the video that is what you'd expect?
• What surprises you most about the video?
• How did the video make you feel about the people in it?
• How did the video make you feel about people in your own community
• Has the video changed the way you think? If so, how?

Musical evening

If you're free on the evening of Saturday 27th September why not pop along to St Wulstan's in Warndon:

PRAISE AND WORSHIP EVENT
At St Wulstans Church, Warndon 7.30pm Saturday 27th September

Music & worship led by Singer
Songwriter
John Wilson
of aLive Ministry

Come and enjoy an evening of music praise and worship

Conferences coming up

If you're working with young people in a rural parish there are a couple of things on the horizon that might be of interest. Firstly there's a conference run by the Rural Youth Network on 'Young people making a difference - the social inclusion of rural youth' on the 25th September 2008 at the Novotel Hotel East Midlands. This has been sponsored by the Commission for Rural Communities, is due to take place.

There is also a day in January with Canon Martyn percy from Ripon College Cuddesdon which Gloucester diocese are hosting called the Multiparish Benefice Conference The Art of the Possible which includes sessions on children's and youth work.

If you're working more in a detached setting why not check out the Annual Conference for The Federation for Detached Youth Work at the Britannia Hotel in Standish, Wigan from Thursday 13th - Saturday 15th November. They will be looking at 'Detached Youth Work in a Multi-Agency integrated setting - a brave new World?' It's a little pricey at £300 members and £350 non-members. If you want to know more you can e-mail the FDYW .

Nooma

What is Nooma?
Nooma is a revolutionary product that is changing the way people experience spirituality – a series of short films on DVD with a 32 page discussion guide.

It's not a book or a cassette tape. And it's not a CD or a two-hour movie. It's a new format called NOOMA® — short films, between 10 and 14 minutes long, about God and our lives. Since its limited online release in November 2002, NOOMA has impacted millions of people. Because of this initial success and great potential, Zondervan has partnered with NOOMA to bring these films to the world.

How can I use Nooma?
Noomas are appropriate for personal and small group settings, congregational meetings, and much more. Like parables, they use the experiences of our lives to teach about the fullness of life through Jesus, tackling issues like forgiveness, discipleship, and unconditional love. The study materials accompanying each NOOMA encourage meaningful discussion with relevant questions and biblical references.

Who’s behind Nooma?
Rob Bell, a leading pastor and breakthrough communicator in the Christian community, is featured in the first series of Noomas. He is the author of Velvet Elvis and Sex God.

How do I access Nooma?
You can contact the Department of Children Youth and Education on 01905 732825 or by email and request a particular dvd from the following selection. We will then send the DVD out to you or hold it for you to collect. There is no charge for hire. We only request that you return the DVD by post or hand in good condition. We will charge for replacement or damage to ensure the resource remains available to other parishes.

More Funding Oppotunities

Refugee and Asylum Seekers Initiative
This a programme run by The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.
The programme would like to receive applications from community organisations delivering services or advocacy directly for children and young people under 21 who are refugees and/or seeking asylum. The minimum grant is £3,000 and
though there is no upper limit, the Fund expect most grants to be around £50,000.
For more information, see their website or contact:
Email:
memorial.fund (at) memfund.org.uk


V Match Fund For Youth Volunteering Projects
V, the organisation that champions volunteering, has announced that voluntary organisations and charities using or planning to use young volunteers have the opportunity to double the amount of funding generated from the private sector (a profit-making business; and/or a grant making trust or foundation; and/or an individual) through the v Match Fund. Successful applicants will need to develop innovative and inspiring volunteering opportunities that engage young people (16 - 25 year old), in volunteering. V has developed a set of core themes for the Match Fund: health and well being; environment; supporting children and young people; community cohesion; poverty; and human rights. There are two application deadlines: 29th August and the 31st October 2008. See website.

Various funding opportunities

Funding is now available to local and national charities or not-for-profit organisations that address rural and urban deprivation. Under the Urban Deprivation grants are available for projects that could include for example;• youth clubs; • training schemes to help people out of unemployment; • drop in centres for the homeless. For further information see Trusthouse Charitable Foundation.

