In the Media: our "Parenting in the Digital Age" forum at Bribie Island this week

Community forum helps parents figure out 'tween speak'

Caboolture News, 18 July 2013

 

ARE you ready to Instagram a selfie and tag your bestie while having a LOL?

 

Did you catch all that?

 

The world of social media and the buzz words surrounding the phenomenon will be revealed at a community forum at St Peters Anglican Church, Bribie Island on Monday from 9.30am until noon.

 

The annual forum, hosted conjointly with the Mother's Union, has turned the topic this year to tween culture.

 

The sometimes awkward and unknown territory of children who are not quite teenagers and not quite young children is often ignored.

 

Ministry for the Anglican Church youth, children's and families director Jonathan Kemp hopes to arm parents and grandparents with tools to communicating and understanding their tweens for the betterment of the family.

 

Mr Kemp said the forum should show parents how to maintain relationships in a technology-driven world when a pre-teen has their head bowed in their iPad or mobile phone.

 

"There is a real sense that a lot of parents are unsure about this area of tweens so we will look at how technology shapes us and reflects an identity for young people and how families need to set boundaries in terms of how young people and parents are using technology and how often," Mr Kemp said.

 

"Every family needs to find that balance.

 

"We hope to help parents adopt a common sense approach to technology, because while it is something that is inescapable, it is something parents needs to handle in an intentional way."

 

Mr Kemp will also provide parents with a translation guide to tween speak.

 

Smart phone applications such as Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook will be explored.

 

"I hope parents come away with a sense of responsibility but with far less fear they may have come with of the world of technology," Mr Kemp said.

 

The seminar is free, register your interest to help with catering purposes, phone the church on 3408 3191.

Dear Jonathan: Social Action as a Youth Group

Even better than a Dear John letter is a Dear Jon/Jonathan letter, and I was asked recently for some ideas on getting a youth group involved in social action projects, perhaps starting with a simulation game.  Here's how I replied:

Simulation games are almost always good. You probably know that Stephen Hooper specialises in these things? He ran a big one on the Anglican Schools Students Network conference last year, but it needed more time. Doing a 3-4 hour (or even overnight) epic would be pretty memorable for all involved, I would think.

On my shelf is a book called "Ideas for Social Action" by Tony Campolo.  It's quite old (1983!) but many of the ideas inside are still completely applicable. For example, at St Lucia we use the idea called "Supermarket Stakeout" a couple of times a year - you get the group to stand outside a supermarket, and when people approach, you give them a slip of paper asking them to buy an extra item for the Inala pantry. If they bring back an item to you, you give them a thank-you card with your church details inside etc. (You've got permission from the supermarket manager, and of course you don't hassle the customers - not everyone will have the money or desire to buy something extra. But it's an exercise where everyone wins. The book has lots of other ideas too.

 

The Roscoe Library has several books on teens and/or parishes and social action - free to borrow, as you know.

 

I'd maybe start by asking the group (or a few of them) to name a cause they'd like to raise funds for. Then just try doing something straightforward to get them into the hang of it e.g. a carwash (if it's warm enough).  If you want to get some attention, you could have a continuous reading relay of the Bible all the way through. Reading aloud at a normal speed normally takes from Friday night to Sunday morning, just in time for church. Would people in the congregation sponsor the group to do that, so the money then goes to your cause?

 

If your group is interested in the asylum seeker debate, they could contact Anglicare SQ about the BRASS program (see attachment). Could be controversial!

 

My old youth group once doorknocked virtually our whole suburb for Freedom From Hunger: we raised over $1000 in a day (this was a long time ago) and got a framed certificate from FFH for being the biggest fundraising group in Brisbane. So if there's a doorknock coming up soon, you could do that, though many schools seem to do it too.

 

When I speak to parishes and groups on this kind of topic, often I mention the following (taken from a PPT slide):

 

What makes service projects empowering for children and youth?

 

Do the actual work and don't just observe.

