Youth find a weekly 'home from home' in Shropshire church
Lydbury North is a small, Shropshire village between Bishop’s Castle and Craven Arms. When our Youth Hub pilot started up in Bishop’s Castle, with its ‘hub and spoke’ design, some parishioners in nearby Lydbury North asked whether, as a ‘spoke’, they could get some help starting a children’s after-school group. Suzanne Gurney, our Youth & Community Worker for the Youth Hub, stepped up to the task and out of the after-school club has come the regular ‘TNT’ - Tea ‘n Toast youth drop-in at the parish church of St Michael & All Angels.
Suzanne says, “The church is right next to the bus stop, so it’s really easy for children to just pop in on their way home from school. Initially we had a handful of primary school age children coming to a monthly drop in. When some of them moved up to secondary school they asked if they could keep coming. It is now weekly, and really easy to organise. We play board games and provide tea and toast, and there’s a great mix of younger and older ones. They love having somewhere to ‘hang out’ with each other after school. It’s something to do besides going home to an empty house or doom scrolling social media.”
Suzanne explains “It’s not a religious gathering, per se, but being based in the church, the subject of faith does inevitably come up and we’re thinking about whether and how we might include prayer. I’m asking God for the right direction and timing. The Youth Hub is developing a youth worship service in Bishop’s Castle, so we might initially connect with that.”
Suzanne continues, “The group is already loosely connected to the ‘hub’ in Bishop’s Castle, through shared volunteers, and some of the children go to both groups. And the two local CofE primary schools are very supportive, sharing information with their families. We have a parents’ WhatsApp group as well, to keep everyone in the loop, so we can promote our youth hub activities with families, like weekends away, which otherwise children in the village would not know about.”
Suzanne thinks it's a model that could work well around other youth hubs and parishes: “It’s not rocket science!” she says. “It’s a simple set-up, not much of an outlay for a church – a toaster, a kettle, some games. But it provides such an opportunity to build community, and really be in conversation with our young people. They need somewhere to let off steam and talk about school. And they’re becoming invested in the church week by week: I make them do the packing up – they’re learning what ownership means!”
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