Christmas Stress Some years ago I wrote a blog post entitled ‘Christmas isn’t Easy’ that looking back seems to reveal more about my own chaotic life than perhaps I’d realised. Here’s an excerpt from that post: “If you’re like me you’ve read that title and practically spat out your tea/coffee/wine/hard liquor. Of course, Christmas isn’t […]
Celebrating in the Dark I see a lot of posts at this time of year from many people talking about not celebrating darkness, but the light. It refers of course to Halloween and the slightly uneasy relationship many Christians seem to have with this festival, despite it having Christian roots. There seems to be an
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Reflections I like to think of myself as a positive person; I have a relentlessly optimistic outlook that can be wearing at times! Every now and then though, I find myself reacting with cynicism, and a passing glance at an email ‘highlight’ this week about the participation of young people in worship has got my
A couple of weeks ago I had a great podcast chat with James and Mike of the Concrete Academy. I used to work with James on the Mental Health and Young People Think Tank and Mike and I have often chatted on Twitter so it was an easy conversation with lots of laughter – always
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Advent – the liminal space I wasn’t brought up in the Anglican church, so I hadn’t heard much about Advent and the beginning of the church year until well into adulthood. Now though, there is something quite other-worldly, something quite unsettling about the time that runs up to Christmas. We might be rushing about buying
Route Mapping for Youth Workers We stand in the edge of something new, not a temporary change, not a small tweak but the beginning of a new way of living. A whole new world, to borrow a line from Disney. What do we as youth workers need to know about the way ahead? Mourn We
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Sanctuary and Sabbath – youth work in 2020 It may feel like a cliché but it’s pretty clear that in the years to come historians will study this time we are living in now to see how different countries and communities responded to the various concerns that are currently making waves: Covid-19; the responses of
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