Chapter and Verse

Sarah Shares...

2009-03-17T02:36:00.001-07:00

Sarah shares…………

Hi, I’m Sarah and I’m doing a uni placement at MBC until May. As Emily has said in the previous blog, I’m working with Steve leading the Romance Academy which is going really well. I’m also involved in Crus 2, one of the youth clubs that runs mid-week and on a Sunday morning. I love being a part of this because it provides a great opportunity to have conversations with the young people about what’s going on in their lives. I also love Sunday mornings with Crus 2 because it is a chance to have a group discussion about a general topic which is inspired from the Bible, and it’s an opportunity to hear the young peoples take on it. This week the topic was greed.

Last Friday I’m sure we all noticed the country coming together and raising a whopping £58m for those in desperate need in Africa and in our own country through Comic Relief, and seeing our country giving so generously even in the middle of a financial crisis is something to be admired. However, in our everyday lives, when we’re not reminded by the media every second of the day, do we think in the same way? In Crus 2, we looked at our lives as articulated by Lily Allen’s new song:

I want to be rich and I want lots of money
I don’t care about clever I don’t care about funny
I want loads of clothes and I want loads of diamonds
I heard people die while they are trying to find them.

We decided that we can want that new pair of jeans or need those gorgeous new shoes to add to the collection, and have them without a thought to the people who made them, or even just those people living on the streets of our city who want just an evening meal, and yet however much we buy, there will always be more that we want.

We talked about our greed in Crus 2, and realised that actually we will never have all the material possessions we want, and actually we shouldn’t have them because so many people go to bed hungry every night around the world. God on the other hand, can satisfy our every need, and that goes for everyone around the world, whether living in riches or absolute poverty. No, He isn’t going to suddenly put the brand new convertible VW Beetle on my drive that I’ve wanted for such a long time, but he will show me his love and his grace which is so much more important and amazing than our material wants. God knows what we need better than we do ourselves, and so can satisfy us more than anything we can buy. I guess the challenge set before us is rejecting greed in our greedy society, and making it a habit to think about what really matters, and discovering what it is we really need.

It's good to talk

2009-03-11T04:10:00.001-07:00

I’m in the mood for dancing, romancing……

Well it’s not officially February 14^th and Valentines is well and truly over for those of us who care to celebrate or be celebrated on that day!

But here at MBC romance is very much in the air as Romance Academy II hits Plymouth! The hosts for this years exciting 10 week project are Steve and Sarah and last night the first session went off with a bang!

For those of you who think that we are setting up some dodgy dating agency let me enlighten you. During the summer of 2004, in light of the rising number of teenage pregnancies and STI’s amongst young people in Britain, the BBC piloted a project that would look to reverse this decline. As such ‘No sex please, we’re teenagers’ was broadcast over a number of weeks in the autumn on BBC2. This documentary followed the journey of 2 youth workers who worked for 5 months alongside 12 young people in what became known as the Romance Academy.

Romance Academy www.romanceacademy.org now runs projects across the UK to support young people in the area of sex and relationships through a programme of creating positive community, mentoring and challenge. It seeks to be a holistic sex education package in providing young people with both the information they need to make healthy choices and a ‘positive’ peer community within which they can explore their own identity, decision making, and the true value of sex within loving and committed relationships.

For me, the highlights from the first one we ran in 2007 are the weekend away and graduation ceremony which marks the end of the project. We wrap up the project as a celebration of the young people and their commitment to take seriously the choices they make around sex and relationships.

So, expect lots of updates! I for one am so passionate (!) about this whole area. I think that in so many ways we have done our young people a disservice in opening up the world of sex and the exploration of it with so little care or regard for the choices they make now and how these can impact their future.

When it comes to sex and relationships BT are right when they say ‘it’s good to talk’.

The Beautiful Game

2008-10-06T03:30:00.001-07:00

So Steve and the gang had a great time footballing in the US.

Not only did they run the soccer camp as planned but they also befriended a group of Hispanic guys. It is amazing to me; as someone who doesn’t really… well… actually… at all… appreciate ‘the beautiful’ game how a round ball of leather can bring people together. It was through a common love of finding a fenced concrete square each evening, that led these 2 groups of people to form a relationship. That part of football I do like.

Here are the words of Steve on his thoughts on what went on out there in Texas…

‘Like many American cities, McKinney is divided geographically and socially by train tracks. On one side people live in wealth and comfort, on the other people live in relative poverty. Our mornings were spent running a soccer camp on the affluent side of town. Our plan for the evenings was to head over to a park on the other side of the train tracks where we hoped to find some young people who could not afford to attend the soccer camp and do some detached soccer coaching with them. God’s plan was different. On our first night at Old Settlers Park, we met a group of Hispanic men who met every evening to play soccer.