 

Work with accepting adults who don't criticize their efforts.

 

Have important responsibilities.

 

Have a sense that they can make a contribution.

 

Have the freedom to explore their own interests and develop their own ideas.

Have opportunities to reflect upon the meaning of the activities.

So my point here is that even if the project isn't itself headline-grabbing (e.g. a world record attempt), if it fulfils most or all of these criteria, it will have served a very useful purpose and will probably also motivate the group to fire up for its next project.

There is a little group of us meeting up in the next fortnight to discuss how youth / Anglicare / ABM may be able to work better together. If something good eventuates out of that, I'll let you know.  I suspect it will become a topic at the next Bring It! meeting in late August!

Don't hesitate to get back in touch as often as necessary, and feel free to forward this on to others.  Thanks for the fantastic work you're doing - and this is just the beginning!

Peace in Christ,

Jonathan Kemp

Senior Ichthus camp feedback

Always nice to get positive feedback from one of our camps and Senior Ichthus in June/July gave us a couple of pieces of the unsolicited kind:

From a Parish Priest:
"They both said they had an amazing time and M.... has been coming to church every week since the camp.
She was one of our 'come to youth group only' girls, it is great to see the change in  her, pass on my thanks to all involved on doing a great job."

 From a parent:

 

"From [her] verbal reports she really did have a great time, raved about the leaders she spent time with – she related to them very well age wise, made some very nice friends whom she has kept in contact with and I believe planning to meet up with a the reunion.

Oh and she tells me she’s definitely going again next year! She attended the camp with some girls that had attended in 2012, 2011 I believe.

Thanks so much for providing a fun and thought provoking week in a safe environment for her - it was most appreciated!"

 

Feedback like this is always great to hear, and we get our fair share.  Looking forward to Junior in September already!

Conferences!

Every so often we receive invitations to conferences and similar events, and we're asked to pass them on - so here are a few which may be worth considering...

A conference entitled, "Loving, Living and Working with People on the Autism Spectrum" which will be held on Oct 26 at the Citipointe Christian College, Mansfield.

• This conference will include a range of speakers including well known Christian doctor and counsellor, Dr Carolyn Russell. It will also feature workshop streams aimed at helping teachers, families, counsellors, pastors, chaplains and church leaders better understand and work with people with Autism Spectrum Disorders including Asperger's Syndrome.
• If you could please distribute the attached brochure, or following website address (http://autismconferenceoct26-com.webs.com), to people in your congregation or organisation who may be interested that would be greatly appreciated. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Growing Youth Spirituality Conference'

19th and 20th July 2013

REGISTRATIONS CLOSING SOON

The Christian Research Association has combined with Tabor College to host a conference on youth spirituality.

The conference will be held at East Alliance, 44-60 Jacksons Road , Mulgrave, Victoria on the 19th and 20th of July 2013.
There will be a range of speakers including Dr Rachael Kohn (ABC presenter of 'The Spirit of Things') and speakers representing the practical ways in which Catholic, mainstream, and Christian schools and chaplains in the government sector are seeking to grow youth spirituality. Dr Philip Hughes will be bringing the findings from the 53 schools that have been surveyed in the past year or so. Stephen Reid, another member of the CRA staff, will be reporting on a project he has been doing on sports chaplaincy.
Please see a full list of speakers and the conference program at http://www.cra.org.au/growing_youth_spirituality.pdf or http://www.tabor.vic.edu.au/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=42
This conference will look at how we can best encourage the growth of a mature spirituality in the children growing up in our midst. It will look at the research and explore practical solutions for parents, youth workers, pastors, teachers, chaplains and RE teachers. And there will plenty of time for discussion amongst colleagues.
You can register via our website at https://www.cra.org.au/products-page/conference-registrations/
Full Conference (Incl Dinner) $230.0
Full Conference (No Dinner) $210.00
Dinner only (Fri night) $45.00
Friday Sessions only (No Dinner) $90.00
Saturday Sessions only $140.00
We look forward to seeing you at the conference.
Yours sincerely,

Dr Philip Hughes               Peg Fraser                           

Senior Researcher              Administration

Christian Research Association

03 88190123

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 NATIONAL YOUTH MINISTRY CONVENTION (NYMC.ORG.AU)

With the recent release of our website and online registration we wanted to touch base so you can take full advantage of our Early Bird Discount.

