So you must be our new chap then?!

 As you may have gathered from the ending of the last blog post things are well under way in my new job. It has been a whirlwind two weeks of names, faces and places but things are going well. What is it I am doing you ask, well my official title is “Youth and Schools worker”. To make it easier though, I break it down for people. I essentially have two jobs, I am the Youth Worker for St. Margaret’s Church, Chipstead and I am also a part time secondary schools worker for an organisation called SparkFish.

How did it all go?

First of all thank you for all your prayers and good luck’s I really appreciate it, new starts are always a bit nerve racking but hey it is (so far) all going well. I started on 1^st September as SMC (St. Margaret’s Chipstead) and was introduced to the team, Rev. Phil Jackson and the lovely people there. I met with the youth leadership team as well and it was a bit of a whirlwind first day. Lovely to meet with the people I would be working with after three whole months of waiting. The next day I was introduced to the SparkFish team and had a great day chatting through what I would be doing with them. Day three of the job Liz (leader of the schools work at SparkFish) drove to Market Harborough … for a day of SRE (Sex, relationships education) training. Although it sounds a bit grim, it was a fantastic day and the training was extremely good. It was mainly about how young people should respect each other and their bodies, something that I feel is vitally important and lacking in the younger generation. It was also a brilliant chance to get to know Liz who I will be working with over the next three years.

After my weekend (Fri,Sat) I was introduced to my new church and had to make three services 8,9 and 10:45. I met the Sunday morning youth group – a bunch of fantastic young people and I can’t wait to get working with them. I have just finished planning their session for this Sunday and I think they are going to have great fun. I also met the Sunday evening group which is for older teens and we had a BBQ and chatted about how they wanted the group to go (it is in a state of transition). The group had been two strong before I started but with a new intake of younger people coming through and boys (!!!) we are up to 7 now. We had a group meeting last night and they have asked to make a mock refugee camp outside the church to raise awareness outside of the crisis and raise money for Tearfund – so on 10/11^th October we are going to be sleeping in our own “camp” and talking to the church about our experiences and why we feel it is important to do something about this situation.

Meanwhile things with SparkFish are going well I have been into some local schools meeting heads and discovering the role I will be playing. One local school has actually helped to fund my post and are having me in school all day for one day a week. I will be working with their vulnerable children, supporting them and running clubs/courses in school to help them out. I had my first day of that this week and it went well I obviously cant say too much because of confidentiality but it has been great fun getting to know some of the students and encouraging them already – some even came up to me because they remembered me from my interview day!!

This week we have a SparkFish service which happens once a year which should be good, I will be saying a little piece about why I’m here, Liz will be doing the talk and I’m sure it’s going to be great.

So really that is it for now! It’s all new, its all still a bit crazy and nervy but I’m liking it.

Watch this space ;)

New Church Selfie .. 

Selfie with Rev Phil Jackson ... There is a reason for all these selfies ... #sparkfishselfies

Was It Worth It? Pt. 3 What do I miss? What have I missed? The End.

What do I miss?

Having been back for about a month now I have had a good time to think about what I really do miss about my time in the North. First of all is my friends, I made so many friends and I hated just leaving that all behind, that was really difficult. It was nice to have a really good network of friends around me in Cumbria and I hope to keep in touch with you all. Of course I will be up to visit at some point. Secondly MOUNTAINS. Or generally nice landscapes to go and enjoy in my free time. I have had a ton of free time in the past month and had I been in Cumbria I would have probably bagged all the Wainwrights by now well … maybe some more. Don’t get me wrong Surrey is lovely with its wooded patches and open meadows but it is nothing on Cumbria. Thirdly I miss the job. It was a fantastic opportunity to sit in on Vic’s job. There is so much variety to the work and I miss that – but hey I haven’t started my new one yet! I would also say busyness but I think that will also change in a weeks time. I miss Ulverston as well …There is something about that small town that is just awesome. It’s such a nice place to have spent the last year, with all it’s little quirks and random festivals. Again Fetcham just isn’t a patch on it. I also miss the friendliness of Northerners, us southerners just need to stop being grumpy and talk to each other. Sadly my Southern grumpy face has re-emerged.

What have I missed?  

Music: In my first month of being back home I have filled a lot of my time with music, I have missed it so much. I have four gigs lined up before Christmas which I am stoked for. Music always has been one of favourite things and I just ran out of time in Cumbria to really give it much thought. Not that that is a bad thing! So I have been getting back into my heavy stuff with a vengeance. It’s funny because not much has really happened with my favourite bands over the past year but now they are all kicking off – Maiden have a new album out, Trivium are coming out with their new album, Ihsahn is recording and playing London in November … I could go on and bore you.

GuitarGuitar: I have missed making trips into my favourite guitar shop in Epsom, and being able to pick up a fresh pair of strings whenever I want. That was a huge pain in Cumbria. I have been to GG at least once a week since being back …

Playing guitar: It was only when I got home that I really noticed how out of shape I had become with my playing. I’m now back on track and usually play every day – He says not having picked up a guitar today.

