Tower and Town, February 2020

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Young People And The Church

I remember my first encounter with youth work in Marlborough. It was a Thursday-evening ‘Hangout’ session in Wesley Hall organised by the ecumenical Devotion Youth Project, where young people literally can hang out for an hour-and-a-half. I felt very much out of place surrounded by loud music, scooters, a tuck shop and about thirty teenagers milling around without a clear purpose.

Over the past few years, however, I have come to appreciate the value of offering times and places where young people can be themselves and, if they wish, have access to friendly adults who are willing to listen to them.

Most of the time, the role of the adults is providing food (toasties or pizzas) and hot chocolate, or playing endless rounds of table tennis, but it is often then that suddenly a meaningful and important conversation takes place. I remember particularly one evening when we lit candles in remembrance of someone whom many knew. Suddenly the atmosphere changed, and there was an intensity to the moment which I will not forget.

Working with young people is about building up relationships, realising that there is much to learn from each other. The annual Get There! Holiday Club started again in the summer of 2017. About 30-40 children and half the number of adults gather for three days of activities in August, including the building of bird-boxes and culminating in a full-blown water fight on the last morning. After a couple of years, both children and volunteers are looking forward to the next instalment.

As the state provision for youth work has been cut back, more and more comes down to the initiatives of volunteers and voluntary organisations. It is a challenge to provide our young people with the support and services they need, not just for a lack of money, but also because it is often hard to know where to start.

However, it is worth giving it a go. Spending an evening a week surrounded by teenagers, toasties and dance music may not suit everyone, but maybe you would consider teaching youngsters how to bake a cake or how to build a bird-box? A lot of projects already happen across Marlborough – some of which you’ll find in this issue of Tower & Town – and there is more that can be done.

Get in touch with one of the schools, clubs or churches if you’d like to explore the opportunities to get involved.

Janneke Blokland