One of the things that regularly trouble me, as someone who still refers to himself as a youth worker, is the amount of bad publicity that young people get these days. At the beginning of April I was privileged to be part of a team that went with Tearfund Scotland to visit Uganda and while I was there found a truly inspirational story of the way in which young people can make a difference if we would only believe in them and trust them.
As a teenager I did not enjoy reading, particularly reading fictional books. In Secondary School English class we were presented with a book that I just thought was bizarre – a strange story about talking animals taking over the farm. As I returned to the class a week or so later wondering what the teacher would say about this 'silly' book (or so I thought), I was caught by surprise.
It is still pitch black as I drive into the College car park wishing that the Kingston Bridge was always as quiet as it is at 6.30am on a Sunday morning. I pray for all those that often fill these roads in their metal boxes with rubber wheels. I then enter the College and walk through those deserted, quiet, and somewhat lonely corridors of the College which are normally filled with the welcome sound of staff and students laughing, chatting and showing love to each other. I pause for a moment to pray for those students, asking God to bless them with peace and love but also to challenge them with that radical call to mission.
I arrive at the prayer room door to be met by a pair of shoes.
In Britain today, there is a controversial court case taking place regarding a 10 year old and and 11 year old who are charged with killing two other boys in Doncaster in April 2009. This is a tragic case as there is the potential for not only two lives to be destroyed but rather four young lives never mind the impact that this event has on their families.
The central focus of the Nativity is obviously the birth of Jesus Christ, however one of the other characters in the story that interests me is that of Herod in chapter 2 of the Gospel of Matthew. My interest in Herod comes primarily from my interest in politics and government.
On the 4th June 2009 the United Kingdom electorate will be encouraged to go and vote for their local representative of the European Parliament (MEP), however very few people actually take up their electoral right. There are a number of reasons for this including a lack of understanding of the role of the European Union and its history. This guide is simply to give a brief history of the political and economic events that influenced the birth and development of the Union. In turn this history should help us to understand some of the rationale and purposes underpinning the Union and some of the reasons why it may be important to us.
As a teenager I did not enjoy reading, particularly reading fictional books. In Secondary School English class we were presented with a book that I just thought was bizarre – a strange story about talking animals taking over the farm. As I returned to the class a week or so later wondering what the teacher would say about this 'silly' book (or so I thought), I was caught by surprise.
It is still pitch black as I drive into the College car park wishing that the Kingston Bridge was always as quiet as it is at 6.30am on a Sunday morning. I pray for all those that often fill these roads in their metal boxes with rubber wheels. I then enter the College and walk through those deserted, quiet, and somewhat lonely corridors of the College which are normally filled with the welcome sound of staff and students laughing, chatting and showing love to each other. I pause for a moment to pray for those students, asking God to bless them with peace and love but also to challenge them with that radical call to mission.