Youth View - September

On a regular basis things happen in my youth work that light up my life and make everything worth while. On Easter Sunday, for example, picture the scene… It’s dusk and dodgy-looking teenagers are seen running and shouting in St Mary’s beautiful church yard. A concerned citizen calls the police saying criminal damage is taking place.

The police jump into action, only to discover it’s the church youth group! An amused call back to base goes: ‘No criminal damage Guv, it’s just an Easter egg hunt!’

In July our teenagers joined in an exciting event called ‘OUT THERE’ in which young people did community projects to clear up public areas. My lot worked tirelessly to clean out the Misbourne River and you would not believe the rubbish we took out of there!

Granted, there was quite a lot of mud slinging and water fighting but the job was done in double-quick time. You see these young Christians aren’t just into spiritual cleaning.

They want to serve God practically as well. As I type this I am seven-months pregnant. One of my (many) fears about having a baby was how the group would respond. But they have surprised me with their interest and care. From requesting that I don’t go overdue as someone is away on a school trip to reading my pregnancy magazines and, of course, all volunteering to baby-sit, it’s turning into quite a group event! Some of the older ones are taking on more of a leadership role too, which is great for my fuzzy pregnancy brain!

I feel honoured to be involved in so many young lives and to help them get more deeply involved with God and the life he has for them. Our youth group aims to be a place where teenagers are safe, supported and free to grow.

When you hear how terrible young people are today, please stop and think that maybe there are many young people who are worthy of our respect.

I believe that our world has a great future in these capable, socially aware and sensitive young hands.

Marianne Holt is a youth worker at St Mary’s Church, Amersham.