The Early Bird rate has been extended to 15th June, however with a one month extension as part of our Partnership Program you can take advantage of the Early Bird rate until 15th July!

In addition if you have a group you can also take advantage of Group Discounts:

$40 per ticket for 5 or more Full registrations

$20 per ticket for 10 or more Day Registrations

 So, the full rate for an individual to attend NYMC 2013 is $319. With the Early Bird discount the registration price is reduced to $279; and with the group discount the price becomes $239.

If you are interested in the Group Discount please let me know and we’ll issue a code for your Group. Please note you can use the code to register everyone at the same time … or pass the code on to each person to purchase their own registration.

It’s wonderful to have you on board as an NYMC 2013 Partner! Thank you for your support!

Diary Notes

There's never a dull moment in youth and children's ministry around the Diocese! Here are some quick bites of what's been happening lately...

11 May: SN@P Night at Bardon Parish!

The Larks in full flight

Highlights for me included the techno duo 'Three Point' and the band called 'The Larks': both very impressive! Well done to Youth Minister Nathan Haywood and Rector the Rev Colin Nicholson for making it happen.

12 May: SN@P Night at Hendra-Clayfield Parish!

24 Hours later and there's Chris Richards again setting up sound and lighting for another SN@P night. This was a more intimate setting with a different feel from the night before. I enjoyed a father-son vocal/guitar duo and also Hannah and Brenton singing together. Well done to the Rev Iain Moore for supporting this initiative, and to Chris for all of the technical work behind the scenes.

The Rev Iain Moore at the first Hendra-Clayfield SN@P night.

What is SN@P?  The SN@P Collective Facebook page is probably the best place to start. SN@P is designed as a first-level activity of engaging with the community and having people come to their local Anglican church when they wouldn't ordinarily do so.

19 May: Pentecost

Loved our Pentecost service at St Lucia which is always colourful and usually has lots of participation from young people. Helium balloons and a big cake were the go, as four children were admitted to Communion.

Christ Church St Lucia Pentecost 2012

In the afternoon, I visited Kenmore parish for their Pentecost Messy Church.  Unfortunately they were up against some very attractive events for kids (like the nearby Brookfield Show!) so numbers were modest, but I enjoyed meeting the participants and volunteer helpers who were there: it is very true that Messy Church is for all ages, not just for kids.

I was very happy to jump on to a table alongside Youth and Children's Minister Brittany Leam, where we were constructing windchimes.
 

After that, it was on to the yummiest table: "Edible Apostles" - yay! See Recipe instructions in the picture below.

The Ven. Bev Bell was all smiles: a) because Messy Church is fun and b) because she was leaving for a well-deserved and lengthy period of Long Service Leave the next day!  Have a great break, Bev!

On 21 May, I met with Bishop Alison Taylor for the first time, and it was great to have the opportunity to outline some of the strategies we are carrying out at AYCF.  I felt +Alison was rather impressed by how much is happening, so thank YOU for your part in that, whatever it may be.

22 May: Went to a great seminar run by Terry Williams and the Queensland Children's Ministry Network (QCMN), of which we are proud members.
The seminar at New Farm highlighted a cross-denominational project called Here2Stay (www.here2stay.org.au) which seeks to address the problem of people leaving the Church in their early teens.  This 'drop-out' is seen across denominations and across national borders, so the broader the response, the better. Check out the website for the first steps in our response.

Speaking of cross-denominational activity, it was good to then have a coffee with my friend and colleague Aaron Glover, the Director of Lutheran Youth of Queensland (www.lyq.org.au), a group I've admired for a long time. They run very professional, efficient youth ministry and I've learnt a lot from observing them.  Aaron and I discussed a range of topics of mutual interest including campsites and appeal projects.  More to come on those...

