Tim Abbott

May I be...

I loved this from Joe Knight, reflecting on the life of the community he is part of in Gloucester.

May I be quick to bless
And slow to hurt
Quick to build up
And slow to injure
Quick to listen
And slow to react hastily
Quick to be honest
And slow to blame
Quick to gentleness
Slow to forcefulness
Quick to humility
And slow to superiority
Quick to make peace
And slow to divide
Quick to be meek
And slow to over confidence
Quick to affirm
Slow to argue
Quick to keep an open heart
Slow to manipulate
Quick to be selfless
Slow to defensiveness
Quick to discern
And slow to judge
Quick to patience
And slow carelessness
Quick to love
And slow to break friendship
Quick to see you Jesus
And slow to reinforce my image
Quick to let you speak
And slow to my own opinions
Quick to hear your words
And slow to my own interpretations
Quick to let your kingdom come
Slow to make my will be done
Quick to seek and find you
And slow to hide from you
Lord Jesus,
Fill my heart, my mind and my mouth
May they be you to others
And for you forever
Amen

Sanctum at Thurstable - Mon & Tues

This week we're in Thurstable School, Tiptree running Sanctum there for the second year. This is our thirteenth Sanctum which you'd think would mean we've got it pretty much sussed by now...

We're back in the same room that we had last year, a former Youth Club that's part of the school site next to the dining room and which would normally be the Year 7 break and lunchtime area (more on this later!) We've decided to go for fewer activities, just nine, but to put more effort into theming the room. This has included suspending netting from the ceiling using magnets to hold it to the light fittings. Improvisation is definitely a key skill for a Prayer Space in School practitioner! We've also added our own lighting which has helped transform the space into a much softer venue, including curios like the orange ribbon and battery led lights in the glass bowl shown above.

Our timetable is pretty intense. From Monday breaktime to Friday lunchtime we have just two lessons off and given that we're open to visitors at break and lunchtime this makes for a long day. In compensation the Thurstable school lunches (which are being provided for us) must rate as some of the best in the country as they employ their own chef and source most of their ingredients locally.

One thing we're struggling with this time is the slightly 'hyper' behaviour of the Year 7's, many of whom seem to think the aim is to get round all the activities as quickly as possible but then run out of things to do and struggle to work out what it is they've just done. One issue is that this being their break time social space  they're used to letting off steam here and though our theming of the venue often produces "wow" comments it's still a space they feel they own. We're managing break and lunchtime numbers very tightly, a maximum of 15 at any time, which seems to be controlling the randomness and noise and allowing those in Sanctum to engage with it appropriately. Lessons are being handled by splitting groups into 2 and having half visit for each half of the lesson. Having 30 students in at once for an hour would be a fascinating social/educational experiement but I fear for what would happen and whether they'd get anything meaningful from the experience.

The Year 8's and Year 9's, on the other hand, have been amazing. Both groups remember last year very positively and are delighted to be back and to try the new activities. Some comment that they miss the 'quiet tent' with the bean bags, but we decided, for the first time in 12 Sanctum's, to leave this out as last year it had been a constant source of noise and crowd control issues. Instead we're encouraging them to see the whole room as a quiet space which many seem to be able to connect with.

Feedback from classes post-visit is coming in and is proving to be very positive. Once again the "Forgiveness" activity is coming up as the most popular and most helpful, followed by the Identity activity. Being forgiven and knowing how God sees you. Could you come away having discovered anything better?

Prayer Spaces in Schools workshop - Bristol

A couple of Saturdays ago I was in Bristol leading a one day workshop on running Prayer Spaces in Schools. Also on the team was Catherine, from Oxford, Joe from Gloucester and Jo from Cheddar. We each told a few stories about prayer spaces we've run which illustrated the variety of approaches possible. I love the thematic approach thet Joe takes with the prayer spaces he runs, diving deep into gospel stories as a source of inspiration for prayer activities. (photo - Joe sharing news from Gloucester)

We had an amazing buch of youth and schools workers taking part and towards the end we challenged them to look at how they might put all this into practice. As a result we identified about 5 groups that were planning to run a Prayer Space in their school and were keen to make a start! The range of people and resources available in Bristol along with the excellent networking that's taking place (and which brought people together for the day) bodes well for the future. If they do go for it I can easily see Bristol becoming a regional hub for Prayer Spaces in Schools. My thanks to Jane and Lorna for their warm welcome and spplendid organisation and to Catherine, Joe and Jo all of whom contributed stories and wisdom in abundance.

Joe's posted his own thoughts about the day here.

Tomorrow and Wednesday I'm in Oxford working again with Catherine to run a two day workshop for CYM/Oxford Youth Works on setting up and running Prayer Spaces.

Seven better questions you can ask...

Michael Hyatt poses Seven better questions you can ask in the midst of adversity. He writes, "I learned a valuable lesson: the answers we get are often determined by the questions we ask. If we ask bad questions, we will get bad answers. If we ask better questions—empowering questions—we will get better answers."

I won't post the questions here - go read for yourself, including the link at the end of question 6.  ; )

Because we weren't able to run Sanctum in the Sixth Form College in the week we had previously planned, we were forced to ask new questions about why we were doing it, how it might work differently and what outcomes we wanted for students. This led to the amazing opportunity to run it on the concourse which turned it into the best Sanctum we've ever done there.

