Recently I’ve been getting a few opportunities to write about my experience of working with young people. After writing an opinion piece for Youth Work Now back in January, I’ve been asked to write another one for the June edition. I’m focusing on the Government MyPlace investment into youth facilities.
In addition, as part of my involvement with The Rank Foundation I will be writing a chapter for an upcoming publication on the Foundation’s approach to youth work called Journeying Together. It’s planned for release next year and my outline should be complete by the end of the summer.
Last week at our 11-14’s group Ignite, we had an Arty Evening where we did a number of creative activities for the 50 young people who came. One of those activities was doing chalk drawings outside which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. By using a huge stack of playground chalks, we managed to cover the car park in colourful pictures and slogans (without any swearing). Some of the girls even drew chalk outlines like dead bodies around my car with the words “Police Line - Do Not Cross!” The picture above was taken after only the first of four groups, so you can imagine how crazy it looked at the end.
At the end of the night, it was getting dark and the team had a lot to clear up inside. We left the car park as it was, knowing there was nothing offensive there and hoping that it would rain overnight. I never really thought it would be a problem!
Anyway, next morning the chalk was still there and I got in a LOT of trouble for not having cleared it up! I spent the next 40 minutes outside with buckets of water and a stiff broom trying to scrub it off the tarmac while cars came in and out. More embarrassingly, I had to leave the job half finished as I was driving up north to my brother’s wedding. Apparently I now owe some guys in the church a huge apology as they ended up scrubbing the rest away on my behalf! This is after we trashed the carpet before Christmas by playing messy games with flour, custard and mashed potato. I’m on my second strike.
Lesson learned? Never assume it’s OK to leave things out!
I’m loving the satirical news posted over at NewsBiscuit and this particular article caught my eye!
‘Supply vicars’ unable to control unruly congregation
Rural parishes unable to find permanent members of the clergy have been forced to bring in supply vicars whose inexperience and lack of authority has made them vulnerable to disruptive parishioners, says a new report.
One temporary priest was reduced to tears with heckling and catcalling during his sermon, and when he looked up he saw that all the church-goers had turned their pews round to face the opposite direction. ‘These young supply vicars do not have the experience to be able to hold the attention of wayward Christians,’ admitted the Archbishop of Canterbury. ‘The moment they turn their back they are pelted with screwed up service sheets and Alpha Course leaflets made into paper planes, and many of them just don’t know what to do.’
In a small church in South Devon, one vicar was subjected to mass humming, while another gradually became aware that the mumbling and feigned coughing around the congregation was part of a daring game where each church-goer had to say the word ‘bollocks’ slightly louder than the last. In extreme cases of disruption, tearful vicars have run out to the vestry and phoned for the bishop, who has had to come down and give the congregation a serious talking to.
‘People imagine that church-goers are serene and gentle people, but nothing could be further from the truth’ said one vicar who has quit the Church after the pressure became too great. ‘On one occassion I asked the elderly congregation what they normally did for Evensong, and the old ladies told me they usually did black mass and sacrificed a goat to Beelzebub. How was I to know it was a wind up? It was only when I smeared the goat’s blood on my face and saw them giggling that I realized I had made a bit of an idiot of myself.’
Genius!
I found this great cartoon on someecards.com that sums up my part-time business: puredisco. 
This is quite a physical game that requires some contact but is a lot of fun.
Numbers: groups of around 6 or over. Works best with around 20
Suitable for: older children and teens (8-18’s) although many adults enjoy this too!
Preparation time: none
Venue: suitable for a small hall or area
Safety First: this game involves people knocking into each other, so has a slight risk of injury (although we’ve never had a problem). If you have particularly aggressive individuals, you might want to think about wearing padding or sumo-style suits.
Equipment needed:
- pen and paper to write down scores
The Game:
Get everyone to pair up with a partner and stand opposite each other a few feet apart while lining up with other pairs. You should end up with two lines of people facing off against each other with a big space between. This is your arena! Now number each pair from 1 upwards and ask them to remember it.
When the game starts, the referee calls out a number and that pair steps forward into the arena - except that they have to keep hopping on one foot while keeping their arms folded! The idea is that by hopping around and knocking into each other, the opponents have to try and make the other put their second foot back on the floor.
By keeping their arms folded during the game, it stops people from grabbing each other and pulling their opponent down. Instead they must try and catch the other off balance
The person that remains hopping wins the battle and gains a point for their team before returning to the line. Then another pair has a go.
The referee continues to call out numbers until each pair has had a turn. You can then repeat and allow everyone another chance or you start to call out 2 numbers at a time to create bigger battles and tag teams!
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