The Small Grants Scheme is open to community and voluntary groups and has been designed for projects with a total cost of under £50,000, grants can be awarded of between £2,000 and £15,000. Typical projects suitable under the WREN small grant scheme might include;• village halls or community centres • skates parks and play areasThe closing date for applications is 5 pm on the 26th September 2008. For further information.

Young Roots offers grants of between £3,000 and £25,000. The scheme aims to involve 13-20 year-olds (up to 25 for those with special needs) in finding out about their heritage, developing skills, building confidence and promoting community involvement. To receive a Young Roots grant, your project must relate to the varied heritage of the UK and: • provide new opportunities for a wider range of young people aged 13 to 25 to learn about their own and others' heritage; • allow young people to lead and take part in creative and engaging activities; • develop partnerships between youth organisations and heritage organisations; and • create opportunities to celebrate young people's achievements in the project and share their learning with the wider community.In April 2008 the Heritage Lottery Fund introduced new application materials and guidance for this programme. During this transitional year the Fund will start assessing applications under this new programme on the 1st September 2008 decisions will be announced within 10 weeks of an application. For Further information see their website.

Bored this summer? Think about volunteering

For young people looking to volunteer on a gap style project but without ebough money to fund themselves should take a look at Platform 2

Platform 2 is a fantastic opportunity for 18-25 year olds from low income families to go on a free 10 week trip to a developing country to work on community led projects. It is Government funded and run by Christian Aid in collaboration with BUNAC and Islamic Relief.

Here is a video involving young people who've already responded to the scheme.



If you would like more information please check out their website on http://www.myplatform2.com/ which includes the application form, stories from volunteers on the trips at the moment and more.

Film Funding

First Light Movies provides grants to projects that enable young people to participate in all aspects of film productions e.g. writing, shooting, lighting, directing or producing. The funding is available to voluntary and community organisations that work with young people aged between 5 and 18 years.
Grants are available through three funding streams. The Pilot Awards which provides grants of up to £5,000, the Studio Awards, which provides grants of up to £25,000 and What's the Big Idea Awards which provides grants of £3,000. Applications open shortly, for more information:

Child Protection training sessions

Here are the dates and approximate locations of this year’s child protection training events.
Thursday 11th September UPTON
Thursday 25th September STOURBRIDGE
Thursday 6th November MALVERN
Wednesday 28th January DAYTIME WORCESTER
Wednesday 18th March KIDDERMINSTER
Tuesday 28th April REDDITCH
Wednesday 3rd June WORCESTER
Monday 6th July EVESHAM
For more details

Inspire

On Saturday 27th September, Robin Sharples and I will be running a day at St John’s Bromsgrove for anyone in your parish who works with children and young people. This is a chance to give your work a boost with ideas, inspiration, resources and advice. We’ll be looking at the Worcester Spirit Mark as well as giving churches an opportunity to see BREATHE in action. See attached flier for details.

New Generation

This movement that works with young people in their schools is coming to the Redditch area in September. They will be in Christchurch, Matchborough on Friday 26th September from 7.30. Watch the blog for more details.

Taizé Community

As I told you in the last mailing I will be taking a group to the Taizé Community in France in July/August 2009. I now have two fellow leaders who have offered to join the group and Brother Paolo has agreed to come and visit the on 12th November. He will hopefully be visiting a school in the afternoon to meet with young people. There will also be a short Taizé service in the evening at St Helen’s in Worcester and a chance to learn more about the community.

Breathe

In July we took delivery of the diocese’s own copy of Breathe. This is a resource developed by dare2engage to help 16-19 year olds explore their spirituality. Jenny Baker, one of its creators brought Breathe to the diocese earlier in the year and the diocese has invested in its own set. We launched Breathe at the Diocesan Assembly where it was available as one of the workshops and it will be available to experience at both Rock the Cathedral and Inspire in September.

Diocesan Assembly

With the help of Andrew Wickens and members of the Youth Council, I had a fantastic three days along with the twenty young people on the youth stream at the Diocesan Assembly up in Swanwick in July. We covered the six themes of living the life through drama, film, games, craft, discussion and lots of fun - oh and an electronic Geordie panda! The young people worked out a drama based on the parable of the tenants for the Saturday afternoon worship, made and altar frontal and invited everyone at the closing Eucharist of the assembly to bring together their thoughts on the six themes through the image of this friendship bracelet made in our craft session . Fantastically, two young people from the assembly have also since joined our diocesan youth council along with two other new members from Upton deanery’s youth council.

