First anniversary of DreamworX
Church Notes by Mark McCaghreyVicar, St Andrew's, Roman Hill, LowestoftIT is the first anniversary of the DreamworX project, a pioneering project successfully working with nine to 13-year-olds in North Lowestoft, the result of churches listening and taking action.
Church Notes by Mark McCaghrey
Vicar, St Andrew's, Roman Hill, Lowestoft
IT is the first anniversary of the DreamworX project, a pioneering project successfully working with nine to 13-year-olds in North Lowestoft, the result of churches listening and taking action.
Gunton Baptist Church and St Andrew's, Roman Hill, asked their communities what they wanted to see happen and the number one response was 'More for young people.' Young people are out on the streets with nothing to do, and often nowhere to go - including nine to 13s, for whom there isn't any council provision.
There are activities for young people that age (Scouts, Guides, sport …), but these don't appeal to everyone and not all young people have the back up to join in.
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'The devil makes work for idle hands,' it says, and young people are so often seen as a nuisance or threat and this can cause a problem for them and the communities they live in.
We wanted to work with the young people themselves - not as a problem but as individuals created in God's image - able to shape the project and the work done with them.
Neither church had the experience nor resources to be able to do this kind of work by ourselves, so we banded together and, with funding from Fairshare Trust, were able to recruit Andy Dorning, who came from Poole to lead the work.
Andy has a lot of experience and straight away starting working in the schools and in the streets, making contact, building relationships and getting the young people involved in making things work, leading to summer activities and a drop-in in Roman Hill, with much more planned for the year ahead.
Jesus said: 'You are the light of the world.' Light transforms, banishing the darkness. DreamworX is one response for Lowestoft to this command of Jesus.
