Download - youth insert from crosslincs 32
Youthlincswww.lincoln.anglican.org/youth
Never mind
the qualityTim Ellis
Bishop of Grantham
“The vision is for a Church that takes young
people seriously. It is a Church where young
people fully and actively participate at every
level. It is a Church that is built on good
relationships, where young people are
concerned, not only with each other, but
with those inside and outside the Church.”
It’s not a bad vision, is it? And it’s one
that’s been around for a long, long time. The
report from which the excerpt comes, Youth
a Part, was written in 1996 and set out a
wide-ranging, visionary and hopeful way
forward for the Church’s involvement with
young people.
How are we doing in Lincolnshire, North
Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire?
Sadly, for some Church communities in
the Diocese of Lincoln, the concerns of
young people are just not very high on the
agenda.
The oft-heard cry of “we don’t have any
young people in this village” gives us an easy
let out, an excuse for not sitting down and
working out what we could, and should, be
doing for the young.
Even more frequently heard is that “the
children are the Church of the future” when
we should be saying “they are the Church of
today”: why do today what you can put off
until tomorrow?
All of this looks a bit lame when we con-
sider the thousands of children who daily
attend our church schools across the
Diocese; the remarkably successful engage-
ment with children and young people in so
many parishes, including in some very small
villages.
It also ignores the work that is being done
by the Diocesan Children and Young
People’s team.
There is excellent work going on out
there, and it is often in some pretty tough
situations.
What hallmarks do these pieces of work
carry?
First: they are places where the young are
taken seriously.
Jesus said: “Let the children come to me...
for of these is the Kingdom of God” and: “I
came that they may have life, and have it all
abundance.”
Two basic truths flow from this: that chil-
dren have a lot to teach us jaded adults; and
that we, as Kingdom builders, should be
concerned about enabling young people to
flourish.
Where these two factors are present,
work with children and young people is cre-
ative and productive.
Secondly: work with the young flourishes
where adults allow change and innovation.
Much of our worship and Church life can
seem as dry as dust to the young. We need
to listen to them, and we need to learn how
these dry bones might live once again.
This might result in different ways of wor-
shipping and a change in the sense of com-
munity. Are we up for it, prepared to pay
the price and therefore ready to be sur-
prised by joy?
Thirdly: There isn’t just one way of work-
ing with the young. In some places, the tried
and tested model of the youth club will still
work, but, in other places with different
young people, different adults and a differ-
ent set of needs, then something different
will need to be tried. There are many ways
to engage with the young, remembering
that what worked last year may not work
now.
One thing is certain, that where we try to
help the young to make their own way in life
− spiritually, lovingly and materially − we
may be surprised to find that we ourselves
are renewed.
Is the Diocese of Lincoln ready to be sur-
prised by the joy the young can bring?
A crosslincs special supplement Autumn 2011
The young at heart
Once upon a time there was a television sit-
com based in a small tailoring firm entitled
Never mind the quality – feel the width.
The running gag was that quantity was
more important that quality; in terms of
work with children and young people that
would be like saying: “it doesn’t matter
what you do with them – as long as they
turn up.”
There is a form of youth or children’s
work that seem to use numbers as its sole
measure of success; the Warehouse model
of provision. Of course, numbers can be
important, but more important is the quali-
ty of work which goes on. We have a duty to
God, whom we represent and in whose
name we work, to the children and young
people who we work with, to their parents
or carers and to the Church which sanctions
our efforts to do the best which we can, to
make a high standard of provision.
To help with this we provide the Bishops’
Best Practice Awards, which are both a
recognition of, and a guide to, what is need-
ed for safe, effective work with children and
young people.
As well as an obvious concern with safe-
guarding and health and safety, proper
records being kept and permissions gained,
the best work with children and young peo-
ple should also involve them in decision-
making, in planning their programme,
deciding how budgets should be spent and
taking responsibility – at the level appropri-
ate to their age and ability – for their own
activities.
The Diocesan Participation Policy gives
some guidance on this, but for more help in
its implementation, the Youth Animateur,
or any other member of the DoLCYS central
staff is there to help.
