Every child thrives, belongs and achieves
I have been reading the
Government green paper "Every child thrives, belongs and achieves." which
outlines ways in which the government and government agencies, communities and
iwi can engage with and create an environment in which vulnerable children are
able to thrive, belong and achieve.
It made me think about church. I wondered we live out the priority for children and young people. I wondered what would happen if bishops used the mechanisms available to them to set out the responsibilities for ministry with children and young people in their oversight of clergy and their annual expectations of parishes. What would it mean to set out requirements of clergy and parishes which are then reported on annually? How do we ensure ongoing research and evaluation to identify how current and future church practices effect and engage with children and young people?
I have been sitting in a Ministry Council meeting where each Diocese reported under a number of headings including ministry to the under 40's (what does that mean?) Each diocese reported about initiatives with young people, but only under that heading (not all dioceses though). It was pretty standard stuff. But I was really interested in how we do the other headings with young people like: formation for ministry and mission, accessibility to education, being Anglican in Aotearoa-New Zealand and the three Tikanga context, deepening spirituality, and equipping leaders and the whole church for a changing world. Each of these is relevant to Childrens and youth ministry. Yet we hardly ever think about it.
Just some random thoughts
It made me think about church. I wondered we live out the priority for children and young people. I wondered what would happen if bishops used the mechanisms available to them to set out the responsibilities for ministry with children and young people in their oversight of clergy and their annual expectations of parishes. What would it mean to set out requirements of clergy and parishes which are then reported on annually? How do we ensure ongoing research and evaluation to identify how current and future church practices effect and engage with children and young people?
I have been sitting in a Ministry Council meeting where each Diocese reported under a number of headings including ministry to the under 40's (what does that mean?) Each diocese reported about initiatives with young people, but only under that heading (not all dioceses though). It was pretty standard stuff. But I was really interested in how we do the other headings with young people like: formation for ministry and mission, accessibility to education, being Anglican in Aotearoa-New Zealand and the three Tikanga context, deepening spirituality, and equipping leaders and the whole church for a changing world. Each of these is relevant to Childrens and youth ministry. Yet we hardly ever think about it.
Just some random thoughts
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