Graham Allison and Steve Mallon, associate secretary of the Mission and Discipleship Council with responsibility for education and nurture, talked more specifically about teenagers and young adults. Together Steve and Graham emphasised the importance of connecting with young people through music, affirming them by listening to what is important to them and giving them permission to talk about difficult subjects such as gun violence and rape in a place of safety in which they will receive a responsible response.

“The training day showed me the importance of creating a trusting and safe environment for the members, where they can feel comfortable in discussing what is on their minds.” (David)

Graham gave us an example of a different way of treating the stories we know so well. With one group of older teenagers he had plates depicting scenes from the Creation. After telling the story the conventional way, the group experimented with the order of events: “what if?” which gave rise to creative and refreshing ways of looking at it.

John Fisher closed proceedings with a short talk on Child Protection, which expanded into an informative and revealing discussion on fire procedures, which need to be refined for periods when the Junior Church is meeting (more on that shortly).