For more information and policy docu-
ments, visit www.lincoln.anglican.org/youth
Happy band
of Pilgrims:The original Christian
get-away
Page 3
The cutting edge:Youth projects in the Diocese of Lincoln
Page 2
Meet the team:Learn more about the
staff of the Diocese of
Lincoln’s Children and
Youth Service
Page 2
The Diocese of Lincoln
Children and Youth Service
The Old Palace
Minster Yard
Lincoln
LN2 1PU
01522 50 40 67
“Enabling young people to be healthy, stay safe,
enjoy, achieve and make a positive contribution.”
2
It has been said before, and will be said again, that the important people when it comes to
children’s and youth ministry in the Diocese of Lincoln are the hundreds (and probably over
a thousand) of mostly volunteer workers who turn up, every week, to deliver the work on the
ground.
These people, and the work that they do, are the Children and Youth Service of the
Diocese of Lincoln. The task of those of us who are based at the Diocesan offices is to sup-
port, enable, develop and add value to that work.
Who we are:
Expertise and experience
Suzanne Starbuck
Diocesan Support and Projects Worker
Suzanne’s main responsibilities are to
provide support, assistance and advice to
parishes and projects in their work with
children and young people, which will
include training and award schemes as
appropriate; responsibility for local resource
centres; Diocesan-wide projects, such as
Green Reflections (see page 4) which
parishes, projects and schools, can opt into.
Jane Leighton
Admin Support
Jane works for a few hours each Friday, and
most of her time is spent administering the
registration process, the group insurance
scheme, and keeping the records and
sending out certificates acociated with the
Bishops’ Best Practice Awards, Church
Children’s Achievement Awards and Bishop’s
Youth Achievement Awards.
Dave Rose CA
Diocesan Children and Youth Officer
Dave’s main responsibilities are training;
award schemes (for parishes, projects and
schools); supporting, assisting and advising
parishes and projects as they consider or
develop work with children and young
people, promoting such processes as Godly
Play; encouraging pilgrimage and
explorations in Christian spirituality and
developing new initiatives.
Vacant Post
Diocesan Youth Animateur
This post is all to do with children and young
people being involved in governance, in
having a voice and making a difference.
This is to implement the Diocesan partici-
pation policy, and includes enabling a net-
work of youth synods, moderating the Get
Connected young people’s website and sup-
porting a team of Deanery Youth Enablers.
Further details of the team members can be found on the Diocesan website:
www.lincoln.anglican.org/youth
Examples of very good work
David Rowett
Barton upon Humber
One of the young people should be writing this
– but they’re all away, so it’s left to one of the
adults to do the necessary.
In a way, that just about sums up running a
Church Youth Group – picking up enough of
the pieces to hold things together without
bunging it all up.
Barton's E1W (Every One Welcome) has
been running for three or four years as an
open, Church-sponsored youth group.
Numbers are small, between ten and twen-
ty, and the degree of contact with the Church
varies widely. The dynamics of the group
change according to the dominant age group
as well – the direction appropriate to the pres-
ent group (average age about 15) isn’t the
same as it was when they were 12.
As far as we can manage it, the initiative lies
with the young people. We leaders make sug-
gestions (and, of course, have the essential role
of safeguarding and the rest), but we try and
respond to their thoughts and ideas. It’s taken
us to some unusual places – our viewing of
Frankenstein might raise some Christian eye-
brows, but the (unbidden) perceptive com-
ments of the group were instructive: “The
monster is the only moral character in the
story,” said one 14-year old.
Their spontaneous discussion of Just War
theory was more insightful than I’ve heard
from some clergy. The young people them-
selves put in a successful funding bid for an
Internet café project. They seem to repay our
trust.
If we get the balance between direction and
non-direction right on average, that’s probably
because 50% of the time we err on one side
and 50% of the time on the other. I’m sure we
make mistakes. But so far, our young folk have
been remarkably forgiving.
Jenny and her team of workers at Barton
have also enabled the young people to explore
the use of labyrinths in worship, creating sea-
son-specific examples, which were then shared
with the children in the local primary school.
E1W: Run it or ruin it – the youth group dilemma
The BiZ (Billinghay in Zone) opened in October
2008, but started long before that. Ray Smith
(leader and motivating force) noticed that
there were young people with nowhere to go
on cold and dark evenings, hanging about on
the streets of the village where he lives.
Rather than decide what the young people
were going to get, Ray consulted them, asked
them what they wanted, and so the BiZ
opened, a drop-in for young people aged
between 13 and 19.