WaRes

WaRes is the new newsheet about resources available for work with children and young people from the Worcester Diocese.

DVDs/CDs/CDRoms

free to borrow if returned safely
Nooma
We have a complete set of Nooma DVDs for parishes to borrow free of charge. We only ask that you return the DVD to us undamaged either in person or via the post. See the separate Nooma leaflet for details.

Play PAWS
This DVD of Ice-breaking games does rather defy description. If you like pandas, especially pandas from Newcastle-upon-Tyne or if you’re into slightly querky games and humour then this really is for you. There are 2 dvds each with 6 sets of icebreaker games from spot the chocolate bar from its cross section to anagrams in alphabet soup. The graphics are rather clunky but that’s just part of the appeal.

Mission and Young People at Risk
This CDrom tool from the Frontier Youth Trust is a great way to assess the needs of young people in your community as you look to start any new work with young people. It contains 700 screens looking at four subjects: Community, Communication', 'Mission' and 'Group work'.

If you have any suggestions for DVD resources which you think the diocese should invest in for use by parishes, do get in touch.

Sports/Games Equipment
Unihoc set £5 deposit £1/day £2 weekend
Large Connect Four (not giant but big!) £2 deposit free loan
Basketball £1 deposit free loan
Football pump £1 deposit free loan
Pack of 50 sports field markers £2 deposit free loan
Juggling balls £2 deposit free loan
Bopit £1 deposit free loan
Twister Scram £1 deposit free loan

Special equipment
Breathe
See Breathe Booklet for details of this spirituality resource

KUBB
£10 deposit Cost £1/day £2/weekend
Kubb is a Swedish stick-throwing game that involves skill and team work. It can be played with between 2 and 12 players and you will need a large garden or small field where you can set out the playing area with some room to spare around it. The game went down well with the young people at the Diocesan Assembly and is suitable for all ages over 7.

Crossword Connect
£2 deposit free loan
A set of 13x13cm interconnecting squares with letters on which can be used for all sorts of games and group activities.

Parachute
£10 deposit Cost £1/day £2 weekend £5 week
Parachutes can be used with all ages for some great games and story-telling activities.

Tug of War Rope
£10 deposit Cost 50p/day £1/weekend £3/week

Craft Equipment
Badge Machine
Cost £10 plus 15p per badge

You Fish Shoes

Jenny Baker, ed., You Fish Shoes: connecting 30 key issues with Christian faith for 14-18 year olds (Christian Education Publications, 2005)

The title of this book has divided opinion amongst those I’ve shared it with. You Fish Shoes is either a really clever title or really cheesy. Yet however the title is viewed it is one of the things that make this book one which is not easily forgotten. In this compilation of the work of seven experienced youth workers, Jenny Baker has edited together thirty sessions for older teenagers. In my experience it is often difficult to find good resources for work with this age group but this volume offers an excellent resource for school groups and youth groups. The book is clearly not intended as a course to be followed through but as a resource to be used as appropriate. It covers topics such as prejudice, drugs, commercialism, the occult, bereavement and self harming. I think it would be a particularly useful volume to turn to in the event of one of these issues arising for the group either through personal experience or after events in the local community.

The book is versatile in that it can be used almost as an off the shelf, last minute session but that is not the original intention of the book. Indeed, more than that, it offers group leaders suggestions and opportunities for going deeper with issues. Like any good session resource, You Fish Shoes offers more than you could fit in any one session providing a panoply of activities, discussions, film clips and Bible studies. This means that, unlike some other resources of this kind, you can tailor a session for your group without necessarily having to use a source book merely as a starting point. This book offers such a good choice of alternatives that youth leaders and teachers will not need to add material of their own, though they might well be inspired to do so. As well as providing thirty sessions for use with young people, this book also revitalised my own planning of sessions on other topics as it offers such a good model of a balanced session made up of a variety of styles and activities.

