Live in love

I don't normally do blog posts so close together but today is a special one.
Today was a very sad day in Fetcham, it was the funeral and thanksgiving for Patrick and Gillian Kettyle, a couple who were tragically murdered in my home village in November. I didn't know them in person but I know their son who on occasion came to the youth group I ran. When the incident happen my thoughts turned immediately to my home town and more importantly to this poor young man who had lost both of his parents. So I went along today to support this young man and also the village that I love so much.
Now this blog isn't about what happened, this is about who we are as people and the service and what I witnessed today. Now I didn't need to know Patrick and Gillian to know what they were like, today's service showed that they were clearly loving and lovely people. The essence of it all was love. Pure love. Making what happened to them even more tragic. The stories recounted by family members were testament to that. Their son made his tribute to his parents thanking them for all their love and support making me think even more that our time here is precious. This guy has lost his parents at a very young age, not meaning to frighten anyone but these could be our last days here - we simply don't know how long we are here for. We need to love more in this world. Take the time, build relationships. It is what Jesus commanded us to do. To put it simply, if you love someone, just tell them - your mum, dad, brother, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend, crush, grandparents, friends - whoever it is just tell them. We all dont do enough to love each other, myself included but with all that has happened in the past few weeks and today has highlighted that we need to even more.

(Yes I am back home, and normal blog service will resume soon)

The end is nigh

Well at the end of my last blog I said I would be writing the next from home, well I thought that so much has happened that I should update you all on the highlights of the last week and a bit.
It's been crazy ... Right that's it end of blog. Haha! It's been crazy but really good fun. This past week has been one of the best I have had up here in Ulverston.
After I finished my last blog post I went off for a thank you meal for the PCC, (I got and honourary invite). First of all the food was fantastic so that was a good start, secondly it was highly banterous. Lets just say don't put Johnny Barton and I together where there are tea cakes involved - partners in crime. Seriously though, it is very important to have some down time when you are full on. Laughs are what makes the church go around, it makes the work easier, builds relationships and helps to further the work of Jesus Christ, when we live and laugh together in harmony.
The next day was the BASE groups Christmas special where they were making a Christmas meal. The group was split in two, one did main and the other did pudding. It was chaos, but they enjoyed it and got to eat after. Again socials are really important for the kids as well for exactly the same reasons.
Wednesday was a bit more chilled ... he says when Wednesdays are usually one of the more manic days of the week. We had Big Questions at UVHS which went well! Great to see the group growing and asking really honest questions about faith. Looking forward to seeing what happens to this group in 2015.
Thursday was pretty much an admin day and prep day for Saturday which I will get on to in a minute.
Friday was an interesting one ... I woke up looked out of my window and saw snow on the tops of the surrounding hills. Instantly my thoughts changed to the mountains and snow. But I had a study day and a deadline on Monday. I rushed into the office and with the motivation of snow and mountains under my belt I banged the assignments out just after lunch and headed to Coniston with Jonny (a different Jonny) and Arve. We went up the lower slopes of the Old Man (which I climbed the week before with minimal snow) and had mini snow ball fights. We had an awesome time and was great to see those guys before heading back. Afterwards we went to see the Hobbit The Battle Of The Five Armies I'm not going to say anything as it will spoil it for those waiting to see it. Having grown up with the Lord Of The Rings and been a massive Hobbit fan it was a rite of passage to see it on its release night. Monumentous is the word. Anyways it was home to bed before a huge day on Saturday.
Saturday was our All I Want For Christmas event with Jacob Lloyd a musician from Birmingham. What a guy, 18 and travelling the country spreading the word of Jesus to young adults and playing a few songs. I met him with Vic off the train around mid day and took him to the place where he'd be staying and had lunch, cheers Sue and Colin. Then it was off the the venue to set up and get the band together for the first time ... always nerveracking but they handled it well. Dramas did a run through, Jacob soundchecked and then we launched into it. The lovely Abbey Smith and I hosted the event and it was great to see all the different youth groups in Ulverston and Furness Deanery coming together and worshiping in one place. Also huge shout out to Jacob who did fantastically, the gifts this guy has is amazing. He played and broke it up with his testimony and what Christmas means to him, Cheers Jacob. We then packed up and went home before another mammoth day. I went and picked Jacob up and he played at UPC at our church breakfast before heading down to ECC. I helped with the All Age Christmas Special and then went home for some lunch before heading off to St John's Osmotherly with a car full of clergy for their Nine Lessons and Carols. I had a reading and it was lovely going back to a traditional church. Then we came back to UPC where we rehearsed for the Carol Service where I was doing various readings. The service was great and it was good to see many of the youth involved.
Then I went home and slept ...
The past few days have mainly been 2015 planning and winding down after such a crazy week. It was crazy but so much fun and its a great reminder as to why I do this job. I think thats all for now. Looking forward to descending on Fetcham on Sunday!
Ps. thank you all for your Christmas cards and gifts! I can't thank you all enough for your friendship and support.

