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Youth and Children’s Work
This Committee supports,
encourages and promotes work among children and young people, including
the policy for the YLTO and YCWT Programme, giving oversight to Pilots,
the National Youth Resource Centre at Yardley Hastings, 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 the Councils of the Church.
Committee Members
Convener: Revd Derek Lindfield Secretary: Mrs Soo Webster
Mrs Brenda Cheer, Mrs Caroline Chettleburgh, Revd Margaret Collins,
Mr Gareth Curl, Mrs Rita Joyner, Mrs Kath Lonsdale, Mr Lewis McKenzie, Mr
John Marshall (FURY Council), Mr Huw Morrison (FURY Chair), Revd Phil
Nevard, Revd Kathryn Price, Revd John Sanderson.
Pilots Development Officer: Mrs
Karen Bulley
Centre Minister, National Youth Resource Centre: Revd
Liz Byrne Secretary for Youth Work: Ms
Lesley Anne Di Marco
Children’s Advocate: Mrs Rosemary Johnston
1
Introduction
1.1 The Youth and
Children’s Work Committee has been enriched this past year with a
significant number of new members who have brought with them enthusiasm, a
diversity of experience, a ‘hands-on’ experience of youth and
children’s work and a fresh vision.
1.2 In our deliberations, mindful of the remit given to us by the General Assembly, we have examined how we perceive the present role of the committee. We are conscious that we cannot do everything. What we do, however, must be sharply focused with the real possibility of creative impact. At this time, therefore, we see ourselves:
i) taking an overview of
the whole picture of youth and children’s work in the church;
ii) providing a reference
role for staff members on behalf of the United Reformed Church;
iii) keeping the profile of
youth and children’s work to the fore in the church’s consciousness;
iv) providing ownership of
youth and children’s work for the whole church;
v) seeking to ensure that
youth and children’s work does not stagnate;
vi) suggesting ways in
which youth and children’s work can be developed as part of the
church’s overall mission.
1.3 The committee is well
used to the concept of ‘growing up’ and is delighted that the term is
being used for all ages of people within the church and is not seen as
something peculiar to and associated only with children and young people.
Nevertheless it sees its role as contributing to ‘growing up’ in the
area of youth and children’s work and furthering the five marks of
mission.
2 To
proclaim the good news of the kingdom - Tell!
2.1 The committee sees its
role as contributing to help create the right conditions for proclamation.
It cannot emphasise too much the responsibility of the whole church to
ensure that children and young people are safe and secure. To that end it
produced, a number of years ago, a ‘Good Practice’ pack. The
committee has been disturbed by anecdotal evidence that there are still
local churches oblivious to this. The United Reformed Church cannot stand
still in this area and the committee is anxious to hold before it the
absolute necessity of implementing good practice procedures. In addition
it is also necessary to review our policies and it is envisaged that a new
pack will be available for the 2001 General Assembly.
2.2 The committee is concerned to promote ‘telling’ models such as Pilots and the National Youth Resource Centre at Yardley Hastings and is grateful for the significant work achieved by the management committees of both organisations. It was happy to re-appoint Bryan Thomas as Convener of the National Youth Resource Centre Management Committee for a further period of three years. It is good to be able to report that the church has a resource of which it can be proud and reminds churches that it is there to be used.
The committee has been
delighted with the way in which Pilots has continued to develop. It is a
significant growth area in the life of the United Reformed Church and
several churches have started new companies. The committee continues to
support the Pilots Management Committee as it reviews the affiliation
process.
2.3 The committee sees its role to help prioritise thinking in order to proclaim effectively. It has been encouraged by the success of the worship material ‘Wholly Worship’ published at last year’s General Assembly and sees this publication as a contribution to the debate in prioritising issues for worship. It has been glad that sessions devoted to ‘Wholly Worship’ have been held at Windermere and elsewhere and that more are planned.
2.4 The committee believes
that it is important to assist young people to help themselves proclaim
the good news. To that end it has been encouraging and supporting FURY to
implement its Action Plan and supports its campaign to encourage all
churches to listen with seriousness to the voice of young people at a
local level through the appointment of youth elders.
3 To
teach, baptise and nurture new believers - Teach!
3.1 The committee sees its
role as promoting and recommending resource materials for the church. It
has been delighted to see the publication of ‘The Compass’
(resource handbook) for Pilots alongside further developments of the World
and Worship programmes. The committee looks forward to the results of work
presently being done to update and revise both Kaleidoscope and Spectrum
(training material for children’s and youth workers).
3.2 The church has a
particularly valuable resource in terms of people dedicated to training
youth and children’s workers. These Youth and Children’s Work Trainers
are the specific responsibility of the Training Committee, but the Youth
and Children’s Work Committee has been charged by General Assembly to
develop and specify the policy which they are to implement. It has been
recognised that these two committees must work together with the youth and
children’s work trainers and their Synod managers and plans to that end
are being implemented.