Each session is punctuated with thoughts on the topic by modern thinkers, Christian writers, contemporary novels or celebrities which helps make the pages more approachable and readable. The chapter begins with an explanation of the issue in question. Following this brief introduction, there is a list of web resources for the youth leader to explore for themselves in preparing the topic or point the group towards for follow up. Next comes a few thought-provoking questions for use in preparing the session or to begin a discussion within the session itself. The Extras section which follows gives a handful of other things you could use in the session. There is then a list of books to read about the topic and some Bible references (with explanations) which link to the topic. These elements alone would be a good start to planning a session but You Fish Shoes goes on to offer the group leader even more.

The main part of each session offers various elements; Ways In, Bible Study, Response, Worship and Prayer. Each of these starts by explaining what type of activity it is, what the aim of this particular part is and what you will need for it. The Ways In offer a variety of types of beginning to the group session including film clips with follow up discussion, icebreakers, games, craft, brain storming and team activities. The Bible Studies are thoughtful (deeper in places than some other books might offer) and encourage reflection from the group.

I think it is in the Response, Worship and Prayer elements, that this book really places itself at the top of my list for resources of this kind. Unlike some other youth discussion books, You Fish Shoes really engages young people not only in Bible study and discussion but also in responding personally to issues through art, action and meeting with God in prayer and worship.

It is no surprise that Jenny Baker, who brought us Tune in Chill out, Transforming Prayer and Transforming Prayers: 40 Unique Experiences for Youth Ministry has given us another resource of innovative and engaging ways into communicating with God through a vast array of experiences including melting sugar cubes, listening to Dido or breaking paper chains. No-one should underestimate the power of this kind of multisensory worship for young people and Jenny Baker is certainly gifted in not only leading such worship but in giving guidance to others about doing so through books such as this.

If I had to make one criticism of this book it would be that there is too much good stuff in it and therefore it is difficult to decide which elements to use! So many of the activities are good that the problem is not “What shall we do with the group?” but rather “what should we miss out?”

It is a book suitable for the full time practitioner or the volunteer and is a good book to recommend to a group that is just starting either at a school or a church or to someone who feels their group has lost a bit of edge in its sessions.

Reviewed by Sarah Brush

Local Job Vacancies

There are a few more youth work jobs advertsied locally:

Director of Youth Ministry, Harbourne (Birmingham)
Youth Worker Hall Green (Birmingham)
Full Time Youth Pastor, Hereford Baptist Church
Assistant Youth Worker, Solihull
Youth and Children's Co-ordinator, Coventry

Contemplative Youth Ministry

Contemplative Youth Ministry: Practising the Presence of Jesus with Young People by Mark Yaconelli, SPCK Publishing
ISBN-10: 0281057826 ISBN-13: 978-0281057825

It is not often in reading a youth work book that I find myself unable to put it down and making a mental list of all those youth workers that I need to urge to read it. But this is one of those books. The sheer naked honesty and humility of Mark Yaconelli's reflection on his failings and failures is refreshing and challenging. His candour allows the reader to drop all guards and listen openly to Mark's stark appraisal of youth work. Yaconelli highlights every youth worker's tendency to busyness and overwork not only as bad for practitioners but for the nature of the work itself.

"Unfortunately, for many young people the last place where they find people open and available is within churches. Instead of a listening ear, they find advice. Instead of a witness to their lives, they're offered programmes and activities." (p.5)

The assessment of the status quo in youth work may be challenging but the suggested response reflects that simplicity which is common to much true discipleship. It calls youth workers to focus on God and focus on the young people and their needs, challenging the demands of parents for youth work to help make young people "nice":

"It's so difficult for those of us in the Church to admit that Jesus can offer us another way of life - a way of life that's more than being a good citizen, more than obeying the law, recycling your garbage and attending church on Sunday. Although we try to ignore Jesus' life of passionate freedom and relationship, the witness of Jesus is not overlooked by the young."(p. 20)

The book not only reflects theologically on the nature of youth ministry but proposes tangible means to engage in a new contemplative style of ministry. It gives solid practical models for recruitment, for focussing the discussions of a meeting through group reflection and meditation, for recruiting leaders not out of desperation but through serious discernment and supporting all this with prayer (drawing on traditional forms such as lectio divina, centring prayer and the examen). It offers some wonderful stories of youth ministry, even in unusual places such as the work of a community of older people serving young people as adoptive grandparents (p.129).