The lovely Jacob Lloyd

You'll be in my heart

Hello! I'm back with another post, its been another crazy two weeks but well worth it ... and it's not over yet! Things are ramping up for something called Christmas, I don't know if you've heard of it?
First of all I would like to just reflect on what has happened in the past two weeks.
Firstly I would like to briefly talk about what happened in Fetcham two weeks ago, for those in the North who are reading this and don't know, sadly there was a double murder in my home village. That day was probably one of the most difficult in my time up here in Ulverston. When you are 300 miles away from home and there is a situation going on your natural instinct is to want to be there and help, but you can't. All I could do was just say that I was there to talk to the young people I used to minister, guys if you're reading this I'm still here and you know you can chat whenever! So that was a really tough few days. Thank you to all the people up here who checked up on me and asked how things were going, it means a lot. This is kind of where the title comes in, Fetcham will always be in my heart - plus that Phil Collins song is following me wherever I go at the moment.
We then had the Dickensian festival which was great fun! Another querky Ulverston treat. Bassically the whole of Ulverston turns into a market and dresses up in Victorian dress. It was a great event and really cool to see. We got one of the youth groups to hand out chocolates to those who came as random acts of kindness! It was great to see them getting out into the community and having chats with people.
I have now been to three Christmas socials and I'll be on to my fourth tonight! It is important to say thank you though. So many people help out in church activities so it is hugely important to thank them for all their help throughout the year!
The other day I went for a walk with Libby and Stu up the Old Man Of Coniston! It was a great walk and there was even a sprinkling of snow on the top! 
Yesterday I preached at cafe church for the first time (preaching is different to leading). I had to preach on what it is worth to be a christian. Although I get nervous before hand I really do enjoy preaching. It was great and I had a real sense of Jesus being there with me (in my heart) and it's something that we need to remember. It can be easy to forget but when you remember that he is with you it is so encouraging to know. Check it out below!
So the next few days are going to be hectic with the preparation for the All I Want For Christmas event at ECC on Saturday, I'm really looking forward to it though. It will be good to hear what Jacob Lloyd has to say and watch him do his thing. Then there are various services on Sunday which will be crazy and then my assessment deadlines on the monday! Well that gives you a taste of what I am up to!
Looking forward to being back home in less than two weeks now! So my next blog post will probably end up being Tales of a southerner back down south!

Five Minutes

It's been a while ... Man what has happened in the past two weeks.
Well the main thing that I am pleased to say that has happened is that I
passed my driving test. Something I feel God was really behind. I
stuffed up the test pretty badly, clipped the curb, stalled the car. You
name it I did it. The examiner though was genuine and could see I was
so nervous.

Just seconds after I hoped out the car in disbelief

So I have been out on the road traveling around in my little Panda. Life is good!

The
day before my test we had a youth service for all the youth groups in
Ulverston. I was playing. It was a great event and just such a privilege
to play but also watch all the young people we minister to worshiping
God. It was a great lesson in trust, we changed the key of three of the
four songs just before the service started and I effectiley had to learn
three new songs in about 10 minutes. However Vic my boss could see that
I was stressed out so came and prayed for me. It went great! I only
stuffed up one of the three songs.



It was also great to watch the
drama that Urswick youth have been preparing for a good few weeks now.
Again a fantastic bunch of kids who weren't afraid to declare their
faith in front of all those people. Apart from that Vic and I have been
traveling around all our usual youth groups, thinking about new ways we
can engage and generally thinking about the future. There are so many
things to look forwards too.

