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?