St Anne’s and Elizabeth’s parishes Douai Abbey 2011 visit

1. St Anne’s and Elizabeth’s parishesDouai Abbey 2011 visit Developing connections, pathways and journeys -Outcomes and aspirations

2. A really good day! The key to wisdom is asking the right questions!

3. Understanding “community” How can an understanding of community help us build our work with children and young people

4. Reflections on “Community” • Support • Patience • Respect • Helping • Trust • Love • Understanding • Sharing • Belonging • Continuity • Encouragement • Care • Security • Scaffolding • Shared responsibility • Receptive • Renew • Refresh

5. Reflections on “community” • Receptive • Recycling • Relationship • Communication • Cohesive • Contributing • Listened to • Embracing difference • Welcoming all • Feeling valued • Help • Place to celebrate with • Somewhere to turn to • Your opinion is valued • Shared value/perspective • Open to others • Not stifling individuality • Open to others • Role models • Journeying together

6. Reflections on “community” • Accountability • Involvement from an early age • Time • Journeying together • Ownership • Responsibility • Inspiration from people • What’s a “good” catholic? • Always there • Where do we want young people to be? • Establish what young people want from church • Specific involvement in community • Spiritual inspiration

8. Welcoming and being open • We could be clearer about how we welcome people into all of the groups including the church services so that new people feel they belong from the start? • Be clear about the connections and pathways between groups?

9. Review -11-13 – what works? • Are there sufficient opportunities out of school where the Parish welcomes and works with this age range? • Should there be a pre teens liturgy of the word experience similar to the children’s liturgy? • Would a once a month experience provide a connection with this age range?

10. Review - faith based or community friendship events – a blend • Should we recognise that community type experiences without a faith component can act as a connection and a pathway to other experiences? • Such experiences should be unconditional and not require the faith commitment should build friendship and community?

11. Review - 14-18 – what works? • A critical gap in our contact? • A priority for the future plans? • A participative and small scale Liturgy experience could make the difference? • Other community events? • Is it working now? • What’s the role of “branding” in putting the work across?

12. Review - What support for transition • At critical points like pre-teen years • Support for moving to Secondary • At critical points like post 16 • Moving schools out of area, travelling • When friendships change • When success hangs in the balance • When work is scarce • What role for guidance, mentoring and “introducers”

13. Review - Confirmation – post changes • What experiences should we be offering at Year 10 which allows for a deepening of friendships and an experience of community • Is there a life stage event which could be designed to prepare for transition to College post 16? While maintaining parish connections and friendships?

14. Review - young people and the mass • a focus for celebration and thanks • Do big community masses “do it” for teens? • Should more varied and “different” experiences be used to build relevance for young people • Small scale • Youth Mass- • Experiences which explain the mass’s parts

15. Next steps 1

16. Vision and planning • Create a vision we can all share • Agree our “mantra” • Annual planning event at Douai plus a St Elizabeths Barbecue to disseminate plans • Shared plan written up and costed • Work to a plan which connects, builds pathways and assists young people be involved in their journey and those of others • Clear roles and responsibilities • Clearly communicated to Parish and young people

17. Different CH&YP’S groups • Separate purposes but same vision and common ground • Coordinated with each other • Connecting and building community • Bringing in and welcoming • Purposeful pathways and connections

18. Future involvement in plans • Groups not at the event- critical – Scouts, Guides, Alter Servers • Groups not attending activities – faith or other • Links with school based groups and activities – St E’s, St A’s and St B’s • Young people from all groups – capture their views

19. How should we plan • Build our community – a team approach • A vision for our young people’s work linked to the Parish vision • A coordinated approach between groups • Short medium and longer term goals • Important or urgent/ Hard or Easy • Working groups • Project managed chunks – small steps

20. Next steps 2

21. Next steps 2 • Have an annual planning event at Douai • Review what we currently have and do well against our plan • Establish what actions are needed for next year and write these down • Plan up the programme for this year • Strong pathways for adult involvement in leadership roles

22. As an annual programme for young people and children • Strong branding and make it cool? • An experience of prayer- shadow a monk! And other Douai experiences • Young people’s annual barbecue? • Youth Group Wed? • Youth Group Sunday? • Regular welcoming events? • Annual Gap year apprentice selection?