Aside from work, I went with Arve,
Jonny and Kristin to Carlisle and Scotland the other day to see
Brittany's open mic night. We ended up playing two songs as well under
the name, A Columbian, An English man and a Norwegian girl walk into a
bar ... We had a great time. It was good to spend time with these guys!
I'm so lucky to have good friends close by. Then yesterday Mark and I
went down to Preston to present our presentations for our course we are
doing. Again great to catch up with Mark and just chat with him. Now I
am about to cook dinner and head into the next few weeks of pre
Christmas chaos :) I love this time of year!



The second
part of this blog is devoted to something that I came across the other
week and is what the blog is named after. I came across a band called
The Defiled a few weeks ago the did the worlds first gig on a floating
iceberg, how cool is that ... no pun intended. Anyway they have a song
called Five Minutes that I checked out after watching that gig. It's a
heartfelt song about never being able to forget the loss of someone.
Anyway they released the music video for it the other day and as well as
it being a performance shot video there are sections where it flicks to
people holding cards of what they would say to people if they had five
minutes with the people they had lost. Now I haven't lost anyone
recently but this really pulled on my heartstrings. It got me thinking
about who are the people that I am most greatful too? Who haven't I
spoken to in a long time? If I had five minutes with someone what what I
do? I think the message that I was getting from God in all of that was,
appreciate your time here. Always be grateful and thankful. Always
encourage people and try not to be negative. I think if I had five
minutes I think I would like to spend it with the Grandfather I never
got to meet.

Who are you thankful for? What would you say to someone if you had five minutes? 

The Party Is Over ...

Don't panic! The title sounds dramatic but it's actually not. What I mean to say is that I now feel that the 'party' is over, the hard work has begun. Not that things weren't hard before, but this time it's different. I know where I am, mostly who the people are and now it's very much focusing on the task in hand.

Another kind of cryptic part of the title is that I finished the last post the day before the Light Party at UPC so yes the party is over! And what a party it was! Matt (the curate at UPC) had been working flat out for weeks sorting out the prep for the light party, and towards the end of half term my work was running low so I helped out too. The party was actually on Halloween and we worked more or less non stop throughout the day to make sure everything was set up and ready to go. I was playing a baddy in a sketch so there were numerous run throughs of that before actually performing it that evening. We had 29 kids from all different backgrounds turn up, churched and unchurched and the feedback we had was great. The drama went well, and I still get kids coming up to me asking me if I am really a baddy ... Matt stunned the crowd by turning up as Super Duck ... basically turning up in a massive Duck onesy. He led the party fantastically and it was great to see him in action with the kids. It was also nice of Arve and Kristin to come up and help out/support what I was doing there. If you have seen the pictures you will know that Arve dressed up as me, as I am his super hero ... cheers mate!

I then went home for a couple of days as I was seeing Steve Hackett at G - Live in Guildford (absolutely stunning). It was nice to catch up with some friends and also see my old youth group and chat to them about what I am doing. Then I came back and had a full on few days getting back into the swing of things. I went up to Coniston and helped out with the Njoy youth group up there, its fantastic to see youth work going on in these places, places that I had only visited before on holiday - always with the niggling thought in the back of my mind, "I wonder if this place has a youth group".  The answer is they do! And it is fantastic to be a part of it.

Remembrance day was also very good and much different to back home. Because Ulverston is kind of like a hub (its the biggest thing around apart from Barrow) everybody comes together on big occasions like that. Alan (vicar at UPC) led the service in the afternoon and Matt preached, it was a very reflective service and deeply thoughtful. It felt quite strange going back to seeing clergy robed again. Then in the evening it was my turn to lead Cafe Church again, which is something I really enjoy and get a lot out of, but also it is nice to stand at the front and look out to the people you are ministering too and see them on their faith journeys.

It has generally been a really encouraging past week or so, speaking to people and talking about their faith, watching others progress, building relationships and just generally being more familiar with things is so nice!

