Wiltshire Partners Summer 2018

Partners’ Newsletter Summer 2018

Director Writes – We are about young people and Jesus I was recently asked about the identity of Wiltshire Youth for Christ? The person asking pointed out that the scope of our work includes discipleship, evangelism and social action. Internally I panicked slightly, maybe we are confusing to people? What unites our work? I thought about this and realised that it is not what we do but who we are that says more about our identity. What brings our work together is a love of Jesus and a love of young people. What we do will change, but our love of Jesus and young people are

a constant for Wiltshire Youth for Christ. I am thankful for the question because it has forced me to think and articulate to myself and to you what it is that defines Wiltshire Youth for Christ. So, who are we? We are people who love Jesus and love young people and whether mentoring or presenting the gospel we long to see their lives changed by Jesus.

James Vaughton

A night of celebration and encouragement – Partners’ Evening 2018

It was amazing to see so many people at the 2018 Partners Evening at North Bradley Baptist Church. Thank you to those who contributed including a local head teacher, youth worker, church leaders and young people. With people joining us from across the county, we shared why we do what we do and showcased what is going on in Wiltshire towns and villages. One of the highlights was our Youth Awards, giving the opportunity to celebrate the achievements

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of Young People and Volunteers who are making a difference. Lauren Fox, Director of Local Ministries spoke to us all about how God brings peace and hope to the chaos of the lives of young people, which really got to the heart of what we are about. If you were unable to join us for the evening or would like to share with others, please visit www.wiltshireyfc.org.uk to have a look at our new films and see the projects that we deliver.

Connect Mentoring

The concept of arranging to meet someone on a regular basis is nothing profound. We do it all the time with friends, family and possibly with work colleagues, and the reasons for doing so are probably quite obvious – to strengthen relationship. The purpose for building relationship varies, of course, and with mentoring youngsters it is a little different to a coffee with friends or a board meeting. It seeks to develop an intentional friendship in order to provide support which maybe no one else provides. A consistent, non-judgemental listening ear. An advocate in a time of difficulty. A champion when no one else seems to care.

A recent quote from a school staff member says a lot about the value of mentoring.

“You are working wonders with LH. He now comes and speaks openly to us as pastoral staff, which he never did before.” – Mrs Taylor (John of Gaunt Pastoral team) Mentoring is, by design, a simple concept. Yet its ability to be a truly transformative venture is remarkable. But should we be surprised?

How often do we take for granted the support we have available to us – our parents, church leader or best friend? For different reasons, the young people we meet on a one-to-one basis in schools often don’t have access to these avenues of relationship. Indeed, it becomes a great privilege to be invited into this form of relationship, to be that listening ear that brings hope into someone’s life. It can also be really fun!

It has been delightful to see how our team of volunteers have developed in their confidence and have started to get creative with their time with students - hiring out a dance studio to teach dance, creating and publishing electronic music, for example. There is almost limitless creative potential with this approach!

We are always on the lookout to recruit the right people to join the team. If you’d like to explore mentoring, please join us for our mentoring training day on 9th June 2018 to explore it further. There is no commitment after the day to mentor, and the training is free of charge.

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Prayer points for Wiltshire June> • Connect Mentoring Training on 9th June • Young people as they face GCSE and A-level exams.

• Find out who in your church has exams and commit to pray for them each day during their exam time • Thank God for his provision for Wiltshire Youth for Christ over the last year • Thank God for all the great school assembly opportunities Steve has and pray for him as he delivers them in primary schools in villages such as Potterne, Great Cheverell, Market Lavington and Seend

July> • Preparation for GSUS Live in November and December • Our Connect Mentoring volunteers who serve in schools across the area • Pray for the children in Bradford on Avon and Melksham who have been supported by the Accompanying Project as they head to secondary school • Thank God for the new projects established this year such as mentoring and the Christian Union in St. Laurence School • Trowbridge Pop-Up Youth Café taking place the week beginning 30th July

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August> • Devizes Pop-Up Youth Café taking place the week beginning 6th August • Recruitment of volunteers for GSUS Live to deliver material and to help with the setup.

• Potterne Youth Club and the young people of Potterne • Pray for the Christian Union as it looks to restart in the new term, for the return of those who had been coming along and that folk who are new to the school will join too • Pray for those who give time to serve children and young people in your church

September> • For young people and school staff as the new term begins • For young people heading to University that they will connect with their Christian Union and a new local church • Please pray for God to provide for what he has called us to in the coming year in terms of team and finances • Pray for Rev. Barry Blackford, Alison Bennett, Rev. Keith Brindle and Catherine Haddow as they serve us on our Advisory Group • Pray for Steve, Dan and James at the start of this new term

Equipping people to volunteer in youth work Do you feel equipped to work with young people? Would you like some basic volunteer youth work training? Wiltshire Youth for Christ has trained over 50 volunteers with our three session Volunteer Youth Work Training. We are running the next training morning on Saturday 6th October from 9-1pm.

