Friday 24 April 2009

Spirited Arts: Art Competition

The NATRE (National Association of Teachers of Religious Education) are running a competition to help students explore their spiritual ideas, questions and beliefs. Each year the competition sets 5 themes that students need to respond to through art, and once again this year they are themes that will get them talking, thinking, debating and questioning for themselves.

2009 themes:

Mystery!
Open Minded!
Life is Sacred
Justice for Everyone
Who is God?

Download the powerpoint that you can use to promote the competition and see previous entries here.Or see the Galleries here.

Download the pdf with further instructions and guidelines here.

Final note...NATRE especially want to engage 16-19s with the competition this year, so there are £100 prizes available for this age group!

Closing date, 31st July 2009.

Friday 17 April 2009

Hagley Lay Worker

Hagley Free Church (see here for more details)
Salary £18 - 20k


An Inter-Denominational Church Established in 1905 seeks a lay worker to extend its witness in the community by launching fresh expressions of church emphasis on children, young people and families.
Sharing Christ’s Love in North Worcestershire
Salary £18 - 20k;
full-time three year post (Part-time considered)
Further details from Martin Heathcock, 01562 884677 or email

Applications by 31 May

Tuesday 7 April 2009

We love our youthworker

The fantastic we love our youthworker charter has now launched. There are lots of resources including the wonderful Dave Walker's cartoons especially commisioned for the charter.If you are part of a church which employs a youthworker, check out their 7 point charter:

We will pray and support
We believe that our youth worker needs spiritual support in their work with young people.
We promise to pray for our youth worker and keep their needs a high priority in the church’s prayer life.

We will give space for retreat and reflection
We believe that taking time to think and pray is just as essential for our youth worker as organising events and meeting young people.
We promise to encourage our youth worker to use part of their schedule to give space for retreat, reflection and personal development.

We will provide ongoing training and development
We believe that learning the skills of youth work is an ongoing process and that it’s important to continually invest in professional development.
We promise to set aside time and money to provide this for our youth worker.

We will give a full day of rest each week
We believe that taking regular time off helps maintain our youth worker’s passion and energy for their work with young people.
We promise to actively encourage our youth worker to take a day away from their role each week to do something different.

We will share responsibility
We believe that having a youth worker does not release the rest of the church from our responsibilities towards young people.
We promise to encourage everyone to play a part in volunteering, praying for or supporting young people.

We will strive to be an excellent employer
We believe that it’s important to have clear structures and procedures for recruiting and employing a youth worker, and to provide supportive management structures.
We promise to follow good practice guidelines in the way we employ our youth worker.

We will celebrate and appreciate
We believe it’s vital to acknowledge what our youth worker is doing and the commitment they have made to work with young people in our church.
We promise to make sure our youth worker knows they are appreciated and we will celebrate their achievements.

I'm so pleased to see that this is finally here. All churches employing youthworkers wiull get so much more out of their youthworkers by following this.

I can almost hear my blog readers asking - what about we love our vicar/organist/sunday school teacher/curate/flower arranger/verger/chorister/warden/deacon/cleaner/worship leader/house group leader/children's worker/steward/lay reader/evangelist*?

Well perhaps this should spur us on to look at all those whom churches employ and all those who give their time for free.

*delete as applicable