“The BiZ starts from a point of giving the
young people a place of warmth and safety by
providing a free café for them to meet and be
around with their friends,” said Ray.
“Thereafter what happens in the drop-in is
down to them.”
The group started with just six but has
grown in size where 20 to 25 can be expected
in an evening.
“The young people are challenged to plan
and organise their own activities, and it has
been great to see their inventiveness and a
can-do attitude among the group,” said Ray.
“We started with a small planning group
made up of four of the young people to begin
the process of planning the weeks ahead.
“Now they have an elected youth council.
The young people have been guided in making
a successful application for equipment. They
chose the equipment for the activities they
wanted to do.
“We all look forward to exciting times
ahead and to what the young people will bring
to the life of our community, and maybe
beyond.”
BiZ: Youth-led activities
The Riddings Brigade is a one-night-a-week club
for the eight to 12 age band.
Based loosely on the Church Lads and Church
Girls Brigade (CLCGB), it provides a mixed activi-
ty evening in the local Municipal Youth Centre,
with the Revd Graham Lines acting as chaplain
and encouraging links to celebrations in the local
Church at Festival and other special occasions.
After consultation with local children (a ques-
tionnaire in the local schools), a summer pro-
gramme was organised, with extra sessions
offering arts and crafts, drama, dance, music
and sports.
The summer activities were funded with
grants from North Lincolnshire Homes and The
High Sheriffs’ and Humberside Police Tribune
Trust. The Riddings Brigade is happening
because of a partnership between parish, the
CLCGB, the Diocese and North Lincolnshire
Council; with the Church Community Fund,
Lincolnshire Community Foundation and
Lincolnshire Community Bank, the Tribune Trust
and North Lincolnshire Homes acting as funding
partners.
The Riddings Brigade: activities in Scunthorpe
3
Walsingham 2011
As a thunderstorm raged over Walsingham, I
wondered how I’d landed the job of cooking
Bolognese in our alfresco kitchen (two-
burners-and-a-barbeque) while the other
twelve of the Barton and Brigg contingent
from the E1W youth group at the Youth
Pilgrimage lounged cosily in our dining tent.
But the previous evening’s barefoot walk-
ing of the Holy Mile and the outdoor worship
with which it ended had been on a perfect
summer evening; the air incense-heavy, the
scene lit by our candles, as 800 (mostly)
young people grew into intense, absolute
silence in an atmosphere electric with
prayer.
And after the storm, in the small hours,
our group kept vigil (almost) alone in the
darkened, cavernous worship space, aware
that for a half-hour the awesome calling of
holding the world up to God had been
entrusted to us.
This was our second time at the
Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage: it would be
good to double the diocesan numbers for
2012.
Next time, please may I cook out of the
rain?
Pilgrimage at Home
There are ways of going on a pilgrimage while
staying at home. Medieval people attempted
to replicate the experience of the Jerusalem
Pilgrimage while staying in one place by using
Labyrinths, and many Cathedrals built at the
time have a Labyrinth marked on the floor.
Today the use of prayer and movement
has been re-discovered, and the young peo-
ple at Barton upon Humber have experi-
mented with seasonal constructions.
If you wish to find out more, contact Fr
David on 01652 632202 or at
In the Diocese of Lincoln, most work with
children and young people takes place at
parish, deanery or some intermediate level.
The work is mainly delivered by teams of
dedicated volunteers, who give up their time
to do this vital, but often-neglected work.
The Diocese of Lincoln Children and Youth
Service (DoLCYS) exists to enable this work to
happen; to provide advice, training and sup-
port for all of those who are involved, or who
wish to be involved in work with children and
young people.
Support is provided by a full time Diocesan
Children and Youth Officer, a part-time
Support and Projects Worker, a part-time
Youth Animator, and a few hours of admin-
strative support.