Anyway I think that is all for now! Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement and I hope you are all well back home - looking forward to catching up at Christmas.
Thinking and praying for St. Mary's Fetcham as they interview potential new vicars in the next few weeks! Exciting stuff hey! Looking forward to seeing the next era of St. Mary's!
Cheers,

Charlie

Arve with his Superhero

Me being BadMan - Not Bat Man

Matt being Super Duck

Holding the fort

It's half term, the kids are off school, the boss is away ... and relax ... or so you would think. While this week has been a little less hectic than usual there is still loads to be getting on with.
Just after the end of last blog I went to the Summit group, a group for 16+ where we can chat and discuss faith and topics we struggle with. Each member of the group takes it in turn to prepare a topic and last week Ellie prepared a session on suffering. Wow, the session was great both in preparation but also in discussion. It's great to have a place where I can meet with people much closer to my own age and discuss faith and have a good time. I'm already looking forward to Rowan's session next week!
Before Vic went away she left me with many jobs to be getting on with. Really fun stuff like; sorting out registers and checking volunteer agreements. Only joking, but these are important things that need to be kept in order. I had to prepare next months prayer diary, which although it may sound like a tedious admin job, is actually a very interesting job. Why? Because first of all it shows that we are praying for people all over the Furness deanery but also it helps to focus your mind on the job in hand. We can see where we will be on what day in the month and what about that particular day needs praying for. Another tediously sounding but actually fun job was doing the new term program for the BASE group (main youth group at UPC). There are so many great events coming up to look forward to. The next few months are going to be very busy but well worth it!
Aside from the admin I have been out and about. On Saturday I went to Barrow to see the Barrovian interns (and Barbara) and watch a production of The Phantom of the Opera. It was a great evening out, spending time with friends - its really nice to have good friends close by. Then on Monday I went to Kendal with Pete from church again a really nice day, spent in good company which resulted in Pete's quote of the day ... "Last time she saw me I was a woman" (Pete does shows and compereing in case you were wondering).
Monday was great for another reason we got some kids together to help sew some bags for a UPC supported mission trip to India. It was nice to see them coming together to support those less fortunate than us. I also went to Urswick to help out with a drama rehearsal for a sketch in a youth service in November. They did a great job and I can't wait to see them perform it in the service in a couple of weeks time.
Tomorrow at UPC we have an alternative Halloween light party where I will be dressing up as a superhero for a sketch where I will be the baddy. I think Matt only picked me for it because we know that villains have a posh British accent. Please pray for the event, Matt's put in so much work for it and it should be a great time!
Anyways I think that is all for now and I will catch up with you in the next week or so!

Thankful

Firstly I do apologise for not doing a blog sooner! I said I would try and do these every fortnight but I havent found a right time to write until now!
This blog post is called thankful, because right now I feel that God is teaching me to be thankful for all that I have and as I reflect over the past few weeks there is a lot to be thankful for. So lets start from the top:

Thanks number one: Just after I finished the last blog post I went up to Carlisle for a training day called Tattie Pot. The worship leader called in sick that morning and Vic mentioned to the person running the day that I played guitar, so I got asked to play - I was extremely rusty and me and the singer didnt have a chance to practice. I was given a guitar, tuned it up, went through the chords and bang straight into the deep end. But you know what it didn't matter. I looked out and there were 40+ people just worshiping God in the most amazing way. I was thankful to God for the skills I had, the confidence to stand up there, the opportunity I was given, the day ahead but also all of these people who had come to worship God. Amazing.

Thanks number two: So I finish in Carlisle at 4PM, get dropped at the train station by Mark and Sarah (another thanks in there), jumped on a train and arrived back in Surrey around 9:30PM. Had an awesome catch up with my amazing parents (who I am thankful to for their love and support through everything I do) went to bed in my own bed before another stupidly busy day. I went back to St. Mary's Fetcham in the morning. I gave a brief presentation on my time up here and everyone was really interested to hear what I was up to. It was great to catch up with everyone. I was thankful for their support and encouragement and also interest. But the main part of this thanks is to Luke Epton. Man, it was awesome helping to baptise you. You are one of my inspirations to become a youth worker/minister watching you grow in your faith has been one of the best things. You are growing into an amazing guy! I am thankful to God for you, your faith and the honour of helping to baptise you! Also I would like to say a huge thanks to the rest of the confirmation group, who have also inspired me so much in my journey of faith. You guys all rock! It certainly was an awesome evening. I'm also thankful for the St. Mary's reunion we had with The Boughton's and Ellie Mackay having all gone off to different places!

