Churches creating safer communities for young people
From an article by Compassionate Communities London
We know the young people in our communities need safe spaces to grow up in. What part can churches play as part of the mission of God?
It can feel hard to know what it is a church can do, in the face of the enormous scale of the challenge: the fear of youth violence that so many face; the rise in mental health struggles, and the need for stable adults to mentor and befriend. Compassionate Communities present three churches telling three inspiring stories of their own response.
With different traditions, resources, contexts and callings, they all talk about what it looks like for them to play their part in creating safer communities for all young people.
Father Sam Cross of St Thomas's, Kensal Town talks about the call to understand young people’s lives; the gift of presence, stability, and a place to talk; and the importance of holding the name “Father”:
When I was younger, I've been a latchkey kid and I've just gone home and opened up the house and gone in and and waited for my parents to come home.
But there's a reticence for some of the parents to allow their children to do that for fear of people calling social services or if they're older children, bringing around everyone from their class and having a party in the house. So very often, they just send them off to one of the local fast food restaurants with a few pounds and they hang out there and then the local gangs make contact with them and ask them to do a 'favour'. Then before you know it, you're running drugs for a gang that you didn't even know existed.
We wanted to try and provide a space where where youngsters could come. We take everyone from the primary schools around the area. Even though they're young, it provides a space for them to have a sense of community, to be together, to join in with activities.
It gives them a different way of being so that as they get older they don't get easily groomed into that other way of life. They already have somewhere where they feel is theirs, somewhere they can go, people that they know and trust. Adults they can talk to, give them some guidance, some mentoring and see some way of life that is different to to what is offered on the streets.
I think the biggest impact is that they know that there is always someone there for them. One of the problems is broken homes. In this area there's lots of families who who have had turbulent relationships. I think post lockdown has been a make or break time for a lot of couples and there are lots of children here who don't have both parents around.
In this way of expressing the Christian faith, I am called 'Father' and I take it really seriously. I am there to be a father spiritually to people and for those children as well. If I can be there and offer some stability, some support, some presence, that's part of my calling and my duty. I think that's why I'm here.
Two other churches tell their stories:
Mill Hill East Church - Femi Onanuga from Mill Hill East Church, a Baptist/URC church, talks about the importance of fun as they build relationships on their local estate that lead to transformation; how having an open door helps the church understand more of the life of young people.
Hope Church Hounslow - Chris Kettel talks of the youth work that seeks to bring hope to young people in the parish: partnering with the council on the local estate; helping year 6 transition in schools; offering football and Jesus.
View all the stories here.
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From an article by Compassionate Communities Londo, 07/11/2023