Help from DoLCYS can come at any time in
the life of a piece of work:
Service at
every level
Getting Started
Help with the visioning process of deciding
what is the way forward where you are
Advice and assistance on the building
blocks that need to be in place, including
management training
Model constitutions, documents and pro-
forma, just ready to adapt and adopt
A whole range of online help and
information sheets
Keeping Going
Training for workers and managers
A quality assurance process via the
Bishop’s Best Practice Awards
Reviews, recommendations and
resources, online and in Resource Centres
Issue-based handouts
An insurance scheme
Added value to what parishes and projects
can offer, by way of the Bishop’s Youth and
Church Children’s Achievement Awards;
special Diocesan projects such as the
Green Reflections Project or the DofE Gold
residential camp; subsidised pilgrimages to
Walsingham or Taize; something that we
have not thought of, but you have
An audit or health check – an outside pair
of eyes to help you see the next step
Someone at the end of the phone or an e-
mail, who will listen and help you to find
the solution to your issues
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To be a pilgrim?David Rowett
Barton upon Humber
For some, pilgrimage lies somewhere
between the eccentric and the downright
antique (cue Chaucer).
But the experience of being away from
the usual environment, in company with
other fellow-travellers in the faith, ‘mucking
in together’ in a place where, as T S Eliot
puts it, “prayer has been valid for centuries”
— it’s something which you can only under-
stand by taking the plunge and experiencing
it.
There are plenty of pilgrimages on offer,
ancient and not-so-ancient: St Hugh’s
Lincoln (of course), Iona, Lindisfarne,
Walsingham, Taizé; Santiago and Assisi for
the adventurous.
Common to them all is this sense of being
in a ‘thin’ place, away from the usual land-
marks, gathered in fellowship with others to
be open to God — and returning just slight-
ly different.
Taizé 2011
Taizé is an international and ecumenical
monastic community based a small village of
the same name in Burgundy, France.
Throughout the year it welcomes young
people from around the world to come and
spend time living in community, prayer,
silence and sharing. During the summer
there are usually between 2,000 and 5,000
young people there each week.
A group of 13 young people aged 16 to 29
and two adults from Lincoln and Leicester
spent a week on pilgrimage in Taizé this
summer.
For some it was a first visit and others a
return to a much loved place of retreat. The
week has a structure to it consisting of
prayer three times a day, meeting with a
Brother of the community and meeting in
international small groups for sharing and
fun.
Taizé is a place where people can take a
break from the busyness of life and spend
time thinking, sharing and reflecting on
their life, as well as meet lots of new peo-
ple.
This was true for some of the group this
year. The time away gave them a perspec-
tive on life that they would not have been
able to get at home. Some returned excited
about the future, and some with a new
determination and sense of peace in tack-
ling those difficult things that lay ahead.
There will be a trip going from Lincoln
Diocese again next summer.
If you are interested and would like to
know more, please contact the Revd
Jonnie Parkin for more details on 01522
794275 or at [email protected]
Members of the E1W youth group relax at Walsingham
Dave Rose
Diocesan Children and Youth Officer
There are many resources to help us in our
work with children and young people. Of
course the most important resource available
to any worker is themselves, their skills, their
confidence and their knowledge.
There is help and advice from all over the
place. Anyone with a computer and a search
engine can soon find more experts than they
will know what to do with, though with many
of them a policy of ignoring would probably
be best. There is, of course, the team at the
Diocesan offices, and a plethora of books and
magazines.
There is a selection at the Diocesan offices,
a growing choice at the regional resource
centres, and of course resources can be pur-
chased from your local Christian book seller.
As well as that in the Diocesan offices,
there are presently five resource centres
located throughout the Diocese: in
Grantham, Spalding, Lincoln, Scunthorpe,
and we are seeking a volunteer to run the
Cleethorpes centre.
There is, of course, a whole selection of
processes, techniques and methodologies to
be learned and deployed.
Godly Play and Reflective Story Telling
offers a process which can enable the listen-
ers to engage afresh with Biblical truths, set-
ting the story free to take root and grow,
acquiring new meaning for the listeners.
Training is offered once a year, and it is hoped
that the material will become available at the
resource centres.
Messy Church provides a method of engag-
ing all ages with worship, and the Revd Ian
Walters, the Diocesan co-ordinator, wrote:
“Messy Church is a now increasingly popular
method of inviting young people together
with parents into a Christian environment.
“It works for toddlers to teens, and as the
rules are that young people must be accom-
panied by an adult, we find that often mums
and dads will come too. It can be advertised it
through local primary schools, and it is best
held either immediately after school hours or
at the weekend.
“Easy-to-follow course books give exam-
ples of how to operate themed craft and
activity tables which are the first hour or
more of each session, followed by a 20
minute worship session based on the theme.
The final 30 to 40 minutes are the eating ses-
sion, with simple meals suggested in the
book. The idea works as the sessions are
great fun but you do need a team of at least
ten adults.