Now we're facing a similar dilemma... I think we'll be asking ourselves some good questions.

Research confirms that young people want good RE

Into the current debate on the place of RE in the 'English Baccalaureate' (see REact) Robert Jackson, Professor of Education at the University of Warwick and Director of Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit, has responded to David Cameron's speech in Munich where he spoke on multiculturalism, security and religion. In particular, he highlights the desires of young people for more and better qualitiy education on these issues, and particularly on the role of religious education. This extract is from an overview article in ekklesia:

Professor Jackson cites European research – notably the European Commission Project on Religion, Education, Dialogue and Conflict (REDCo) among 14-16 year olds in eight countries, with which he was involved – as demonstrating the desire of young people for a 'safe space' within the school curriculum to explore different beliefs in a thoughtful way.

He declares: "Mr Cameron might give some careful attention to their views. First, the majority of students surveyed wish for peaceful coexistence across differences, and believe this to be possible. Second, they believe that peaceful coexistence depends on knowledge about each other’s religions and worldviews and sharing common interests as well as doing things together."

The research also shows that "students who learn about religious diversity in school are more willing to have conversations about religions/beliefs with students of other backgrounds than those who do not... They want learning to take place in a ‘safe’ classroom environment ... They want teachers to combine expertise in the study of religions and social and cultural issues with expertise as facilitators of discussion and exchange."

"Students do not want to be told what to believe," stresses Professor Jackson, "but would like the state-funded school to be a place for learning about different religions, and for clarifying their own views."

The original article by Robert Jackson is here.

The full REDCo report is here (pdf) and there are some compelling research findings from students, some cited in the extract above, as well as policy recommendations. It's only 4 pages long and succinct.

More info about REDCo here and here

Greenan Castle

Greenan Castle, originally uploaded by timabbott.

I wonder...

I often wonder what God thinks about those who think they know the most about God.

(Inspired by some musings by Banksyboy on the current Rob Bell debate/fight)

Remembering Rob Hall with a Random Act of Kindness

Into my inbox this morning popped a weeky email I subscribe to from LICC with a moving story by Brian Draper.

Rob and Kate Hall sold their home in Canada and set off with their three children on an adventure with God. Their blog, withkidsintow, tells their story up to Rob's last post on 20th February. Tragically, Rob was killed in an accident just over week ago. Tomorrow, Saturday, is his funeral and today would have been his birthday. Friends have issued the challenge:

This Friday, take time to perform at least one Random Act of Kindness in Rob’s name. Something simple – shovel your neighbour’s driveway, pick up someone’s bill in the coffee line, babysit a single mom’s children, visit an elderly relative and then share your stories.

And, however you pray, please pray for Kate and the children, and for Rob's family, especially tomorrow.

Prayer Spaces in Schools workshops

Prayer Spaces in Schools, Scotland, launched last weekend at the St. Mirren Football Club. About 60 youth schools, Alpha and SU workers enjoyed the surroundings of the Director's suite, hosted by Debbie Meehan, leader of 24-7 Prayer in Scotland. I was there with Phil and Catherine from the Prayer Spaces in Schools team to share some stories, offer practical wisdom and run a demo of some of the activities that we've used in a school prayer space.

Compared to the normal car load of resources we cart around, I managed to take 9 prayer stations in a suitcase on the plane, though Debbie did provide a bowl, stones, trays and sand. The idea of developing a "Prayer Room in a Suitcase" is very tempting! It proved to be a brilliant and inspiring day. There is a real buzz of mission activity in Scotland led by some very talented, creative and Godly people.

 

This Saturday, 5th, I'm off to Oxford to take part in the "Transform" one day event for Christians in Education in Oxford where I'll be helping to run a seminar on Prayer Spaces in Schools. More details here.

 

Then on Saturday 12th I'm leading a half day training event in Bristol for youth & children's workers, local church volunteers, and teachers. I'll be working with school prayer space practitioners Catherine, from Oxford, Joe from Gloucester and Jo from Cheddar so there will be loads of stories, examples and wisdom to draw on and I'm really looking forward to meeting up with lots of people and the whole experience of learning from one another. It's from 10 - 1:15 at Woodlands Church. For more info download the flyer (pdf)

Celebrating RE

Today marks the beginning of Celebrating RE month with a load of great ideas and resources on the website.

Perhaps coincidentally (?) this comes at a time when RE is under threat through the introduction of the English Baccalaureate. This seeks to encourage a broader approach to qualifications beyond the "Five GCSE's" target of previous years, by stipulating that the five must include English, maths, a science, a language – modern or ancient – and a humanities subject to qualify for the award of the EBacc. Unfortunately, by implication this devalues a range of subjects that won't count towards it, including some science and language courses and also RE, which will no longer count as a 'humanity' subject for the purposes of the EBacc.

The value of Religious Education is therefore being vigorously debated at the moment, and especially the contribution it makes to understanding different religions and cultures in a modern pluralist society. Religious faith, whether personal or encountered in others, and the existential experience of many people, are a formative part of everyday life. The philosophical and academic skills that RE encourages in young people are different to those encountered in other subjects and are therefore vital to the development of the whole person

In response to the marginalising of RE in the English Baccalaureate, REact is raising the profile of and making the case for RE. Read the case for the role of RE here and sign up to suport the campaign here.