Mark Yaconelli's book reminds all of us in youth ministry that it is not all about being the coolest one in the pack and putting on the best event in town, packed with young people.

"Contemplative youth ministry is about trusting unashamedly that God desires our presence more than our activity. It's about recognizing that, unless we find rest in God, we will continue to live lives that are harried, depleting, and a counter-witness to the life we seek to share among young people." (pp. 6-7).

Yaconelli manages all this in a concise, engagingly readable volume at an affordable price. It is a must read for all in youth ministry.

The book is now followed up with a deeper reflection of some places engaged in contemplative youth ministry Mark Yaconelli, Growing Souls: Experiments in Contemplative Youth Ministry (SPCK Publishing, July 2007)

Reviewed By Sarah Brush

This book is available to borrow from the Department for Children, Youth and Education.

Rural funding

There will be a meeting about funding for rural areas and church leaders are invited to attend:

A Consultation Conference
Bank House Hotel
Bransford
Worcestershire WR6 5JD
Friday September 19th 2008
9.30-4.00

"There should be money to be spent on community projects in rural Wychavon, Malvern
Hills and Wyre Forest. This consultation is so that (within the limits imposed on us) you can have your say about how and where the money is spent."

Resource on Disability Awareness

A while ago Leonard Cheshire commissioned Nick Park and his creature comforts team to work on some animations about disability called Creature Discomorts. You may have seen some of the adverts on television. This are a great resource for exploring issues of disability and the new animations are especially good for discussing this issue in groups of young people as they focus on young people's experiences in school. Along with the animations themselves there's also a chance to see how they were made, hear about the people behind the characters and test your knowledge of disability with a quiz. Scripts of the adverts are also available for those who want to take the discussion deeper.

New Resources at the Old Palace

For those of you looking for resources to use with young people in parishes, I have recently purchased some resources which will be available for parishes to borrow.

If you would be interested in borrowing any of the following, do get in touch.

Nooma DVDs
Mission with Young people at Risk from the Frontier Youth Trust
(This is an excellent CDROM which leads parishes through looking at mission with young people in their communtiy)

Games:
Twister Scram
Unihoc
parachutes
tug of war rope
Bopit
large connect four
giant scrabble pieces
lawn darts
Breathe
play paws - a dvd of icebreaker games led by a Geordie Panda!

I am also about to invest in a Kubb set after this Swedish stick throwing game went down very well with the young people at the diocesan assembly.

Games for youth groups

If you're struggling to find games to paly with your youth group, have a look at this list of some 2000 games!

Diocesan Assembly

I've had a fabulous three days with a group of young people at the diocesan assembly up in Swanwick.



There's a video of the conference available here.

Local jobs

For any youthworkers looking for full time employment in and near the Worcester Diocese area, I've spotted the following posts recently:

Sports Development Officer for Youth For Christ
Part-Time Youth Worker, Barnt Green
Director of the Service Centre, Youth for Christ
Christian Education Development Manager, Birmingham
There are also some churches and deaneries exploring appointing youth workers at the moment so if you are looking for a full time post, do get in touch with me.

Playpark competition

News from the Department for Children Schools and Families:

There is a competition to design your own play area with the chance to win a digital camera.

This could be a good thign to fo with groups or individual young people over the long wet summer!

Film Competition

Advance news of a forthcoming film competition for young people run by Eccelsiastical:

"Ecclesiastical are inviting people to make a two-minute film about the true meaning of Christmas. Films can be shot on a camcorder, laptop or mobile phone and uploaded to a specially created website.
Entrants have the chance to win £3,000 for their church, along with other great prizes, at an exclusive finalists event.

All films will need to be endorsed from either a church leader or a youth group leader which, as a result, they hope will draw new faces into the Church.
This is a fantastic way to raise the Church’s message, support the valuable work already taking place in the community, and reinforce the core spiritual values of Christmas."

More soon on that one

Funding opportunity

Any young people aged 16-25 who are looking to set up a volunteer led project could benefit from up to £2500 from the new Vcashpoint scheme from Vinspired, the website for the youth volunteering charity V.