23 May: Time for another little road-trip which I usually enjoy.  This time it was a Sunshine Coast Area Deanery meeting at Pomona (Cooroora parish, named after the striking peak which dominates the area, and where they hold an annual 'King of the Mountain' run up and down each year. I know from past experience it's a tough, steep walk with a chain as a handrail at certain points. We had a nice lunch and meeting where I could outline what we're doing in AYCF ministry and how we may be able to assist the parishes represented. Many thanks to the Rev. Gillian Moses for her hospitality, and to Area Dean the Rev Ken Goodger for his kind invitation to appear.
(I might add that Pomona also has some renowned geocaches in the area, so I'll be back for sure, one way or another.)

25 May: Fiona Hammond and I presented a seminar on "Cybertweens: understanding child culture and offering authenticity" to the GFS Leaders Weekend.  The venue (Toc-H House at Bongaree) seemed like a great choice and we were very happy to be spending more time with this great group of people, gathered from as far away as Bundaberg.  Well done Chris Rooney for organising this weekend, and it was great to catch up with our friends from GFS / Kidsplus+ who do excellent work with their program of kids' clubs and sponsorship of many different projects.

So after all that, at the time of writing, we are just a few days away from the RISE day at St Francis College, Milton, which we hope and pray will be as successful as it was last year. Praying for presenters and attendees at RISE - that all may be blessed by what is said and heard.

Until next time - the Lord be with you!

9 Questions Everyone Should Ask Themselves About Social Media | ChurchMag

9 Questions Everyone Should Ask Themselves About Social Media | ChurchMag

Big Weeks: A Catch up!

Hi ho, well, there's never a dull moment in my travels around the Diocese! Here's a quick run through of some things I've seen recently...

Christ Church St Lucia: Bible 360

Saturday 20 April: Jonathan S and I headed to Christ Church St Lucia for our first experience of the Bible 360 course, facilitated by the Rev. Adam Lowe, usually of Noosa parish, but also now the lead project officer for Bible 360.

I enjoyed time at a table of folks from St Lucia and Indooroopilly parishes, but there were people from elsewhere too. Jonathan S and I were particularly keen to see how adaptable the course might be for a Youth audience, and I think the answer is that it's very adaptable - in fact, I don't know that there is a great deal I would change, except perhaps adding more A/V elements.  The booklets were useful, though I'm not certain I learnt a great deal of new content.  I think most of the value for me was mainly in sharing time with fellow local Anglicans, thinking about the Bible!  Admittedly, I had to miss the final afternoon input to visit St Stephen's Coorparoo for a Children's Worship recording session... but thanks to the Rev Adam and the Rev Ceri Wynne for your efforts with an appreciative group.

One memorable feature of the day was the opportunity to present a dramatic reading of the entire book of Philemon... which is not as long as it sounds. Unsurprisingly, Jonathan S and I both received roles.  JS played Paul, whose main job here was to push me through the door... while I was given the challenging role of the slave, returned to his former captor and reading out Paul's firm but fair message requesting forgiveness for a runaway slave now become Christian brother.  A very interesting experience, which would be well worth trying out as a quick activity in a youth group or other parish or school setting. 

St Stephen's Coorparoo: Children's Worship

St Stephen's is a really impressive church community in Brisbane's South / East.  Their Rector, the Rev. Josh Dinale, is definitely the only minister I know with spacers in his ears!  They employ a Children's Minister, Ms Juliet Briner, who kindly invited me to join them for an hour-long worship session where children were the focus, and which was recorded in order to become a CD - a copy of which will be generously distributed to each other parish at Synod at the end of June.

The five piece band were great, and the song leaders / choreographers were awesome. Nice to see Sarah Fowler out the front again - doing a great job with those of us who need lots of instruction on when to move hands / arms / legs / etc!

