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Youth and Children’s WorkThis Committee supports, encourages and promotes work among children and young people, including the policy and oversight of the YCWT Programme, giving oversight to Pilots, and relates to FURY Council. It also ensures that its concerns are fully taken into account in Doctrine, Prayer and Worship, Church and Society, Life and Witness Committees, facilitating the involvement of young people in all Councils of the Church.
Committee Members Convener: Kathryn Price Secretary: Steve Faber Convener elect: Neil Thorogood Huw Morrison, Gus Webbe, Tim Meachin, Doreen Watson to 2005: Daphne Clarke, Lorraine Downer, John Sanderson, Elaine Thomas, Anthea Coates (Training committee rep) from 2005: Rosemary Simmons, Sian Collins, Rita Griffiths, Ruth Hezlett, Robert Thomas, Sue Brown (Training committee rep)
FURY rep: Helen Honess (2004-5), Jen Wilson (2005-6) FURY chair: 2004 Amanda Wade, 2005 Gareth Jones, 2006 Isobel Simmons
1. Introduction The breadth of youth and children’s work in the United Reformed Church is hard to contain in one report. Across the Synods dedicated people give time, energy and talents to a variety of after-school clubs, Sunday Schools, Girls and Boys Brigades, Guide and Scout units, youth activities, Pilots, and so on and so on. As a committee we are tasked with supporting this work and offering direction. In 2004 General Assembly supported our strategy for developing youth and children’s work at the local church level. The last two years have seen this pursued in a variety of ways . . .
2. Network and
communications 2.1 The reverse of the annual returns form a couple of years ago was dedicated to information about children and young people in the church. This information has been analysed and stored appropriately with a number of results:
2.2 Using money from the DfES, a publication on youth work, similar to URCHIN (for children’s workers) and The Bridge (for Pilots companies), is being developed.
2.3 Regular mailings to Synod and District youth and children’s work secretaries continue, as do the synod and district children’s work meetings. A special addition last year was ‘A Bit of Bling’, which brought together synod and district youth and children’s work secretaries, Regional Pilots Officers and Scout chaplains. The event proved most useful and another is planned for this autumn.
3. Programme The five year plan began in 2005 with ‘Belonging’ and featured a worship pack from Pilots, suggestions on developing the theme in Reform and a range of more local events. The theme for 2006 is ‘Worship’ and has been promoted with a further worship pack from Pilots, articles in Reform and an information and resources sheet. The YCWT team will be leading events in their synods in September. Both themes were further explored in different events in Districts and Synods. The programme will continue with the focus for 2007 and 2008 being Discipleship and Evangelism respectively.
4. Training 4.1 We have been particularly concerned with training for youth and children’s work and a task group has drawn up a list of core competencies for workers. The new ecumenical material CORE Skills for Children’s Ministry is the most up-to-date available for children’s workers. Other opportunities are also available.
4.2 We have continued to monitor the training offered to ordinands and ministers post-ordination in the field of youth and children’s work and are delighted that Westminster College, Cambridge, now includes this.
5. Youth and
Children’s Work Trainers 5.1 The number of YCWTs has risen from 7 to 11. We have been sorry to see Andrew Micklefield and Howard Nurden go, but have been just as delighted to welcome Chris Burgham, Ruth White, Stewart Cutler, Malcolm Evans and Nick White to the team.
5.2 With the changes in youth and children’s services throughout the country and the introduction of ‘Every Child Matters’ the team has been involved in helping churches develop new and exciting work in partnership with other organisations and the statutory services. Other development work has helped churches address their ministry among children and young people, exploring issues of faith and spirituality and the inclusion of children and young people in the whole life of the church.
5.3 The range of work of the team is broad and includes writing training material for youth and children’s workers, such as Spectrum and CORE, providing support for national events, such as FURY Assembly and What do you think?, offering training for Pilots officers and other leaders and setting up youth exchanges and youth councils.
6. DfES grant
We continue to receive money from the Department for Education and Science (DfES) and in recent years the focus has been on involving young people in the structures of the church. This has included ‘What do you think?’, Pilots Voyagers and Navigators events, multi-racial youth event, as well as events and new ways of communication in the synods. We continue to include in our budget an equivalent amount for the synods of Wales and Scotland and also offer funding for children’s work events at synod level.
7. Theological reflection
7.1Our worship is led each time by a different committee member and our meetings are enriched by the variety of reflections that have been offered. Other reflections have been prepared on the Year of the Family, on volunteering, on worship and have appeared in the different publications.
7.2 Rosemary Johnston, Children’s Advocate (1995-2006), took sabbatical leave to explore children and pastoral care and has prepared a stimulating paper and led events that will encourage further thought and reflection and hopefully lead to better practice.
8. Events
John Brown, Secretary for Youth Work, has been involved in international ecumenical events that have brought young people together from across the world. Amongst these have been an international youth exchange with Palestine and support of the CWM working trip to Orkney.
9. Work with other committees
9.1 We continue to work extensively with other committees, particularly Church and Society on Commitment for Life, Doctrine, Prayer & Worship on a range of issues, particularly baptism and membership, Racial Justice and Multicultural Ministry, and Ecumenical and International Relations.
