28 May 2009
Church dedicates resources to children and young people
The Methodist Church has continued its commitment to empowering
young people with the appointment of a Youth Participation
Development Officer.
Jude Levermore will dedicate her time in the newly-created post to
enabling young people engage in the life of the Church and their
communities.
Jude, whose previous job involved working with socially excluded
young people at The Witney Ecumenical Youth Trust in West
Oxfordshire, said she was really excited about the challenge.
"The Methodist Church has recognised that without the involvement
of young people, there is not much hope for the Church," said
Jude.
"The vision is to renew the Church through young people.
Participation is all about getting young people involved at every
level. As a society, we have lost the ability to hear what young
people say. That is part of the breakdown in society. We have
become frightened of young people and actually they have so much
energy and potential. As a society, we have stifled their ability
to change the world."
Jude will coordinate a regional participation network as well as
making sure that the annual Youth Assembly works as planned and
that young people's voices are listened to. As part of the
Methodist Church's £4 million Youth Participation Strategy launched
last year, gap year students will be given the opportunity to work
on projects tailored to their interests, be it rural work or work
combating gun and knife crime.
"It is all about developing the potential of young people to serve
God and their communities," said Jude. "The community is where
Methodism started; it is a social action gospel movement for social
change through an encounter with God. It is about allowing young
people to make a difference."
Mike Seaton, Director of Children and Youth, said: "The appointment
of Jude as the youth participation development officer is an
exciting and essential step forward in the implementation of this
project. Jude joins the team with a vast amount of experience in
managing complex projects, Christian youth work in a range of open
and church-based settings and developing and delivering
professional training for workers."