the third youthwork summit is taking place in london on saturday 19th may at jesus house church and conference centre in brent cross, north london.

the format is an attempt at providing a greater range of speakers, talking for no more than 15 mins, it works well and ensures you don't get just one opinion or approach.

it costs £30 per person for the day.

a group from the synod youth and children's work committee will be there.  if you're going, let us know and we'll meet up over (free!) coffee.

find out more about the day here: http://www.youthworksummit.com/

you can download the programme here: http://www.youthworksummit.com/downloads/yws_programme.pdf

today thames north synod held another children@synod.

we had a full programme including visits from:

- ashley evans from newham urc talking about the olympics

- val morrison, co-moderator of general assembly answering and asking questions

- john mackerness, chaplain at heathrow airport

plus loads of input from the young people.  here are some pictures taken today.

Many churches face the difficulty of having only one or two teenagers in the church. This can lead to them feeling isolated and alone – no matter how much the church tries to involve them.

Sometimes, attending an event with other young people the same age as them can reinvigorate their faith, show them that they aren’t alone and help them to make friends with other young Christians outside of their local circle.

The My Face, Our Place, God’s Space event has been organised by the United Reformed Church to do just that – a weekend of fun, worship and activities helping younger teenagers to explore life, the world in which we live and the faith we share.

It’s being held at Crossways, Yardley Hastings URC (Castle Ashby Road, Yardley Hastings NN7 1EL) and costs just £50 for the whole weekend.

Application forms will be available at Synod in March but, in the meantime, if you would like further information, please contact Simon Rudiger, Children's and Youth Development Officer

(text borrowed from http://www.nwsynod.org.uk/)

youth assembly 2012 takes place in a little over three weeks and the deadline for applications is tomorrow (friday 6th jan), if you haven't let us know if you want to go, get in touch NOW!!!!

it should be a great weekend at a super new venue, a great opportunity to make new friends and get involved in how the church moves and changes.

'supporting young people to make their communities better places to be'

starbucks, like many businesses, have a corporate responsibility programme; this one focuses on funding youth projects.  if you are aged 16-24 or work with young people who are that age, you can apply for up to £2,000

click on the link below for more information, including funding criteria, and to download the application form.  the deadline to apply for funds is 9am 5th march.  let us know how you get on!

http://starbucks.co.uk/responsibility/community/youth-action

here are two reports from thames north pilots to september synod; for the 75th anniversary picnic and the v&n residential.

Click here to download:

TNS_Pilots_Big_Picnic_report_to_Synod.docx (2.16 MB)

Click here to download:

V&N_report_to_TNS_sept_2011.docx (2.39 MB)

There are 200 x £20 places up for grabs at the  Institute of Fundraising’s one-day conferences for voluntary and non profit organisations with a voluntary income of less than £250,000. The IoF’s usual conference rate is £225 for non-members and £175 for members, so it’s a significant saving if the programme fits with what you’re looking at. They’re all in London and the deadline for applications is 30 August. Visit the IoF website and go to the links for individual conferences to see if it’s for you.

Pilots, aged between 5 and 18, along with their Officers and Captain gathered together to celebrate 75 years of Pilots, and 18 years of Pilots in Chesham.  Pilots Development Officer, Karen Bulley-Morrison, who started Chesham Pilots in 1993, joined Chesham Pilots during their celebration worship to lead the re-dedication of the Pilots Company.

During the service of re-dedication, the Pilots, Officers and Captain reconfirmed their promise to “learn, serve and pray, all they can, with the world wide church of Jesus Christ”. The whole church family joined together for the service and reiterated their commitment to the Pilots Company. The congregation included church members who had been Pilots during the 1940s who brought the history of Pilots alive with their memories of Pilots at that time.  In the past few weeks, Pilots have been on a voyage of discovery, learning about what life was like for children and young people growing up through the decades since Pilots started in 1936.

Captain of Chesham Pilots, Margaret Irvine, commented:  “It is wonderful to have Pilots of all ages, including our present Pilots and those who were Pilots in the 1940s all together.  It is also a joy to have Karen, who started Pilots in Chesham 18 years ago, with us to lead our re-dedication.  We are filled with hope for the next 75 years!”

Karen Bulley-Morrison, the Pilots Development Officer, based in London, commented: “It is always a joy to visit Companies, and particularly so to join with Chesham for their service of re-dedication after 18 years.”

Commitment for Life is working in partnership with Christian Aid to offer a successful applicant the chance to join an enthusiastic group of like minded people for 10 months (late August 2011 to June 2012.) During this time they will be given training on how to deliver workshops and inspire people to become involved in justice issues within the URC and get a chance to see the work of Christian Aid partners in Sierra Leone first hand.

This is a London based volunteer post with accommodation and travel costs provided. The closing date for applications is Monday June 27th

This is a unique opportunity for someone wanting to gain work experience whilst working with young people and having support. Application forms should be sent to Linda Mead at lmeadcforl@gmail.com

If you would like to know more please contact Linda

one of the churches in the thames north synod are partnering in the recruitment a youth work co-ordinator.

it's an exciting new role with lots of scope and potential for impacting the local community.

click on the link below to find out more about the position:

http://www.leytonstoneunitedfree.co.uk/html/youth_work_coordinator.htm