My Family: I missed my family while I was away. It has been a tough year for us, so it’s really nice to be back around them. Even though it does mean the regular repetition of what my job is to my nan, bless her. “So it’s not a proper job then?” Yes Nan it is. “So you’re a vicar?” No nan. “So youre a teacher?” Not quite Nan … It goes on and on.

General accessibility: At least there aren’t mountains or lakes in my way anymore – although Box Hill is ruining my average MPG.

So really to close a chapter, as you can tell I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in the north. It has been hugely formative on who I am now. What I have experienced this past year has helped me grow to be a much better person. Someone said to me, “God makes peoples paths cross for his purpose.” Just think about that for a minute. It makes me think actually in the last year I have met so many people, if I could show them just a bit about him, what a privilege that is.  So next time you’re out and about think whose paths am I crossing? I miss the north a lot, but the next chapter has just begun. It’s been absolutely fantastic and I could go on for ages but I think all I can say is thank you to everyone who has been a part of it, you have all been amazing and don’t worry this Southerner will be back in the North sometime soon!

Was it worth it? Pt 2: Highs and Lows

This part of my rather large summary of the year deals with the highs and lows of my time in Cumbria. It's mainly highs honestly! 

Highs and Lows: It’s been a year full of highs; I think really the first one I really remember was moving into The Ensoll’s house and thinking wow, I’m here – day one has arrived. It was a lovely day getting to know the family I was going to be living with, finding out about the town doing a bit of exploring and getting to know the quirky town that is Ulverston. Getting to experience life outside of my little Surrey bubble has been great. It’s certainly different in the North but I have loved it. The people are much more friendly and that makes the world of difference you know. It really changes the atmosphere of a place. There was a huge feeling that God was in this place because of it, and really it is because God is love and he wants us to love. I feel it so much more back in Surrey now, nobody has the time, its all about who did what and who’s your friend, how much money you have etc. One of my great hopes for the south is that we can break out of this mentality … one day. This leads me on to my next high, which is the people – people of the Furness deanery and Ulverston Parish you guys are awesome. You made me feel so welcome, I enjoyed getting to know you all and sharing my year with you. You gave me time and gave me so many wonderful opportunities which I am so grateful for. From having me round for a meal to going for walks or days out to even sitting in my car while I practiced driving to pass my test you guys did it all! I had so much fun with you, it helped me certainly to be more sociable and its just another part of me that has changed in the past year. I am certainly not liking being home and not having my usual pub buddies around or fell walking companions. 

The variety of experience has also been something that I have relished over this past year. It has shaped me and helped me to realise what it is that I feel God has been calling me to do. I got the chance to experience schools work, which I found out I love. Without this experience I wouldn’t being going on to be a youth and schools worker – more on that in another post I think. I have had the chance to preach, to lead worship (once with about 10 mins warning and someone else’s guitar in front of about 50 people), set up a group, admin (as boring as it sounds it is all good practice), help to run a prayer space and all the planning of that with Vic, the same with a youth group residential you know there is so much that I could write. It has been huge experientially. The people I have worked with have been awesome, youth leaders always rising to the challenge with huge vision for inspiring the young people to walk with Jesus. The young people being as bonkers and fun as usual but embracing me and my southern weirdness into their even weirder northern rural culture (again I joke) and the UPC staff always supportive, friendly and constantly dealing with my bad puns, awful jokes and hilarious moments.

Another high point has been working with these wonderful people! Miss them and their banter so much!

Being close to the Lake District has been a monumentally huge high – Being able to go out and climb/walk nearly every week has been so great. I am lost without it. My boots have come out about twice since I have gotten home. I flick back through my pictures of all the walks I have done envious but happy with all the mountains I have conquered. It has helped me to be a bit more of an outdoorsy person as well and being a bit more bold in my choice of route. Its been fun, dangerous at times but so worth it. From nearly falling to my demise on Bowfell through to scaling the razor spine of Sharp Edge I have loved every mountainous moment of it. Cheers to all those who joined me or were my emergency contacts on my walks.

I seriously miss my mountains: Possibly the best walk of the year with Mark and Andrew! Sharp Edge is great - do it if you dare/get the chance!

The other thing that I really enjoyed is the other interns. We really were a team and great friends. We may not have seen each other as much as we had liked but when we did get together we had fantastic times. It was great to have their friendship but also prayers and support. It was nice to be able to talk to others who were going through the same thing. These people from across world have become dear friends and I really do miss them! There are many more highlights but this is already huge as it is so I think we will stop there for now.

Interns of 2014/15: Definitely a high point spending time with these wonderful people!

So the lows, well – really there aren’t that many and I will keep it brief. Personally it has been far from an easy year. Many of you have known there have been issues beneath the surface and moments where I would have loved to have just dropped everything and gone home. It’s been tough being away from home and family but I am glad I made the move. After all what is a mere 300 miles at the end of the day! From the very bottom of my heart I would like thank you all both south and north for your prayers for me and my family in what has been a difficult year, we really appreciate it. Especially I would like to thank Vic, who has been a real super star through it all – its been fantastic to have a boss that you can class as a good friend at the end of the day! So apart from that other lows … Oh man, the accent – seriously Cumbria … at first it was funny. Only joking! The other low really is just running out of time with you all. I wish it could have been a bit longer!