“It’s a great way to do some basic Christian
teaching but also to build relationships
between your church and local young fami-
lies. It certainly works – try it!”
Passing on information on what works is a
vital service that we offer our fellow toilers in
the harvest field. So if it works, write it up for
us. Contacts us at [email protected]
Resourcing work with young people
4
Suzanne Starbuck
Diocesan Support and Projects Worker
A Diocesan project to inspire young people
towards higher self-esteem and confidence
through environmental activities has already
been a great success.
The Green Reflections project was
inspired by the Bishop of Grantham and his
friend Colin Izod, who took an educational
lead in the Cape Farewell project − which
brings artists, scientists and communicators
together to stimulate the production of art
founded in scientific research.
Bishop Tim’s vision was to launch a similar
project within the Diocese of Lincoln which
gave opportunities to young people who
may not otherwise encounter them.
Green Reflections is available for young
people in parishes, schools, youth groups or
other organisations and links with the
Bishop’s Youth Awards which recognise and
celebrate children and young people’s
achievements.
The Green Reflections project has impor-
tant working partnerships with Hill Holt
Wood − a 34-acre woodland near Newark
operating as an environmental social enter-
prise, the Lincolnshire Butterfly
Conservation Group, Freiston Education
Centre and Lincolnshire Heritage at Risk.
Green Reflections welcomes the voices
and choices of young people about their
environment, ecology, conservation, her-
itage and preservation of the natural ele-
ments and balance in the natural world. We
wish to know how young people want to be
involved with this project and then discuss
with partners how and where events could
take place.
Green Reflections has worked together
with Hill Holt Wood to provide a Duke of
Edinburgh residential event in April with a
focus on green woodworking skills. A group
of young people spent a week camping at
Hill Holt Wood and developed skills to cre-
ate a love seat (a bench with two seats in
opposite directions) from a tree trunk using
heritage skills. The seat is currently being
used to good effect at Hill Holt Wood as a
seat for the bride and groom at wedding
events.
Young people camping for the week were
able to claim their Duke of Edinburgh
Awards and Bishop’s Award Certificates.
The Diocese of Lincoln youth team is
working closely with rangers at Hill Holt
Wood to plan further events to support
young people to achieve new skills, certifi-
cation, self-esteem, confidence and to
become involved with community projects.
Events being planned will develop her-
itage skills in green woodworking, stone
masonry, lime-plastering and other building
skills. Camping facilities are available and a
variety of activities are being planned.
A group of young people from a rurally-
isolated area attended Hill Holt Wood for
one day and created a half lap joint with a
peg − quite an achievement in such a short
time. Two of the young people may apply to
go on the NEETS (Not in Education,
Employment or Training) programme as a
result of their experience.
Lincolnshire Heritage at Risk is running
many events through out the year and
would like to encourage more young people
to participate. Diocese of Lincoln’s youth
team is working in partnership to enable
young people to access heritage and
archaeological experiences. Ideas from
young people are welcomed to plan future
events.
Skills development through voluntary
work surveying and monitoring buildings at
risk is available to both adults and young
people. This is beneficial for those wishing
to update a CV or decide on a career.
Intergenerational working has a positive
effect on all age groups.
The Lincolnshire Butterfly Conservation is
working in partnership with the Diocese’s
youth team to support young people to
appreciate and preserve habitat for butter-
flies. There are events throughout the year
held at different venues led by experts in
their field. Monitoring forms are available
should groups wish to identify and record
butterflies in their area.
Freiston Education Centre is awarding the
Bishop’s Award certificates for special resi-
dential weeks and family days which allow
parents of children with disabilities some
respite while the young people enjoy pond-
dipping, art, music led by the Lincolnshire
Music Improvement Service, and other
activities on a Saturday.
A total of 53 Bishop’s Award Certificates
for Green Reflection modules have been
awarded so far this year to children and
young people. There will be many more
when young people take part in the exciting
activities being planned.
For further information about Green
Reflections modules, events and awards
contact Suzanne Starbuck on 01522
504068, 07850 303281 or by e-mail at
Environmental focus
“A group of young people
from a rurally-isolated area
attended Hill Holt Wood for
one day and created a half
lap joint with a peg − quite
an achievement in such a
short time”
Woodworking at Hill Holt Wood