The pitch was a concrete square. A tall fence caged the arena, fence poles were painted to mark out goals, and no keepers were allowed. Street soccer was alive! Each night we played, we talked and we shared who we were and what we were about. We asked if we could pray with them all at the end of our first evening with them, but they said no. By the end of the week, after our last match, the group of Hispanic guys gathered round us and we prayed for them. Soccer had broken down the barrier of language, culture and religion. A new ministry has begun for a church in McKinney. God is at work.’

Relationship is what our work is all about as youth workers and as Christians; relationship with God and with each other. Relationship is at the heart of God, who He is and what He is about. And that has got to be something we all need…

Weather and leather (footballs that is)

2008-07-09T06:31:00.001-07:00

In typically British style this blog will begin, as I did my last, with a recap of the weather!

It is ironic that my last blog entry begun with ‘ here comes the summer sun!’ … that appears to have been a somewhat optimistic statement! ‘Lashings of wind and rain’ don’t make for much of an appealing read though really do they!?

Friday is exciting as some of the mutley peeps are flying to warmer climates as Steve and some of our young people head off to Texas USA. They have been invited out to lead a soccer school for a week with a church who are looking to engage some of the kids on the streets. Steve, with his newly qualified level 2 football coaching qualificaiton, is so excited to be able to serve people through his feet and a ball as well as his teaching!

While they are out there soaking in the 32oC heat they will be not only building up a bunch of guys and girls in new ball skills but in relationships and in knowing more about Jesus and his relevance to their life. What I love about what we do as christian youthworkers is that our passion crosses cultures, generations, life paths and backgrounds, weathers and accents! (well at least I hope the accent one, else Steve is scuppered!) I guess some readers may want to argue back with me on that last sentence, and I know there are and will be times when the church will fail in making itself accessible to all, and I am sorry for when I fail, but here at Mutley we long to really work on it and are working on it reguarly.

See ya’llllllllll (in best texas accent!)

Here comes the summer sun

2008-06-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

So, it's June and summer is nearly officially here! In between the rain showers there have been glimmers of blue skies, the warmth of the sun on your back, the sweet smell of sun cream, freshly mowed grass . . . all great signs of summer! And yet those smells are also tainted and take me back to school halls, graffiti scribbled desks and the stuffy exam silence except for the tick tick tick of the clock on the wall!! I reckon homes up and down the land are waiting for the end of the month and release from the torment of May and June being timetabled by all those exams. Its tough old month for our teenagers, who when they are resting feel they should be revising, and when revising feel they want to be resting! I wonder if there is a particular subject that you remember fearing when it came to exams or even lessons. Most people who know me know that mine was always always maths. I do readily admit that numbers and my brain do not go hand in hand. However, it would appear that so do many others. A report out today reckons that the British are uniquely happy to admit being bad at maths and that it is almost fashionable to be someone who can?t do numbers. The same acceptance however doesn?t lie in being illiterate . . . kinda interesting I guess. This link to BBC homepage sees a physics teacher out on the streets asking people to have a go at the following long division 19[8968. Do you reckon you could have a go? Click on the link and scroll down, play the clip to find out the answer. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7435023.stm. Would I have had a go if this is this lady had stopped me in the street? No, is the answer I wouldn?t! I think shying away from things we aren?t good at, or perceive ourselves not to be good at makes us normal, but can it be the most satisfying way to live? Recognising where our strengths and weaknesses lie make sense and building on our gifts and talents can only be good for our self esteem and in understanding and accepting ourselves more. I think it is from this point that we then grow in confidence and maybe branch out into our weaker areas. We see that lots with young people, who when encouraged and grown in certain aspect of their character or gifts then develop a self belief that takes them into lots of other areas and opportunities that they may not have entertained before. Why not this month, take the time to build up someone you know is hanging in there with those exams or who just needs someone to help them celebrate an aspect of who they are . . . if we give young people wings who knows where they might fly too?