Thanks number three: This one meant a lot to me ... Vic and I went to Millom school later that week to give some lessons on bereavement. A very difficult topic to discuss but one that does need to be chatted about nonetheless. Some kids were a bit shy to talk whereas others were happy to laugh the subject off. The thanks comes at the end of one of the lessons, we were packing up after another good lesson when the kids were leaving one of them left and said out of the blue, "oh by the way, cheers for coming in to speak to us". Wow! It shows that this guy was really appreciative of what we were doing there but also what we were trying to get across. I just thank God for him and his kindness and willingness to listen.

Thanks four: For the Big Questions group, this is a faith discussion group that we have been running at UVHS. Week on week this group has grown but last week was just amazing. We had a couple of non christians challenging us in our beliefs and it really meant that the discussion took off. Thank you God that these kids have come to Big Questions and also thanks that they are now exposed to us and our faith. The next one is tomorrow so pray for another great session.

Thanks five: For my good friends up here. There are so many amazing people up here who have let me into their lives. Particularly I would like to thank Vic and allowing me to work with her for the year in the amazing job she does. Secondly to Sue and Matt for their awesome banter in the office. To my good friends Arve, Jonathan, Barbara and Kristin here in the south of the diocese, for their friendship, banter and support. Mark for an amazing time catching up over the weekend. Carolyn and Kristian for the internship and the continued guidance and support and to anyone else up here who has taken the time out for me.

There are many other things to be thankful for but I think that will do for now. The next post will hopefully be a bit more factual. I think and pray for you all back home a lot do get in touch, I love hearing from you.

THANK YOU!

God bless,
Charlie

So it begins ...

Now you are probably thinking what does the title mean this time, essentially it means that the party is over and the hard work has begun. That sounds as if it is a bad thing, but it's really not. What it means is that I now feel like I have gotten to know the area and a majority of the people and now it's becoming more and more routine. I know where I have to be at the right time, if I'm waiting to do another job there are things to be getting on with in the mean time. Really and truly, it's time to get down to business. 
Last week was a manic week, as I mentioned at the end of the last blog we were in Millom school last week. We had three lessons throughout the week and each was different and great in it's own way. We were talking to the kids as part of their BPE (Beliefs, Philosophy and Ethics - a mix of RE and PSHE) lessons. The lessons last week were on self esteem and how they see themselves. I think the message that they took from the lesson was that firstly they can feel good about themselves but also that what they say to others can impact others self esteem. All of the lessons were great and we are going back next week for lessons on bereavement - how cheery. I have to think about the things I want to do before I die as preparation for the lesson. 
Vic and I also went to Coniston last Thursday for a youth group called NJOY. The young adults meet in John Ruskin School (a senior school with around 200 pupils). It was a great group with an interesting way to get kids thinking about faith. There are a wide variety of groups up here so it is interesting to see how each group does things. The group ended with an intense game of hockey which was great fun although I think a few people were scared to tackle me ... 
Sunday was another big highlight of the week as I helped out in junior church for the first time. We were learning about obedience and saying sorry. It was great to get to know the younger members of UPC youth. 
Then in the evening came the biggie. I had to lead Cafe Church. I have done plenty of speaking before but I haven't led a service. Not only was I leading but I was also playing! To be fair I did volunteer to play as well. So Mike, who leads worship sometimes, and I got there early and practiced the songs before going into prayer before the service. After a few biscuits the moment arrived. It was great fun and I liked engaging with the audience and not making it all about me after all that's what worship is all about - joining together before God. The theme of the service was having faith that can move mountains. I think it got a lot of people thinking about faith and how we can ask God for anything as long as we have faith in him. The prayer response section was all about getting people to think about really difficult topics or situations where we really want God to break through. Then everyone prayed aloud and it was great to hear just a rumble of noise, which was people praying to God about things that they want changed in the world. Faith can do amazing things and sometimes we forget that, perhaps you should try it too if you weren't there. 
What are the situations where you desperately want God to break through? Think Saul on the road to Damascus. That kind of stuff.
So the service went well and I can't wait for the next one. I know I am rambling but there is so much to tell!
On Saturday I met up with Barbara and the Barrow interns which was hilarious as ever. So nice to have great friends so close. We had Big Questions at UVHS on Wednesday with the biggest turn out of the term so far. It's great to see that the young adults are willing and wanting to engage in topics of faith. Big Questions is a great outlet for that and you can see that they are really thinking about faith and starting their own journeys. 
Last night I was in Ambleside with Vic and Matt (the curate). I knew when we talked about going out that it would be a fun evening. You see Matt is Scottish and we have differing opinions of the temperature so there is a lot of North/South banter. Anyway we went to see Bishop Robert (Bishop of Penrith) talk about God in a digital age. He raised some great points about how relevant God is, in a digital age. Got me thinking about personal online identity and also church websites and facebook pages. There is so much potential but often it is wasted. Anyway I'll stop that there. 
Tomorrow I am off to Carlisle for training seminars before diving home in the evening to catch the Y! group being confirmed in Ashtead on Sunday! Looking forward to sharing all the stories with them.
Also well done St. Mary's (Fetcham) in getting the ad for the new vicar out! Exciting time ey! Alan (the vicar at UPC) spotted it in the Church Times so people certainly know about it.
That's all for now!
Catch up with you after the next manic week!
God bless and thanks for the support!
(Oh and I went to Preston for the Churches Certificate in Youth Ministry with Brittany and Mark! Great to see them again.)