What Was s/he thinking?

Ever wonder what is going on inside the mind of a teenager? Well this site has some science about how the teenage brain works. i think you might find some of the types very familiar.

Do remember these are all generalisation and traits. Like any human beings, young people come in infinite varieties.

Training & Best Practice

Youthwork the Conference
Who is it for?

For anyone who is involved in working with young people – full or part-time, volunteer or salaried, a few weeks in or been doing it for years – there will be something for everyone.

Why should I go?

Youthwork the conference is for you if you:

• are involved in youthwork in any way
• want to be re-envisioned and developed in your ministry
• need fresh and creative ideas
• want to be motivated by innovative youthwork practitioners and inspirational speakers
• would like to meet up with hundreds of other youth workers

Theme
Over the next three years of Youthwork the conference, we’ll be exploring key themes that are at the heart of what it means to do Christian youthwork in the 21st century - Soul, Society and Service. Youthwork the conference 2008 starts by focusing on the spiritual life and soul of the youth worker.

Book online or contact Sarah Brush for details and booking forms.


Safer Surfing
I’ve already had a few enquiries about safe internet surfing and online networking. Parents, youth leaders and young people might all like to look at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre’s site

Child Protection training sessions
There is only one Child Protection session remaining this term on Monday 7th July at Old Hill, Holy Trinity Church Hall B64 6JA. There will be details of sessions in the autumn.

Resources

LightLive
Have a look at this new set of free resources from Scripture Union.

10,000 free online activities – with 650 more added every 3 months
LightLive is a new website which puts a multitude of Bible-based activities and ideas at your fingertips – and it’s free of charge! It is designed by Scripture Union to help you tailor material to the specific needs of your children and young people’s group(s) or congregation. Go to http://www.lightlive.org/ – and remember, it’s absolutely FREE!

• access the bank of activities and ideas
• enrich your programme with multimedia resources
• search, save and print – all from one website
• plan and manage your group programme like never before

Diocesan Resources
I am currently working on making more resources available to youth leaders around the diocese. There will be more details in the autumn. If there is anything in particular which you would like which the diocese might loan out to parishes, please do get in touch.

Forthcoming events around the diocese

Rock the Cathedral
The Worcester Diocesan Youth Council are planning a massive event in the Cathedral on Saturday 6th September from 7pm. This is to encourage the young people of the Diocese to share their faith and show them that worshipping God is not just about the 10 o’clock service on a Sunday morning. ‘Rock the Cathedral’ will be a music event that combines a mixture of signed and un-signed bands as well as worship and activities looking at a range of issues.

The Christian band Finchley will be headlining with support from local Christian groups: Dan Haynes, Formal Affair, The Relentless Craving and The Fans of Faye.

Sk808
St Peter’s Church in Redditch are running a fantastic event as part of Hope 08 called Sk808 on Saturday 5th July at Redditch Skate Park from 2-4pm with the help of ONE EIGHTY the skateboard evangelists from Bath YFC. If you have any young people really in to the skate scene this is a must and if you’ve always wondered what was appealing about skateboarding then you should pop along and see what it’s all about.

Meet & Greets
The Diocese youth council and I, together with Phil Mitchell who helps churches work with their local schools, will be visiting deanery synods to make connections with those working with young people. I hope you will be able to come along to one of these so that I can meet as many as possible of the wonderful people working with young people in our diocese.

Advance Notice—Taizé Summer 2009

I will be taking a group of young people and young adults to the Taizé Community in France in July/August 2009. If you would be interested in being part of this, do get in touch with me. One of the brothers from the community will be visiting the diocese in the new year. More information soon on the new Worcester Taizé blog.

Recent Events and News

Worcester Spirit Mark
On 14th May, the Department for Children, Youth and Education launched an award scheme for parish’s work with children. Four parishes were awarded their bronze Level certificates as part of a pilot scheme. I will be visiting Deanery Synods over the next eighteen months to talk about the scheme and help churches engage with it. The Bronze Award represents a set of minimum standards in children's and youth work. We want parishes to celebrate their good practice with children and young people and identify ways in which they could improve:

• how they reach out to children and young people


• the ways they are welcomed


• how they are included within worship


• their place in day to day activities of the church.