23. Yes weeks eg– an affirmation • Damian Lundy (De la Salle) Yes Weeks inspired a positive approach to being teen and experiencing community – themed days • Yes to my changing world • Yes to my tomorrow • Yes to my today • Yes to my community • Yes to my changing church • http://www.kintbury.org/confirmationretreats.php • http://www.kintbury.org/yesweeks.php

24. Communicating what’s there • Clear ways of communicating key messages to young people and parents • Explaining what’s on • Explaining what’s there – map it! • Stress the links and pathways • Outlining the benefits • Signposting to other services • Learning from other organisation • Christ Church Aughton • http://www.christchurchaughton.org.uk/?page_id=15

25. Draw other adults in • Essential to involve more people • Recruit with a managed process • Apply professional standards to developing roles and responsibilities • Maintain a process of authorised work and accountability • Review progress with people and teams

26. Cottages strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, challenges

27. Event slides • These slides are enclosed as a reminder for participants on the day only

28. Aims – your invitation • Look at the Cottages in the Abbey grounds, together with other facilities there and see if and how we might use these facilities for parish groups (especially the suitability for use by our young people) • Explore how we as parishes may experience and foster community through being with the monastic community and joining in the prayer of the monks at the Abbey on the Saturday and through future events • Establish, through discussion, if we share the same vision for our young people, if there is scope for a greater collaboration in our work with young people and if establishing an annual programme would help to bring all the pieces of the jigsaw together.

29. Why we’re here – further thoughts • To explore our thinking around young people and children’s ministry using the themes of • Making connections • Creating pathways • Supporting journeys

30. Objectives • Understand and appreciate the assets which are our parishes, the Abbey and surrounding area and the community at Douai Abbey • Decide on the suitability of the Cottages as a venue for residential work with groups of young people and other parish groups • List the features of a thriving community especially those which would nurture our young people and which together we can cultivate through our joint ventures • Make connections and identify potential pathways between our different activities which might support our young people in a journey which is linked to community and parish life • Describe ways of jointly planning and developing a coordinated collaborative ministry for our young people in our parishes • Describe the journey we might take together to improve young people's experiences of community

31. Contracting check list • Happy to work together, listen, give air time • Happy to take a lead from Ann and Grant • Happy to work on aims and objectives set • Anything else??

32. Programme 7.30am Set off from St Anne’s Car park 11.30am Arrive at Douai Abbey Welcome and Introductions 12.00 noon Join the Community for the Jubilee Mass for Fr Gervase 1.15pm Hot lunch 2.00pm Emmaus walk – community, making connections for young people, sharing pathways 2.50pm Abbott Geoffrey - the Abbey, community life and its contribution to parish life 3.10pm Tea/coffee 3.20pm Fr Godric - Community as the life of the parish 3.35pm Groups Exercise – sharing from the walk 4.00pm Feedback 4.30pm Planning together 5.15pm Next steps 5.45pm Prepare for Vespers 6.00pm Vespers with the Community 6.30pm Cold supper and depart

33. Emmaus – meet a stranger and feedback! • Start by introductions to one another. • What is my involvement/interest in the children’s/youth ministry? Do we share common ground? (worksheet) • What does community mean to me? (Key words on worksheets then post-its) • What helped me on my journey within the Catholic community? • How can we enable our young people to appreciate the parish community and offer a sense of support for their journey?

34. Our interests and involvement • Young people and children • Guides/Brownies • Marriage preparation • Confirmation preparation • Youth Ministry Amplify groups • Music in the Liturgy • Children’s Liturgy • Scouts - apols

35. Community – key ideas

36. current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, challenges

37. Is there a case for planning together? • If yes? What are your reasons for this • If so how would we go about this? • If no ? What other ways forward are there

38. Ideas about planning and next steps

39. Our venue as a parish resource • Is it suitable for groups of young people to visit and hold residential or days away? • Benefits/Drawbacks • Other uses? • Opportunities and ideas?

41. Tramlines after • To what extent do you feel we are currently making use of our links with Douai Abbey, its facilities and the Community there? • How well do our parishes currently foster community? • How far do we share the same vision for our children/young people? • We share a vision for our work with children and young people? • I feel an important part of the Children and Youth Ministry in the Parish? • How possible would it be to plan a co-ordinated approach to our ministry for children/young people?

42. Evaluation • Objectives succeeded? • Inputs helpful? • Venue? • Catering? • Next time?...........