Me leading Cafe Church - Cheers Rowan for the photo!

Some of the locals are a bit threatening ...

Into the Furness

In the past week and a bit things have been rather hectic. Vic (my boss, the Furness deanery Network Youth Church leader) has been showing me around the whole deanery, getting to know people, places and youth groups. So a week and a bit later and we have pretty much covered the whole deanery. To give you a bit of an idea how big the deanery is, it takes 40 minutes to drive from one side to the other where as Leatherhead deanery back home takes about 20 minutes to cross. The area is simply huge. But I guess everything up here is much more spread out.
Having just looked at the last blog a lot has happend. First thing was Lantern festival, Ulverston is a festival town and lantern festival was my first real experience. Everyone has the chance to make lanterns which are then lit and paraded around the town before ending up in Ford Park for a firework display. It was a great evening and something I have never seen before.
Then the great Furness deanery exploration began with visits to Millom, Urswick and Coniston. Although three places doesnt sound very much, these were just places that we stopped in. There are many places in between that we will be working with such as Broughton and Thwaites.
The church had a 24 hour prayer day, where people were asked to pray at church or at home for an hour slot with everyone making up the 24 hour period. I got a group together and we crawled out of bed at 4:50 last wednesday for the 5-6AM slot. It was great to do this and spend sometime speaking to God about Ulverston and praying for the church and its needs but also seeking out God's vision for the area.
Other highlights since the last blog have been going into schools. Last Wednesday we went into Ulverston Victoria High School (UVHS) and did a lunch club called Big Questions. This is where we run a discussion based session and kids come along ask us questions that they want answered. Its a great mix of Churched and Unchurched kids with loads of great points made.
Yesterday Vic and I went to Millom School to give a lesson on Self esteem which was great fun too. It was really great to just get chatting to the kids about their opinions on self esteem.
Another great point in the week was driving too and from Coniston. The roads up here are so much fun to drive. So many hills, dips, twists and turns! It's great!
Anyway I must dash now to the next thing!
Catch you all soon,
God bless you all!