In between songs, Juliet led the children through related activities and afterwards, there was a great sausage sizzle outside, where I had a chance to catch up with Youth Ministry Intern Stephen Khu and other Coorparoo folks.

This was an excellent time of praise and worship where children were the key participants and I look forward to hearing the CD so I can relive the afternoon all over again.

 

Chinchilla and Roma: Listening to Country Voices

Not long after my fun day at St Lucia and Coorparoo, I joined eight other Anglicans from a range of different parishes and agencies on a three-day mini-bus journey, heading West to Chinchilla and then on to Roma.
The purpose of the trip was to bring to fruition a successful motion from last year's Diocesan Synod, which essentially called for city Anglicans to visit and listen to the concerns of those in the bush.  The chosen format for "listening" in a purposeful way was very interesting: "Open Space Technology" sounds like it should be concerned with satellites, but actually it means a system of running productive meetings where a range of relevant topics can be covered in ways which allow people to take turns in the discussion.  There are no white boards, no butchers' paper, no "policy outcomes", etc. Space won't allow me to go into it all here, but suffice to say, I turned from a mild sceptic into an enthusiastic convert when I saw it in practice in Chinchilla.
It was great to visit St Cecilia's Chinchilla for the first time, and catch up with the Rev. Kay Hart and husband Alan.  We broke into four groups of about twelve, and proceeded to engage in discussion for perhaps 90 minutes or so. Topics raised included the Coal Seam Gas debate, youth ministry, and the social effects of the mining boom on affordable housing in the region.  Hearing about these things at first hand was an invaluable experience.

Although Chinchilla was charming, Roma was remarkable. The Rev. Scott and Gisela Gunthorpe lead a wonderful parish at St Paul's Roma with a thriving youth and children's ministry at present, which was great to hear.
The "Open Space" session also went well; though there were fewer in attendance than in Chinchilla, we heard new stories of the ups and downs of life on the land, and similar stories of the goods and bads of the mining boom upon the township.
One of my tasks on the trip was to act as a photographer for our Diocesan Anglican Focus magazine, so hopefully you will hear more of the Roma-Chinchilla trip in the next edition.
All too soon, it seemed, we were on our way back to Brisbane, and for those who haven't travelled very far to the West recently, let me assure you that the road works are driving everyone a bit crazy, adding hours to travel time.  One of the worst spots is the Toowoomba Range crossing, which is down to one lane in each direction.  One hopes that the end results are worth the current inconvenience!

Messy Church at Sherwood

Lastly, a quick plug for the extraordinary work of the parish of St Matthew's, Sherwood and particularly their Rector, the Rev. Peter Shayler-Webb, and his awesome Messy Church team, coordinated by passionate Messy Church promoter, Sue Taylor.
I can't recommend a visit to a Sherwood Messy Church service enough!  On Good Shepherd Sunday, with the input largely based around the 23rd Psalm, I believe I experienced Messy Church worship at a world-class level.  Of course, worship is about giving the glory to God, but I must say my worship was really enhanced by the range of inter-active activities, the input from the Rev Pete, the A/V clips, the music, the care which has been taken with the physical elements within the church building, and many other aspects. It really blew me away and it reinforced my growing belief that although a Messy Church service requires a considerable amount (maybe that should be a 'huge' amount) of preparation, the results are stunning and the enthusiasm with which the congregation, particularly its younger members, become involved suggests that a parish wishing to reach out to young families should certainly be considering Messy Church as at least an option.
Sue Taylor would be extremely pleased to coach another parish in how to go about holding a Messy Church, and details on how to contact her are found on our AYCF Messy Church page.

Sue will also be offering a Messy Church elective workshop on "Everything you wanted to know about Messy Church but were afraid to ask" at our RISE training day at Milton on Saturday 1 June.  RISE is just $10 for food, a great bag with all materials, and your choice of four electives from the huge sixteen on offer.  Register now and secure your place!

Until next time, the Lord be with you!