Watching the people get lairy

2008-05-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

Do the lyrics of the 1995 Kaiser Chiefs 'I predict a riot' ring true for you at all?Watching the people get lairy Is not very pretty I tell thee Walking through town is quite scary And not very sensible either A friend of a friend he got beaten He looked the wrong way at a policeman Would never have happened to Smeaton And old Leodiensian I predict a riot, I predict a riot I predict a riot, I predict a riot I tried to get in my taxi A man in a tracksuit attacked me He said that he saw it before me Wants to get things a bit gory Girls run around with no clothes on To borrow a pound for a condom If it wasn't for chip fat, well they'd be frozen They're not very sensible If we are not out experiencing the pubs and clubs of an evening and early morning, I don't think there is anyone who has failed to be bombarded by the media who time and again bring incidents and emerging trends to the headlines which are similar to those echoed by the Kaiser Chiefs? For some I guess this band has summed up what a night out means and many will just take the inevitable highs and the lows that brings. For others it could appear an apparently hopeless situation which is spiralling out of control. For what it is worth, I for one don't believe things need to be this way. I wonder if you have read anything or heard about the launch of a new and exciting initiative hitting the streets of Plymouth at the end of this month. The link below goes into some depth on Street Pastors, a nationwide approach by the church, police and council in the UK to try through love to avoid some of the pitfalls the song sums up! http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=133464&command=displayContent&sourceNode=133158&contentPK=20561982&folderPk=78031&pNodeId=133174 I for one am excited by this and am looking forward to seeing what comes of the times these teams are out on the streets. I guess we will need to watch this space! Ok, time for me to sign off and get on with some work... I just know I am going to have that tune going around my head for the rest of today now!

A rose by any other name...

2008-03-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, at primary school at least, 'Emily' was a relatively uncommon name and if it was used it was usually directed at me!Even during secondary school I can only recall one or two others that crossed my path. Now however, be it in youth group or collecting children in the playground, if the name 'Emily' is called it appears that half a dozen people turn around to respond! With lots of my friends pregnant at the moment, choosing and thinking of names is a pretty big past time! According to a recent study, a name can make or break you in terms of success. It is being debated as to whether George Clooney would have shot to stardom sooner with a name like Ryan! Elizabeth and James are considered the most successful sounding first names, Lucy and Jack the luckiest and Sophie and Ryan the most attractive. But can a name determine our fate? For what it its worth I think a lot of snap judgements can be made when a name is presented before you on a piece of paper, but the challenge there in lies for us to see past the name or the face or the clothing style. I guess even when one of us blogs on here and uses the name 'Jesus' a number of thoughts may come to mind... a bible basher, a cold and grey church building, hymns, Christmas time and a manger, a good man who some people have chosen to idolise, an historical figure? 'He will be called wonderful counsellor, mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel - God with us' - that is how scripture unravels and explores the significance of Jesus. Why not google the meaning behind your name?

Consider yourself at home...every Saturday night

2008-03-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

For good or for ill, Saturday night TV is back with the singing and dancing showdowns of Oliver and Nancy wannabe's for the West End's theatre production.Don't get me wrong I love a bit of 'consider yourself at home... you gotta pick a pocket and please sir I want some more?!! We love to watch the verdict unfold as a panel of judges' yey or ney people's best efforts. Simon Cowell has made his name in most homes for being one of these. Have you seen the newspaper headline today about the apparent 'Mr Nasty' paying off an american couple's mortgage? The couple had been struggling financially as they had to travel more than 100 miles every day for their daughter's cancer treatment. How would you feel if you were a part of that couple? A stranger, hearing of this situation of spiralling debt and strain in your life, being moved enough to give. To give of that which he doesn't have to, to save your bacon. It's a pretty big deal to have the price paid for you. And it is exactly this reason that the country have been given Friday and Monday off work this weekend, not merely to indulge in some extra chocolate, smell in those daffodils and soak up those lie in's but to take stock on the real meaning of Easter. The first Easter weekend when Jesus took our place in dying for all the stuff that we mess up in, in choices we make, words we speak and thoughts we have. We all know the ones that we regret or would die even at the thought of them ever being made public. But they are public to God and that still didn't stop his love taking him through a bloody death and glorious resurrection so that we can know and be in a friendship with him... thoughts worth chewing over with your chocolate eggs 'eh, even if your end result is a decline of his offer? Have a lovely sunny (hopefully), chocolate eggy, oliver and nancy filled weekend!

New term, new diary

2008-01-31T08:36:00.000-08:00

Let me fill you in on the new term and the new diary here at mbc.All 3 youth groups are kicking off this term with a weekend or over night away locally. These times are just great for building relationships within groups between children and young people with one another and with the leaders also. They are also great for increasing even darker shade of brown circle around leaders? eyes! One group had a great time away already and the others are waiting for February (which is actually only a day and a half away now!) We have also had meetings to plan and talk through, the next romance academy, detached youthwork, football coaching, youth cafe, cafe church, working with other churches to plan some girls work and boys work, to put some sessions together to prepare some of our year 13's for life at uni or away from home at least... and I feel tried just reading that list! We are all 3 really excited about the term ahead, for all that has been and all that is to come. I was reminded recently at a church leaders conference recently that our work is about the 'steadily' - working in the day in day out, but always looking out for the extraordinary in the ordinary, and to allow the 'suddenly's', the moments where the hours and ups and downs come together and you say 'that's why we do what we do!'