9.2 Pilots and FURY have their own reports, but are part of the regular agenda. We have been particularly interested in the information that the fastest growing sector of Pilots is the Voyagers and Navigators, 11-18s. We were pleased to welcome the new convener of the Pilots Management Committee, Revd Pamela Smith, to our February meeting.
9.3 The reorganisation of FURY was the final part of the 2002 Youth and children’s work review to be finished and this year’s FURY Assembly agreed to experiment with a new way of working. We hope that synods will respond well to the encouragement to set up youth executives to involve young people at a local level.
10. Ecumenical connections
All the staff, those based in Church House and the YCWT team, maintain strong ecumenical links and are actively engaged with colleagues from across the denominations. Karen Bulley (Pilots Development Officer) and Rosemary Johnston value meeting and work regularly with ecumenical colleagues in the four nations through the Consultative Group on Ministry among Children (CGMC). Karen is the current Moderator of CGMC and is one of the two representatives for the United Kingdom and Ireland on the steering group of the European Conference on Christian Education. The Churches Network for Non-Violence provides a good support for continuing work on preventing violence against children. A handbook for local churches, Respecting Children, was launched this spring. Rosemary shared the staffing of a display area and presenting of a workshop at the World Council of Churches in Brazil.
11. People
11.1 We are enormously grateful for the work of the staff in Church House Office and the YCWTs in the synods. Rosemary Johnston retired at the end of March and will be much missed. Many folk around the church will have their own good memories of Rosemary’s visits and encouraging comments. We are currently in the process of appointing a Children’s Work Development Officer and remain committed to the continued support of children’s work and the advocacy of children.
11.2 At the end of four and a bit years as convener and seven in total on the committee, I wish to add my personal thanks and admiration for all the splendid and committed people that have shared that time with me, both staff and fellow committee members. It has sometimes been hard work, but it has always been worthwhile.
Fellowship of United Reformed Youth – FURY
Our mission is to discover God, to help each other grow in the Christian faith and, through our lives, reflect God’s love to all.
FURY Chair 2006: Miss Isobel Simmons FURY Chair Elect 2006: Mr Andrew Littlejohns FURY Chair 2005: Mr Gareth Jones
1.1 Since the last report in 2004 there have been a lot of things going on within FURY, much of it concerned with finding our place within the wider church.
1.2 FURY Council have worked extraordinarily hard over the past two years and effectively planned and led the hugely successful FURY Assembly 2006. There is an enormous amount of talent, passion and spirituality among the young people in the United Reformed Church, and FURY Council are no exception.
1.3 This talent and passion led FURY Council, facilitated by Gareth Jones, FURY Chair 2005 to re-evaluate FURY’s place within the United Reformed Church and submit a set of proposals to FURY Assembly 2006 aimed at streamlining FURY Council and sub-committees so they can work more effectively.
1.4 Whilst these changes, unanimously accepted by FURY Assembly 2006 and reprinted at the end of this report, are mainly structural; the aim behind them is to enable FURY to engage with and empower young people within the United Reformed Church.
1.5 FURY has already caught its vision for God’s tomorrow – a church which young people feel part of and engage with on a local, Synod and Assembly level. Young people are a fantastically vibrant part of the United Reformed Church and we urge the church to recognise and value young people whether they attend a Sunday morning service, a Pilots company, a uniformed organisation, or a youth group.
1.6 General Assembly has decided that the focus of youth work should be in the local church, and FURY accepts and supports this and so urges all Synods to consider setting up a Synod Youth Executive. There are already successful examples of these in several Synods, and several more are in the process of setting them up. FURY Council and the Youth and Children’s Work Committee are working together on this goal of a Synod Youth Executive in every Synod.
1.7 In an attempt to complement local youth work, FURY Council are running two Assembly level youth events this year, which offer a contrast to the business weekend of FURY Assembly; spirit based forums in autumn where young people can come together from across the United Reformed Church to explore their faith.
1.8 The Secretary for Youth Work and the Youth and Children’s Work Training and Development Team with FURY Council will also continued the success of preparing the under 26 delegates to General Assembly with ‘What Do You Think?’ 2006.
1.9 FURY Assembly continues to be a popular event, and from 2006 it is open to any young person within the United Reformed Church who wants to attend – there is no longer the limit of three per district. This is an exciting opportunity for more young people to engage with youth work and the United Reformed Church on an Assembly level and we hope as many people as possible will take advantage of this.
1.10 Young people are one of the great strengths of the United Reformed Church and we urge you to recognise this and continue to work with us.
FURY Assembly 2006 MOTION B – FURY Restructure Proposals
Motion B1: FURY Council shall be disbanded and replaced by the FURY Advisory Board. This shall consist of two bodies: the FURY Executive and the FURY Task Group. As such, from here on, no one shall be elected or appointed to FURY Council. The only exception to this is that in 2006 a FURY Chair Elect should be elected who will at Assembly 2007 become the first FURY Moderator.