First Contact

Wow, where are we? What's the day? Where am I going now? Sorry your name is? 
Right lets back track!
Last Thursday I had a gathering at The Bell, Fetcham to say goodbye to all the lovely Fetcham people. So many people turned up and it left me really quite sad to be leaving all you good people. Thank you all for turning up, many of you I have known for many years and your friendship means the world to me. If I haven't personally texted you or facebooked you, Thank you guys so much! I am really lucky to have you. 
Anyway you want to hear what I have been up to don't you?!
We left Fetcham at 04:00 on Saturday, drove for around 230 miles North West and arrived in Ulverston, Cumbria. We then went and found my host family, The Ensoll's (Rich, Becs, Rachel, Jess and Ben), who warmly welcomed me into their house. Letting a stranger into your house is a big deal, let alone a noisy heavy metal loving stranger! I will be living with these guys until Christmas, so do pray for them! I spent the rest of the day settling in and unpacking, making a list of the things I forgot. Then it was an early night before the first day of work the next day!
I had it nice and easy on Sunday morning as I didn't have to be at Ulverston Parish Church until 10:15. A much easier get up than back home in Fetcham. Matt the Curate took the service and gave me a welcome interview into the church. I then went into the Sunday morning youth group at UPC called H2O, it was great to meet the kids more or less first thing! H2O is mainly for 11-14 (i think).
We then went back into the service for communion and the end of the service. Afterwards lots of people came to say hi, all of which I have forgotten your names, sorry! Again it was fantastic to speak to so many people and I can't wait to start working properly with you all. 
I came home and had a lovely lunch and then went out canoeing with Rich and Ben. I wanted to go canoeing at some point in the year, but I didn't expect it to be the second day! It was so much fun, and I can't wait to do it again some time!
Then we had cafe church on Sunday evening. What a great service it is! I wish we had this back home. Basically coffee and cake with worship and an engaging sermon. It was really good and I can't to go to more! 
Monday I went of on my induction retreat with the other interns in the diocese. I went over the Barrow three we have now called ourselves The Furness Four. We met up with all the other interns from at St Johns In The Vale which is near Keswick. We are spread out across Carlisle diocese and there is:
4 Brazilians
2 Norwegians
2 Taiwanese
2 American (North American - the Brazilians dont like it when we call them Americans)
1 Posh Englishman

Because of my accent I was often referred to as posh, so I introduced them to posh English resulting in being called 'darling' by Arve which was 'smashing'. It was really great to spend time with everyone learning about what we are about to do and also to hear everyone's stories.
There was a great sense that the Holy Spirit was with us this morning as we were sent out into our individual "battlefields" as Mark called them. He is right, sometimes it is going to be tough but we know we have God behind us! So tomorrow I start properly! And my iPhone tells me "tomorrow looks busy" so I should probably finish this blog up! 
I hope to keep this at least fortnightly. Enjoy these pictures from the retreat courtesy of the man with the amazing beard, Kristian Tjemsland.  
God bless you all,
Charlie!

Fish and chips in Keswick with (following round from me) Kristin, Monica, Matheus, Arve, Brittany, Mark and Colin.

 Intense Jenga with Arve, Aline + Brittany

My time up north came to an abrupt end at St John's In The Vale's murder in the dark.

End of an era

Yesterday I said goodbye to St. Mary's, Fetcham. After around 16 years of going to the church it was sad to say goodbye. However it's time for something new and there certainly was the atmosphere yesterday that this was exactly what needs to happen. Not from a bad point of view but from an exciting new challenge point of view. I know that I have a loving community behind me in Fetcham and some friends for life here. Thank you all!
Of course its sad when people say to you, "why do you have to go?" but I'll be back to see you soon enough!
It was great to be interviewed by Roger McKinlay to explain to everyone where I am going and what I am doing. Of course I had my leg pulled about my check shirts, it was nice to leave with a laugh! Then Marion prayed over me which was nice to have God's blessing and the prayers of St. Mary's behind me! I was then presented with a lovely cake made by mum (no special occasion at St. Mary's goes without a Penny Day cake). If that wasn't enough, Marion then announced that there was going to be a surprise lunch for me! Loads of people from the church turned up, it was fantastic to see so many people and see that many people came to wish me well and were generally interested in the work that I will be doing. 
I can't thank you all enough! You have been so kind and supportive and I really do appreciative. Please do pray for me and my family through the next week as I move. I'll let you know how I get on hopefully sometime next week!
Thanks everyone! 
God Bless!

