All Editorial articles – Page 53
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BlogSanctuary: creating safe spaces to talk about mental health with young people
On World Mental Health Day Rachael Newham from mental health charity ThinkTwice talks about creating sanctuaries for young people.
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BlogMothers under fire: a mother’s response to Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali
Being a mother can be immensely joyful and rewarding but it can also be incredibly tough. Motherhood is even harder when we face criticism.
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BlogCyber bullying: how digital citizenship lessons should just be the beginning
One quarter of teenagers admit to bullying or insulting someone on the internet. Think tank Demos says the government should respond by funding digital citizenship lessons. Lahna Pottle from Youthscape explains why she thinks this is a good start but cannot be the only answer.
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IssuesRethinking children’s work
The environment our children are growing up in seems to be constantly changing. What does that mean for our children’s work? Do we need to rethink what we’re doing? The diocese of London’s Sam Donoghue thinks community is the key
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Blog5 ways your youth group can respond to humanitarian crises
From three earthquakes in Mexico, to Hurricane Irma wreaking havoc across the Caribbean, to a refugee crisis in Myanmar – the world has been rocked by humanitarian crises in recent weeks. It can leave us here in the UK feeling useless and asking what can we actually do to help?
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IssuesMedieval Teenager: How the Reformation saved my life
October marks 500 years since the start of the Protestant Reformation. Evangelist Glen Scrivener unpacks the importance of some of Martin Luther's doctrines for our ministries through sharing his own experience as a 'medieval teenager'.
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Faith at home
A story for home: The storm at sea
Here is a story for you to tell at home, perhaps at bedtime or as part of a ‘God-time’ during your day. You can break this story up and tell it part by part, or tell it all at once. You could also use this story during a children’s session.
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IssuesHope for girls: turning up the volume
In October 2012, the United Nations launched International Day of the Girl Child to recognise girls’ rights and the challenges they face around the world. As the day approaches, Girls’ Brigade’s Claire Rush looks at how we can help support and empower our girls
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IssuesSam Wise: Teach versus experience
One of the joys of my job is the year-long course we offer children’s workers. It’s designed to go a bit deeper than the ‘how to’ of children’s work and look at some of the thinking behind it. We look at children’s spirituality, how faith develops and some of the theology relevant to children.
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Faith at homeForming faith rituals: Mini rituals adapted from Jewish ‘High Holy Days’
In our family, we celebrate Shabbat each week and Passover every year. So, I wanted to look at the Jewish ‘High Holy Days’, as they are known, to find some rituals we could use to enrich our faith at home. I’m not going to give an exhaustive overview here because you have Google too, but focus on what elements we can adapt and use.
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IssuesMentoring: Self-control
Why is it that getting up at 7am for work can be absolute torture and require three hits of the snooze button, while 7am on a weekend morning for a long cycle in the Peak District is often an absolute joy? (It may be the other way around for you!) I’m sure you have your own struggles, but the answer is to do with our motivation.
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IssuesGames: Get-to-know-you games
The new term is in full swing and you may see some new faces around your youth and children’s groups. Here are some simple welcome games to help everyone join in and get to know each other.
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IssuesCraft: The prodigal son
The story of the prodigal son is a fantastic parable to explore creatively with children and young people. There are so many threads and themes that can be drawn out of the story: family, rebelliousness, separation, forgiveness, new life, celebration, love and jealousy. These crafts will give a helping hand in exploring some of these themes and should give plenty of space for discussion.
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IssuesBig Question: Do ghosts exist?
Even the most ancient stories contain accounts of ghosts, and interest in the supernatural doesn’t seem to be waning. A 2016 YouGov survey reported that more Brits believe in ghosts than a creator God. A 2006 Barna group study of 4,000 teenagers found that 73 per cent had engaged in at least one type of psychic or witch-related activity.
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BlogParable: Flat battery
The girls crowded around the stage door. Their ears were still ringing from the concert. What a night it had been. They’d heard all their favourite tracks: ‘Ooh baby, I love you’, ‘I love you, baby’, ‘Ooh, baby’ and ‘Love is an existential construct (but I love you baby)’. And now they were waiting for their hero, Olly Bieberlake, to come out and meet his fans.
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BlogAll-age service: Room without a roof
Meeting aim: To see that Jesus heals the paralysed man, but only after fixing his eternal problem.
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