For parishes which are going further in this area the diocese will be awarding Silver and Gold awards . If you have any questions regarding the scheme or need any assistance at all in developing your youth and children's work, please do not hesitate to contact me.


Youth Mass goes Mass Media
A group of young people from Kidderminster have been running their own Youth Mass at St Barnabas Kidderminster for some time now and they have just been given a grant by the Greenbelt Trust and invited to lead a service at the Greenbelt festival this year. If you are going to Greenbelt this year, please go along and support them.

Wd You launch

Hello! I’m Sarah Brush the new Diocesan Youth Officer for Worcester Diocese and this is the first of the new Worcester Diocesan Youth Office Updates Wd You ? This publication is going to keep you up to date with recent and forthcoming events in the diocese, training opportunities for youth leaders and useful information for working with young people. Please make sure you pass this to all those working with young people in the parish. I’ve had a fabulous month in the diocese already and have been wonderfully welcomed. I am looking forward to meeting more of you soon.

Coming Soon...

Welcome!

I'm Sarah Brush the Diocesan Youth Officer for Worcester Diocese.

Soon this site will contain regular updates on youth work events and training in the Diocese of Worcester.

Youthwork Book reviews from the archives

Young People and Mission – a practical guide (ISBN 978-07151-4060-4) priced £11.99
Edited by youth ministry specialists Alison and David Booker, this book gathers together contributions on a number of practical areas of mission, as well as provocative reflections on the tensions that continually need to be addressed by those engaged in youth work. The book draws on the experiences of writers with a range of experience in working with young people, to explore issues such as:

• How Christian youth subculture can distance young people from the Church
• Whether ‘mass action mission events’ are effective in engaging individuals with a sustainable foundation for a growing faith
• Helping young Christians understand other faiths and the implications of living as Christian in a multi-faith society
• The challenges and benefits of working alongside uniformed organisations such as Scouts, Guides and the Boys’ and Girls’ Brigades.

Young People and Worship – a practical guide (ISBN 978-07151-4057-4) priced £11.99
Taking another of the National Youth Strategy’s themes as its cue, Young People and Worship, edited by Mark Montgomery, calls on churches to rethink the way that they engage young people in worship. Stressing the fact that there is no ‘one size fits all’ way of involving young people in the liturgical life of the church, the book covers creative approaches to worship and wider issues of spirituality through contributions from a range of youth work specialists. The importance of providing prayer and Bible study that resonates with young people’s own experiences and stimulates their imagination is highlighted, as is the need for ‘all-age worship’ to be based on a participatory approach rather than seen an opportunity to simply ‘entertain’ younger members of the congregation.

Mission-shaped Youth – rethinking young people and church (ISBN 978-07151-4082-6) priced £7.99
Mission-shaped Youth collects together stories of people and projects that are responding to the call to mission made in the landmark Mission-shaped Church report. These case studies – ranging from monthly worship events organised by a group of churches, to church youth workers employed in secondary schools – are used to draw out some of the key challenges and encouragement for the wider Church, as well as offering inspiration for churches seeking to develop their work with young people both inside and outside the Church building.



All three books are available from Christian bookshops including Church House Bookshop, 31 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BN, telephone 020 7799 4064 or email.

reviewed by Steve Martin

Activity Sheets

The Ultimate Collection
by Christian Aid

Specially designed for youth group leaders, 25 activity sheets to inspire young people to change the world. These sheets are for use with 11-18 year olds. the ultimate collection contains a range of creative, dynamic and fun activities focusing on 25 of the most crucial global issues facing young people and our world today. Issues like Sport - does it divide us or unite us? Smoking - what lies behind the smoke screen? Citizenship - are you a super model? As well as the environment, world trade, debt and even one about chocolate and how best to enjoy it.
The ultimate collection will equip you to:

• Help young people understand global issues and how to relate to them
• Give them a space to explore these issues and express their views
• Inspire them to get involved in changing our world by changing attitudes
• Give them skills and confidence to take action for a fairer world
• Explore spirituality and worship around these areas#

For more information and copies of the Ultimate Collection contact Christian Aid PO Box 100, London SE1 7RT tel: 020 7523 2270.

reviewed by Steve Martin