|
|
|
From outside, the King's Arms, Petersfield, is not much to look at. A slightly shabby light industrial building with offices downstairs and the sound of woodworking coming from a one story extension. Upstairs a limp plastic banner hanging across the inside of a window gives one of the few clues to the passer-by. Petersfield itself is a picturesque small market town and a casual visitor would probably come away with an impression of prosperity and social harmony. But though there are estates where the houses sell for up to half a million pounds, there are other areas where the picture is very different, with high levels of single parents, teenage pregnancies and illiteracy.
A sense of
calling When URC
minister Peter Norris and his wife Lyn arrived in the town nine years
ago they quickly noticed something else that would escape the casual
visitor - there was almost nothing for the town's young people to do.
Taking up his first pastorate after a career in electronic engineering
and then running his own business, it was not long before Peter found
himself with a sense of calling to help the town's youth. He was
fortunate to find himself in a church which gave him enthusiastic
backing and in a town with a successful and energetic Churches
Together, which already had a more than impressive track record in
supporting social outreach. Others soon caught the vision and, with
the backing of the whole Christian community, the town's drop-in
centre for the elderly was persuaded to lend their premises on two
evenings a week. When the
prototype of the King's Arms opened, it soon became clear that the
task was bigger than even its supporters had imagined. On the very
first evening the volunteer workforce found themselves confronted by a
boy with a gun - it turned out to be a replica, but no-one knew that
at the time. No sooner had that situation been defused when a crash
signalled a large bottle of cider being hurled at the front door. By
the end of the evening everyone involved was left wondering whether
God really had called them into this work - perhaps with a clear, if
undeclared, preference that the answer might be 'no'. But they stuck
at it, with a mixture of bravery and naiveté that they can look back
on now with some amusement. When drunkenness became a problem, Lyn Norris and other volunteers began visiting the neighbouring supermarket, reminding the check-out staff - many of them little older than the children in the club - that selling alcohol to children could cost them their license. When local drug dealers decided that the bench outside the club was a good place to sit and wait for customers, volunteers would go and sit next to them, sometimes embarrassing them by praying out loud. They were not, they recall, always popular, and volunteer Bill Pearce became used to having the occasional bottle or egg thrown at him when he toured the streets persuading young people to try the club. Looking back, Peter Norris acknowledges that the enthusiasm was necessary because in some ways they were unrealistic in their methods - like the unlimited free cola and bacon sandwiches which the recipients never realized were just a way of filling them up so they would see no need to drink alcohol.
The closure
turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Churches Together committed
themselves to pray about the situation and the Petersfield Community
Church generously offered to fund a project, without strings, to the
tune of £60,000. Very soon a building came up for rent, not in the
middle of a field, but in the middle of a car-park - in the centre of
the town but with no immediate neighbours. The location seemed to be
ideal but the inside of the former electrical contractor's workshop
was in a terrible state and it soon became clear that £60,000 was not
going to be anywhere near enough. At a jam-packed public meeting in
the local parish church the organizers admitted that they had a
problem and appealed for further help. In a relatively short time,
£60,000 turned into £147,000 and that was enough to transform the
interior of the building into its present shape, with a large and
flexible lounge (the 'bar') and a collection of smaller rooms and
offices suited to a wide range of activities and meetings. That
financial support has continued ever since. Though money comes from a
variety of sources, including local commerce and local government, the
generosity of local churches has been crucial Though a great
deal of the work at the King's Arms is done by volunteers, it is clear
that much of the success of the project relies on the commitment of
volunteer turned centre manager Bill Pearce. A committed Christian,
Bill gave up his work as a training manager with Asda and took a large
cut in pay to accept the job with the King's Arms - a job he freely
admits consumes more time and energy than he ever imagined. He is the
business manager, responsible for raising the money, he administers
the building and its wide range of activities Ð including parenting
classes for fathers and a series of successful Alpha courses - as
janitor does much of the muscle work, finds time to mentor children
with problems at a local school, supervises the weekday after-school
sessions at the centre and oversees the Wednesday evening session for
the younger group of 11-13 year-olds - the centre is open on
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings for different age groups. The
only paid help comes in the form of two 19 year-old part-time workers,
Lawrence and Rebecca, who help to staff the short after-school
sessions and play, in Bill's eyes, the invaluable role of elder
brother and sister to the children.
For the churches of Petersfield the benefit is harder to see - but then no-one involved in organising the King's Arms sees it in terms of the churches' advantage. Though there is Christian material available and the Christian volunteers are more than happy to talk about their faith, the primary aim is simply to let the children know that they are valued for themselves. 'Why are you doing this?' asked one boy after the volunteers had helped him to clean up, then washed and dried his clothes. He had come in filthy from falling into a ditch, afraid to go home. 'Because we love you and Jesus loves you' was the simple reply. For some of the children, such unconditional love and acceptance is all too rare an experience. Many have already been classed as failures at school and the project has helped some of them to find a new belief in themselves by giving them simple responsibilities or by practical help and advice in finding the right training. One boy, helped onto a vocational college course after his school career went badly wrong, returned proudly one day with the certificate he had earned. As the project workers congratulated him he confided: 'This is the first thing I ever got'.
David Lawrence is Editor of Reform
|
above: Peter and Lyn Norris (and friend)
above: Outside view of the King's arms
above: Bill Pierce with Lawrence and Rebecca
|
.gif)