I escaped last week to the costa del sol and there was plenty of sol. After two months in the job i took my first weeks holiday. It was so nice to sit on the balcony and eat fresh cheese and bread while drinking 75 cents cider.

my usual travel home

The last time I left a post I was on a bus traveling home from uni. Again I am travel home but this time it's the train.
As I have said before the time away is although sometimes a hassel it has the feeling of refreshness attached to it.
I have no idea what I was dreaming about last night but I remembering waking up this morning thinking I need to write that down.
Although that thought has very much been forgotten. The quote of the day today has to be 'you are never more awake than when your asleep'
Nice idea I think because as the writer whom I have forgotten points out when we sleep we are shut off from the interference that can get in the way. Now I know from personal perspective that I can dream some crazy dreams but as with most things in the midst of the crazyness some times truth can peak through.
Now this does not mean I will be sleeping more but I guess as I approach the end of my second month at the job I am realising that I may be a litte to caught up in looking in forward instead of spending time with God in the now.
In so spending time in the now I will be able to find the time I need to be organised better something that I find a challenge.
The problem is that I feel the need to prove myself but to do that I need to let tomorrow look after itself in many ways although keeping an idea on were I'm going.
It will be a challenge but I just have to remember what I have learnt from two years of cym.

catch up

So it has been a while since I blogged but life has been well busy.
I am just on my way back from a set of study days at cambridge which has been a nice break from the first month in the job.
I don't mean that to be taken out of context but over the past few days I have been able to reflect about where I need to concentrate my efforts.
The problem is where do you start. Having the responsibility for everything youthful and young adulty which when translated means anyone aged eight and up. You can become overwhelmed by the task.
I think if I would not have been part of cym for the past three years I would been freaked out but having the extra knowledge behind me has given me the confidenc I need. So what am I trying to do at the minute?
I have been set the challenge of trying to reach out to the 18 to 25 group that have had or did have recent contact with the church. Not an easy challenge as this group may have moved off long ago. I have tried to make contact but no little success but I will keep trying.
The two other areas I trying to develop are the sunday morning 11 -14 group and the youth club looking group that currenly ranges from ages of 8 to poentially 16 what's that about?
So over the course of the next month I plan to introduce a bit of structure and plans which I hope won't be seen as scary change but helpful hand

The first week

The first week is over and it has been a quiet one but had a few good conversations. 

Although i do get to start my new term or Cambridge this week. Final year and three terms of ridley hall left till i am a degree qualified youth worker.

Tuesday 2nd September

Today's task find a desk and book myself on to the child protection training.

It does amuse me slightly how every denomination has to tick that you have done their training on child protection and that i am told it will take 14 -16 weeks to complete my pre employment checks. A new department was set up to look at this but does not seem to be working to well.

Apart from that my new desk hopefully will be an abbey national reject but the man in the shop said it was real oak yeah right. Other wise day two has been a little quiet. 

The problem i am trying to think through is that i have a list of people i need to contact. They are 18-30's but how do i do it. Do i do cold phone calls on them, do i call at their hose and say hi you haven't seen any one from Dunmurry for a while how you doing or do i send a card introducing myself and follow up with the rest?

But one thing is for sure i miss the london buzz and the coffee but i know it will get better.

Day One

Today is not only the day when Northern Ireland schools head back for a new term but also the first day of my new Job with Dunmurry Presbyterian. 

In true youth work style my first meeting of the day was at 2:30pm a nice gentle start with the boss. 

The more i am shown round the area and the church the more i potential i can see. The only side effect is the more potential the more work i see to release that potential. 

Dunmurry is one of Belfast's disputed areas is it Lisburn is it Belfast but for sure it is an area that has been under resourced by any form of youth work for a long time.

I worked for a church once who talked about their mission being to re open old wells and to plant new ones and the more i reflect upon the job the more i see that this is an old well that has become clogged up. 

It is still providing people with water but people have moved away to find better drinking wholes. Where do i fit in well lets try and clean up and re build the wells and see where we get to.

Something new

Its official i have a new job. I was called back to an interview i originally could not attend and have been offered a new job. There are still things to sort out but for i will be actually earning again.
The best bit is that i will be doing a lot of community work and will be in the right sort of place to explore my dissertation.

sweet!!!

Heinz Deli Mayo TV Ad

So the Guardian has reported today that this add has been pulled from TV Screens. The reason for this was 200 people complained that it promoted same sex relationships.
Surely if these people actually watched the add they will see that the idea is not about same sex any thing but the traditional New York deli.
Is the UK really that homophobic? That is the question i would like to ask.

last week of fieldwork!!!

This week sees the last of the dreaded field work. And of course it has only been toward the end that i have actually started to enjoy it. I have been able to reflect and engage with ome nice thinking.
And i have have even been able to share my thinking with the young people now that is something new!

I am trying to work through a journal at the minute. The aspect i am trying to look at is something that challenged me while i was working with the Northern Ireland Youth forum. The question is what is the difference between Youth work and youth ministry? Age old question but one which has caused resulting tension.
Some people would believe that i am being trained as a Christian Youth Worker rather than a Youth Minister. But is this a case of their ignorance or are they actually right?

petrol

Just looked at my mate neil fox's blog and found http://www.petrolprices.com/ a really useful site for finding cheap petrol!

cheers mate!

Ten Pounds of Change

I have just finished my first week with the Northern Ireland Youth Forum (NIYF). I actually just got back from one of their Executive residential which was really refreshing. The reason why it was refreshing is that NIFM is youth lead so it is young people fighting for the needs of young people.
One of the projects i will be working with is called ten pounds worth of change. The background to the project is to try and get young people to think about how they would change their community if they had a spare ten pounds.

( http://tenpoundsworthofchange.org/elgg/content/About )

Have a check out and see what its about!

In less than 36 hour i am heading home to Belfast to work with the Northern Ireland Youth Forum for the next month. I'm looking forward to getting to grips with northern Irish culture again.
http://www.niyf.org/

Film i just watched

Thanks to some lovely people i am now on Tesco dvd.
My latest film arrived the Constant Gardener arrived on Friday but i was only able to sit down and watch it last night and well i finished it this morning.
I must admit that i was unsure what to expect. To be honest i got it mixed up with Garden State when i selected it and yeah i know two completely different movies. But i must admit my mistake was a good one.
It was one of those movies that moves you to think.
Although it was a story the cross references to real life are very true i believe. The main thing that i felt was coming through was our continued abuse of Africa.
Yes the days of colonialism have passed but in many ways we in the west were still controlling many countries through our misuse of power. The film highlighted the use of a drug trial for the treatment of TB as a way we in the west were making money out of our supposed good nature. But The drug was killing as many as it was curing due to the uncharted side effects.Side effects which could have been fixed if not for the millions of pound the multination companies did not want to spend.
And then yesterday I watched a film called the mission which was set around the time when we the west carved up south america. And the church instead of taking care of the indigenous peoples turned their back on them.
I guess what i have been challenged with in the past few days is what am i doing?
I am finding more and more that visual media is challenging and inspiring me to think. And in particular causing me to think and reflect theologically!
The other question i am challenged with is how do i take this challenge back into my work or even more my Youth ministry.
Maybe thoughts will come to me but i know to start with is that i want to work for an organisation which helps the poor, the marginalised and the weak. But i think maybe my thinking will grow more on this one! lets hope so