To book your place please email admin@wiltshireyfc.org.uk or go to www.wiltshireyfc.org.uk and book online.

Sharing the hope of the Gospel in local schools In partnership with Counties Evangelists, Wiltshire Youth for Christ are introducing the GSUS Live Tour to Wiltshire later in the year. The tour will be running for 6 weeks in Secondary Schools each week after the October ½ term break. Starting in Warminster before heading to Trowbridge for a few weeks then Devizes and finally Bradford on Avon.

It’s going to be a great opportunity to support schools and students with this fantastic resource that features discussion and short films, helping students consider issues from a Christian perspective. The session complements existing teaching in the RE, PSHE, Ethics or Citizenship syllabus.

We would love for the local church family to get involved in supporting secondary schools. Please contact Dan Webb or Steve Dewar to find out how you can help. This could include setting up/packing down/ supporting staff with delivery of sessions, or standing with us in prayer.

Staying on our mailing list!

It is very important to us that we are able to keep in touch with you through our newsletter and other correspondence from time to time.

Due to new legislation (The General Data Protection Regulations – GDPR) we will only be able to send our newsletter to you if you OPT IN to receive it. If you receive this newsletter by post, please complete and return the enclosed form in the reply envelope, or to save our costs, please send us an email with the information, so that we can keep in touch. If we don’t receive instructions from you, we will delete your details from our database and no longer send you the newsletter.

Our Privacy Notice, detailing how we process personal data and your rights can be found on our website. If you would like to receive a paper copy of this, please contact Lisa Hawkins on 01225 336055, or admin@wiltshireyfc.org.uk Thank you for your help with this.

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Walk Wiltshire 2018 When telling people about Walk Wiltshire we faced rather contrasting reactions. One or two said to me, “that sounds amazing,” others were less certain and when we told them the length and the timescale declared, “that’s going to hurt” or “sounds like a route-march!” Well in a sense they were all right.

Walk Wiltshire was our sponsored 100km (60mile) walk from Malmesbury Abbey to Salisbury Cathedral, which took place on 18-19 May. We set out at 6am on Friday morning, with the weather set fair and headed south west. Our route took us through beautiful villages, along river and canal edges and through a lot of fields. We walked Salisbury Plain, faced blisters, heat and painful knees and were chased by cows, but made it to the cathedral before 9pm on the

Saturday! Thank you to all who sponsored us and helped us raise over £4,500, once the gift aid is in. We have written a fuller report of what we got up to, and you can read it online at www.wiltshireyfc.org.uk/walkwilts2018.

Salt and light in the summer holidays Last year our skate competition during the Trowbridge Pop-Up Youth Café drew about 50 young people. It was a fantastic way for Christians in the area to show that they value young people and put on something exciting and positive. We know our Pop-Up Café is a great project and wonder whether you might like to be part of it?

This summer will see us running two weeks of the Pop-Up Youth Café, scheduled for w/c 30th July in Trowbridge and w/c 6th August in Devizes. It offers a safe and fun space, with activities and refreshments provided.

We engage with lots of local young people who may have little to do over the summer break and some we know from our schools work, so it is also a great way to strengthen and develop new relationships.

If you would like to give a day or two to help out, please email steve@wiltshireyfc.org.uk and for more details visit http://www.wiltshireyfc.org.uk/ popupyouthcafe/.

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A space for young people to grow in faith Starting up an after school Christian Union (CU) at St Laurence has been a fantastic experience. It’s been 5 months since we began meeting with a handful of students to get to know one another, to pray for one another and to explore the challenges of following Jesus with integrity in a school context.

purposes of the CU and similar groups – and finish around 4.15pm. Within that hour, we eat crisps and doughnuts (among other unhealthy snacks) play games, chat about our week, and cover a topic around living for Jesus in school. At the end, we pray for one another for something that is challenging us that week.

The group is small but diverse; with people from a variety of churches, year groups and friendship circles. We gather at 3pm straight after school every Thursday in the “Breathing Space” – a room recently refurbished for the

It’s important that everyone feels welcome to the CU, so if you know someone who attends St Laurence School and may be interested in joining us each Thursday, please let Dan know! (dan@wiltshireyfc.org.uk).

We are making a difference in rural Wiltshire

Potterne Youth Club has a great group of 15-20 young people coming along every week. We continue to serve young people in the village and surrounding area. In addition to the weekly open sessions, Steve and local volunteer Nicky Lockyer are actively engaging with teenagers to be a positive and integral part of their communities.

Recent discussions have included young

people raising questions with Devizes MP Claire Perry, participating in a consultation with Barnardos and highlighting needs to the local Parish Council. Children and Teenagers are also getting stuck into the Potterne Community Garden with events including Messy Church and a Memorial Service with the Royal British Legion amongst others taking place throughout the year.

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Together we can see young people’s lives changed by Jesus.

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