New term, New Resources

If you have young people changing schools or heading off to university there are some resources that might be worth checking out.

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.

Kingdom People

Along with the rest of the diocese, we’re hoping your youth groups will be thinking about LOVE, COMPASSION, JUSTICE and FREEDOM as part of the Kingdom People initiative launched by the 2020 Vision group with the postcards at the start of the summer. At the clergy conference, each church will be getting a resources pack including 4 sessions for youth groups which I have put together. I’ve written a session based on each value with some film clips, discussion points and prayers to help your young people get to grips with what the kingdom might look like in your church and community. If you have no idea what this is all about, check out the teaser trailer and info here.

Resources

I was lucky enough to join lots of other Youth For Christ Trustees at one of the YFC Focus days in the summer and got some great deals on some of their new and older resources. The resource library is now a proud owner of all of the after school club kit Crux, RE resource exploRE, a few copies of Uncut, which is a discipleship course with an edge (especially good for those with no experience of church) and an upgraded The Art of Connecting which is a fantastic resource for helping young people share their faith with others. If you’re looking at the new term and wondering where to get some inspiration, how about the fabulous playing cards from schoolswork.co.uk? These are useable as normal playing cards but also contain icebreaking questions about you, others, the world and beliefs. I have a couple of sets to borrow and Emma also has some for the Primary school age. I also have a set of their artcards which use images created by young people to help you reflect on the meaning of life. Some of the images are fun and others are more challenging. There’s also a lesson pack to go with the art cards and ten ideas for using the playing cards which you can download from their website.

Sprung into Action

Thank you to all of you who joined us for such a fantastic Saturday of reflection on Christian youth and children’s work. We were inspired by the words of Nick Harding to start us off and then you all enjoyed sessions on topics like Creative prayer, working with tweenagers, developing young leaders, kids culture and storytelling. From your feedback forms we’re pleased to see that over 95% of you who responded would come again and you’ve given us some ideas about what you’d like us to cover as well. So next time we will be covering some of the same sessions again with the addition of some of the following: holiday clubs/residential, special needs, running mixed age groups, transitioning from children’s groups to youth groups, supporting children and young people through difficult times and practical sessions on craft, drama and storytelling with music/puppets.

WARes Tour

If you’re not sure what we have in our resource library, you’ll be pleased to hear that the resources are coming to a church near you! See the enclosed flier for details of our deanery resources tour. You’ll have a chance to look at books, CDs and DVDs as well as chat with Emma Pettifer (the Children's Officer) and I about your groups and about any other resources you think the diocese should consider buying.

Dates of our Tour as follows

Saturday 26th February
Dudley Deanery: 9.30am - 12 noon
at St James C of E Primary School, Wollaston, DY8 4RU

Saturday 26th February
Stourbridge and Kingswinford Deaneries: 1.30pm - 4pm
at St Mary’s Church, Old Swinford, DY8 2HA

Tuesday 1st March
Stourport Deanery: 7.30pm - 9pm
at St Michael's All Angels, Stourport on Severn, DY13 9DD

Saturday 5th March
Droitwich Deanery: 1.30pm - 4pm
at St Andrew’s, Droitwich, WR9 8DY (Parking can be found in Waitrose WR9 8LB)

Monday 7th March CORRECTION
Worcester West and Martley and Worcester East Deaneries:
Venue to Be Confirmed

Monday 14th March
Bromsgrove and Kidderminster Deaneries: 7.30pm - 9pm
at St Mary's church , Kidderminster, DY10 4BH

Saturday 19th March
Malvern Deanery: 9.30am - 12noon at Malvern Priory, Malvern, WR14 2AY

Saturday 19th March
Upton Deanery: 1.30pm - 4pm
at St Mary’s church, Kempsey, WR5 3JH (nearest postcode)

Tuesday 22nd March
Pershore and Evesham Deaneries: 7.30pm - 9pm
at St Peters Church, Inkberrow, WR7 4DZ (nearest postcode)

I’ve bought a few new resources lately, particularly the rest of the SUbmerge series as these seemed popular. We also have some of the new teen novel style Old Testament stories from Scripture Union called The Dark Chapters if you would like to consider them before recommending them to young people in your groups. There will also be a new resource for Confirmation groups coming out in February which I’ve had a part in writing. See enclosed flier for details of Sarah Brush & Phil Greig, Moving Images, Changing Lives: Exploring the Christian life and Confirmation with young people through film and a book reflecting on Confirmation across the UK. This year is also the 400th anniversary of the King James translation of the Bible. Why not focus some sessions on different translations—we have all sorts you can borrow from the WaRes library including The Street Bible and animated versions such as The Manga Bible and The Graphic Bible or you can find all kinds of suggested things to do as a church to mark this here.