3.3 It is amazing how
creative people can be in developing teaching, learning and worship
resources. Through successful networking much material which, otherwise,
would go no further than a local church, is made available through URCHIN,
that is the United Reformed CHildren’s Information Network costing £4.50
for three issues a year.
3.4 Some years ago the
Youth and Children’s Work Committee produced two leaflets - ‘The
Journey Begins for your child …’,‘The Journey Begins for
children in the church … ‘ It is clear to members of the committee
that there is, within the church as a whole, a lot of discussion centred
on infant baptism and non-church families. The leaflets mentioned were an
attempt to help in this discussion. It is clear to the committee that more
work needs to be done on this so that these leaflets can be revised and
updated. It is hoped that they will be available by the next General
Assembly.
3.5 The committee welcomes
significant developments concerning new material for worship and learning,
particularly a broader group preparing material including plans for a
website. It recognises that not all of our churches use Partners in
Learning and that some prefer the Scripture Union SALT
programme. With this in mind tentative attempts have been made to
establish relationships with Scripture Union, and suggestions made that
that material should more accurately reflect our multi-racial
multi-cultural society.
4 To
respond to human need by loving service - Tend!
4.1 The committee is
concerned to reflect accurately the concerns of churches concerning
children and young people. The committee believes in the importance of
networking and is anxious to encourage and support its staff members to
engage in it. But members of the committee are also concerned to hear
about and respond to issues raised with them. This past year this has
happened and the committee has been alerted to issues as diverse as youth
ministry, working with children in Romania and education and parenting.
4.2 With the Church and
Society Committee, the Youth and Children’s Work Committee last year
brought a joint resolution to General Assembly. The result was that
Assembly voted to join the ‘Children are Unbeatable’ Alliance.
Proposed Government legislation falls short of what the Alliance has been
advocating. The debate in Assembly revealed a real concern for help with
parenting. The committee has spent some time in considering this, and has
consulted with the Youth and Children’s Work trainers who have expressed
a wish to be involved in parenting training. They do have materials which
can already be used, but thought is being given to assembling others.
4.3 Much time and
discussion has been devoted to the DfEE/URC Social exclusion project,
which was explained at last year’s General Assembly. The committee,
however, has started to refer to it as the Social Inclusion Project
because it is aimed at including-in those who presently are excluded in
society. The project is to be understood in three distinct stages. The
first came to an end in April and had consisted of a feasibility study
undertaken by an education consultant, Tim Barnes. The second stage is one
which we are presently in. This consists of preparation and identification
of local churches which could be part of the programme. The third stage
will be its implementation. The government funding under this scheme is
available only to England but the Synods of Scotland and Wales have been
included in the consultant’s study and it is hoped that ways will be
found to secure additional funding to meet the requirements in the two
national Synods.
5 To seek
to transform unjust structures of society - Transform!
5.1 The DfEE/URC Social
Exclusion Project is a major piece of work. Those unjustly excluded in
society are being focused upon. We have been grateful to the YCWT team
which has been very helpful in its preparatory stages and it is hoped that
they will play a pivotal role in helping churches identify possible
projects and also assist with training.
5.2 At one of its meetings
the children’s worker from another denomination spoke about the United
Reformed Church Charter for Children. She said that she thought
that it was a real, insightful gift to other churches. The committee is
aware that our denomination has moved a long way since that charter was
adopted. It is concerned, however, that the whole church still does not
have real ownership of it. Children and young people are now firmly on the
church’s agenda, but we still have to move some people away from the
idea that they are to be encouraged and nurtured today because they are
the church of tomorrow. They are not. They are the church of today.
5.3 This view, which has
been articulated by the Children’s Advocate, Rosemary Johnston, is one
that the committee wants to hold before the denomination. It has been
grateful for the fine work done by Rosemary and is delighted that she has
been appointed to a further five-year term.
6 To
strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, to sustain and renew the
life of the earth - Treasure!
6.1 At a recent committee
meeting the staff team was described in terms of being ‘irritants’! It
was meant in a positive way. The committee wishes to encourage its staff
colleagues to act as irritants to enable its policies to be put into
effect.
6.2 It was good that
fourteen young people representing FURY, Pilots and their respective
Synods participated in Pilgrim 2000. They now are a resource who can be
used in follow-up arrangements made by Synods and will be able to be
pro-active with such things as Commitment for Life, the National Youth
Resource Centre and the dissemination of information to other young
people. (Please see the Pilgrim 2000 appendix in the Book of Reports)
7
Membership of the Committee
Mention has been made that a significant number of the
committee have been new to it. Our deliberations have been enriched
through the continuity provided by people who have served on it for some
time. Sadly their terms of service come to an end. We have had to say
farewell to Phil Nevard whose insights and contributions have been very
much valued. We thank him and the former FURY Chair, Neil Platt, who has
also left. He too made a significant contribution to our deliberations. In
his place we have welcomed the new FURY Chair, Huw Morrison.
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