A frequently asked question heard around parishes
is: “How can we engage with young people today, especially those who are not
part of our church community?”
Jeremy Couch, the Youth, Children’s and
Families lay minister at St Mark’s Buderim, found himself pondering the same
question recently, and thought back to his own childhood as a “Priest’s Kid” in
South Australia.
“I realised that the activities that stood
out in my memory were the ones where older men and women got beside me to help
me learn a new skill or do a new activity in a fun and adventurous environment,”
he said.
Jeremy searched for something to do that
would be attractive to young people between the ages of seven and seventeen, and
soon came up with a brilliant idea: skateboarding, an activity he has continued
to enjoy over the years, even skating down to the beach this summer with his
youngest son on his hip.
“As I put together the concept of a workshop
for local youth, I asked myself: if I made a skateboard myself, would it be better
than just buying one?”
Jeremy decided young people would think it
was “way cooler” to build, design and apply artwork and attach the trucks,
bearings and wheels to their own skateboard than it would be to purchase the
same product. In fact, a skateboard-building workshop would be the perfect
opportunity for young people to learn new skills, in a friendly and safe environment
at his church.
After widespread advertising around Buderim
and beyond, the workshop attracted 23 keen participants, of whom almost all had
no previous contact with the parish.
“As well as hosting great numbers, the
biggest thrill for me was seeing a diverse selection of older male volunteers
who mentored, coached and encouraged 23 young people through the whole process,
from laminating and pressing a skateboard, to creating the artwork that they
would apply to the skateboard and then attaching the hardware that would allow
them to ride their skateboards before the workshop was over. The experience was
incredibly powerful,” Jeremy reflected.
“Thanks must also go to ‘GFS – An Anglican Ministry’ for generously
providing a grant which made the workshop possible.”
Since the two-day holiday skateboard
workshop, the parish has seen contact with the young participants in other
programs, including a follow-up event, and Jeremy is now developing the
workshop as a model for other churches to engage with youth in their local area
in a similar way. For more information
about holding a skateboard workshop, Jeremy Couch may be contacted via St
Mark’s, Buderim or perhaps he could be skating your way soon.