Not the best face I have ever pulled ... Thanks Sarah ;)

Two weeks to go

Two weeks from now I will be in Ulverston! A crazy thought but time is flying by at the moment. Still there is lots to do here in Fetcham before I go! There's the summer youth group, a crash course for the confirmation group, the second issue of Revelation needs to be finished and of course a lot of packing.
I would just like to thank everyone for their interest in what I am doing and the magazine. It's great to hear the feedback on the magazine and I thank you all for your support. If you haven't checked it out go to www.revelationmag.org (sneaky plug, sorry).
Overall, I am really looking forward to moving to Ulverston. I need a new challenge and I can't wait to be around a new group of people and just generally working in a beautiful place. I really feel that this is what God wants me to be doing, which is an awesome feeling. Of course there is a bit of apprehension, moving to the other end of the country is a bit scary, but it's nothing compared to my fellow interns. I will be with an incredibly supportive and friendly church and God will help me deal with the challenges of being away from home.
I can't wait to get stuck in! Please pray for all of us interns starting in Carlisle diocese in two weeks time. I consider myself lucky being from this country and just moving to another part of the country, but the rest of these guys are coming from other countries, continents and hemispheres all to spread the word of God to young people in Carlisle diocese!
I'll probably do another blog before I go but if not see you on the other side!
God bless,
Charlie

One month to go

There's just one month to go before I leave for Ulverston.
What can I say? I am seriously excited to get going in this next chapter of my life. It seems strange not to be gearing up for another year of studying and deadlines but in many ways I'm still preparing for a different way of living. Naturally I am slightly nervous for leaving home and being away for along time but everytime I think this I get so excited about all the things all be doing and also the challenge of a new adventure and I really think I need it!
Last weekend some friends from Germany came to visit just for two days before heading straight back to work on the monday. It reminded me that I need to go and have my own adventure and to live like God wants me to. Not worrying about what will happen but making the most of the time we have here doing his work.
Vic (My boss in Ulverston) has sent through my timetable for the first two weeks in Ulverston and WOW does it look like I'll have a lot to do! I'm so excited to be working in so many different areas. I wont just be working in Ulverston with one youth group but many different place. By the looks of things I will be at:
Millom
Various Schools
Coniston
Urswick

Over the next few weeks I will be finishing up things in Fetcham - Packing has already started ... well more a pile of things to take is forming. The decision that still looms large though is, One guitar or two? ... One guitar is never enough!
Thats all for now! I'll post something in the next few weeks!
Thank you all for your support and encouragement!
God bless!
Charlie

A new beginning ...

Hello! Welcome to my new blog Tales of a Southerner t'up north.

A few people have asked me to keep a diary type thing when I leave
fetcham at the beginning of September. So I thought I would get things
going by starting now while things aren't so busy.



Where am I going and what am I going to do?



On Saturday 6th September I am moving up to Ulverston in Cumbria to be
part of an internship scheme with Carlisle diocese. I will be working
alongside the network youth minister in the Furness deanery. I'll be
doing the normal youth workery things like sunday school, youth groups
and setting up things in schools (I think?). I will be working with the
lovely people at Ulverston Parish Church, which I am really looking
forward to. Read all about UPC here: http://ulverstonparish.co.uk/



Why am I doing this?



For a long time I have been trying to find out what I would like to do as
an occupation and also discern God's calling on my life. Through working
with the Youth group at St. Mary's Fetcham, I found that this was
something that I really wanted to get involved with more. I took on a
larger role within the youth group and have co-ran it with the wonderful
Chris Bacon. It has been awesome watching these young adults grow in
their relationship with God. I have been at St. Mary's for all my life
and I think that now is the time for a change. Before all the changes
started happening at St. Mary's I thought that I would be moving anyways
but now that that has all happened I think it is even better and that
St. Mary's gets a breath of fresh air on many different fronts. I am sad
to be leaving but at the same time hugely excited for my new challenge.



Why t'up North?



I had been looking all around the country and nothing really struck me
until i found the Carlisle diocese internship page. Cumbria is a part of
the country that I know and I love and they want to engage with more
young people, and I think that I can help with that. It was really a no
brainer. Having been suggested to Ulverston and visited myself I really
felt like this was the place to be.

I hope the following video explains things a bit better. St Mary's is where I have grown up, I love it, I love the youth group and I was so lucky to have that growing up. There are some kids who dont have that and I want to help them. That is why I must go.



This is getting rather long ... But I look forward to sharing my journey with you all. To St. Mary's as I round up my time with you I thank you so much for the opportunities that you have given me and I will miss you all. To Ulverston, what on earth have you let yourselves in for ... Only joking, I cannot wait to start working with you all!

Catch you all soon :)

Charlie