Motion B2: The FURY Executive shall be convened by the FURY Moderator. Upon election they shall complete a year as Moderator elect, then a year as Moderator and an optional third year as past Moderator in a supporting role but with no voting rights. Their job shall be as described in the FURY Restructuring Task Group report to FURY Assembly 2006. The first Moderator Elect shall be elected at FA 2006.
Motion B3: Positions on the FURY Executive other than those of Moderator, past moderator and moderator elect shall be the Treasurer, Secretary, Communications Representative and the National Synod Representative. There shall also be 5 co-opted positions, of which one shall be the Secretary for Youth Work and another a chaplain (in accordance with the FURY Restructuring Task Group report to FURY Assembly 2006). These co-opted positions shall be selected by the FURY Executive as and when they are required.
Motion B4: The Task Group, whose sole purpose shall be dealing with the work of the main Assembly of FURY, shall not have a fixed membership. Proposers shall have to find people willing to sit on the task group before submitting a motion, along with FURY representatives from relevant URC committees. Meetings shall be held as laid out in the FURY Restructuring Task Group report to FURY Assembly 2006.
Motion B5: FURY Assembly shall remain as FURY Assembly, although it shall not be a representative event any more. It shall be open to anyone that wishes to come, regardless of how many are already coming from each district.
Motion B6: FURY Assembly accepts the report from the FURY Restructuring Task Group as guidelines but accepts that job descriptions, positions, practices etc will evolve over time. They are not rigid as they stand.
Motion B7: FURY Assembly encourages synods that do not currently have a synod youth executive to investigate the possibilities of starting such a group, and asks that action be taken to set one up as soon as possible, utilising the strengths and skills of the current Synod rep on FURY Council, should there be one.
Proposer of motions: Gareth Jones (FURY Chair) Seconder: Linda Kemp (FURY Council)
PILOTS: GOOD NEWS FOR THE CHURCH!The aims of the Pilots organisation are:
Convener: Revd Pamela Smith Treasurer: Revd Martin Truscott Mrs Marilyn Armstrong, Revd Mark Evans, Revd Stephen Haward, Mrs Marion Hornby, Mr Huw Morrison, Revd John Sanderson
1. Good news from the last two years
1.1 “V&N Reloaded” (2004) followed, one year later, by “V&N WotEva” (2005) are two of the ways in the past two years that Pilots has worked towards achieving it’s aims. V&N Reloaded gave Voyagers (11-14) and Navigators (15-18) the opportunity to have their say about the Pilots programme as well as a lot of fun. Some of the comments they made about the events included:
‘V&N was excellent. I got to meet new people from around the country.’ ‘I had a great time at V&N. I would really like it to be on again next year and I can’t wait to go again to meet all my friends.’ ‘I loved it, I want to go again to meet all my mates. Thanks to everyone involved.’
1.2 “Pilots of the Caribbean” will take place in July 2006, another opportunity for Voyagers and Navigators to get together.
2. Good news now
2.1 Pilots is passionate about all that we do. Children and Young People matter and are valuable members of the church. Pilots Captains and Officers are equally valued and we therefore demand a high standard in the materials that we provide for our workers. In the past two years we have delivered Pilots Voyages Packs that explore Bangladesh and the UK – with the UK being the first pack presented in a game format. We will be exploring other formats for our packs in the future.
2.2 Worship Pack 2005 explored the theme of Belonging, including belonging to Pilots, belonging to ourselves and each other, belonging together, belonging to God’s World and belonging to God. The 2006 Worship Pack investigated Worship and looked at what worship is, and why and how we worship, culminating in Companies preparing and leading an act of worship for the church family.
2.3 The 1998 Edition of The Compass has served Pilots well for nearly 10 years. In the past eighteen months The Compass has been completely revised and largely re-written. This huge task has delivered a Compass that will provide material and information for Pilots Companies for many years to come.
2.4 Pilots continues to grow, many new companies have been opened in the past few years. Pilots delivers what local churches want and what children and young people find exciting and fun. Not only that, but they invite their friends along too. Pilots is not only concerned with numerical growth but also with personal and spiritual growth. Pilots keeps God and the Kingdom at its core.
3. Good news going forwards – Future
3.1 It is 70 years since the London Missionary Society started Pilots in order to widen the interest of children in the missionary ships of the “John Williams” line. No particular celebrations are planned for this year, instead we are looking forwards to the 75th Anniversary in 2011. However, in order to note this significant milestone in Pilots history, and following work undertaken by the Pilots Archivist, a special celebration pack on the life of John Williams will be published.
3.2 Following on from the huge success at Cadbury World in 2002 when 3000 gathered and Legoland in 2005 when over 6000 gathered, planning for the next big event is underway.
3.3 Pilots has been an ecumenical organisation for a long time, and companies are based in a wide range of churches, with many informal ecumenical relationships formed. Discussions with other denominations continue as new opportunities arise.
4. Share the good
news! Pilots gives local churches the opportunity to share the love of God in the ongoing life of Jesus Christ by inviting children and young people on an exciting journey. This is the Good News of Pilots! If you want to know more contact the Pilots Desk at the United Reformed Church on 020 7916 2020 or by e-mail pilots@urc.org.uk.
Be a part of this wonderful adventure!
Youth and Children’s Work Committee Resolutions
Resolution 40
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