New resources

I've just invested in some new resources for our WARes after some conversations with parishes about what they could use.

Firstly we have an inflatable cube which can be used for games or as a great sermon illustration.

I've also got some new resources from Proost for creative prayer in the form of Creation Stations and some pocket liturgies. Have a look at their downloadable reources for use in your work especially their current lent resources.

I've also bought some other multimedia resources from One Small Barking Dog including video clips which you can use in worship and others which you can use to create your own worship movies.

If you'd be interested in borrowing any of these do get in touch.

I'm still working on expanding our library of books on youth work including some classics such as
Making Sense of Generation Y: The World View of 15- to 25-year-olds by Mayo Collins and Mayo, The Art of Youth Work by Kerry Young, Mend the gap: Can the Church Reconnect the Generations? by Jason Gardner and Informal Education by Jeffs and Smith.

Lent and Easter Resources

If you’re looking for some resources for Lent and Easter why not try 21M from CMS which presents the five marks of mission through the examples of people who are living them out. Or how about The Agent or The Follower from the Saltmine theatre company? I’ve just invested in a copy of each of these for the WARes library. Why not register with the LCET and download their free poster series called Easter Journey which consists of posters on various Easter themes designed by young people:

Sharing our WARes

Emma Pettifer and I will be touring around the 13 deaneries with our WARes roadshow of resources this term and next. If you would like to host one of these events to guarantee your chance to see all the amazing things you can borrow from the diocese then please get in touch. Don’t worry if can’t get to one of these events as we are always happy to welcome you to view the resources at the Old Palace. You can just pop in but it would be helpful if you can let us know that you’re coming so we can be sure someone is available to show you anything you might be interested in.

Latest resources

I’ve added a few things to our resource library since our last mailing:
In addition to the Mixing it up with The Simpsons book we now have season four of The Simpsons on DVD so you can borrow both and use the clips suggested in the book. We also now have The Miracle Maker not just on video but on DVD (3 copies). Another great new DVD resource for the diocese is called Talking About Prayer. This has over 20 short films addressing questions such as Why should we pray? What happens when we pray? And How do we pray? With wisdom from the likes of Beth and Matt Redman and R. T. Kendall. I’ve also invested in a few new books of games so as the summer sun breaks through, think about getting your young people outside! If you want some more inspiration for that why not take a look at the pages for those working with young people over at the Christians in Sport website for information about events, ideas for using sport as part of Bible Study and for free downloads.
We also now have a Playstation 2 with singstar and buzz. If you fancy trying out this resource with your youth group before investing in it for yourselves or if you just want a karaoke/quiz night as a one off, get in touch!

We now have the first few iCans. These are self-contained resource pots with everything you need to run a particular bible study, discussion, activity or worship session. Details of those now available and those that will be coming soon are on the separate flier. If you have any particular session you would like featured in these resources, please do get in touch.

Good Childhood Enquiry

You may have heard a lot on the news yesterday about the Good Childhood Enquiry.

We've got two copies of the book based on the Good Childhood enquiry A Good Childhood: Searching for values in a Competitive Age in the diocesan children and youth library which people can borrow if they wish. If you fancy reading something a little shorter, you can visit the Children's Society page and have a look at the summary or the reports for each individual section (e.g. the study of values).

You can also have a look at the summary report or the report especially composed for children and young people with images and child-friendly language.

If you're thinking about the Children and Youth Included Award which the diocese is inviting churches to achieve, this report has a lot to say about children and young people being integrated into a whole community. It's well worth a read.

Far Forest Centre

The Far Forest Centre has a new website.

This is still under construction but will have more information over the next few months.

I-cans

I am putting together a set of resources called I-cans which will be self-contained resource pots with everything you need to run a particular bible study, discussion, activity or worship session. If you have any particular session you would like featured in these resources, please do get in touch.

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.

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)

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.

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

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.