Sophia Network

Mentoring to transform lives: in Luton on 16 January

 Our mentoring training programme for 2010 kicks off in Luton this Saturday. It'll be worth battling through any ice and snow for this excellent day with Sharon Prior and Paul Wilcox. Check out the mentoring training website for other dates and venues throughout the year - we'll be in Maidstone on Saturday 6th Feb, Nottingham on Saturday 13th Feb and Glasgow on Saturday 27th Feb plus more to come. Cost is just £15 for Sophia members and Friends which includes lunch and a pack of materials to support the day - bargain!

Shalom: a gathering for Christians working with at-risk young people

The first ever Shalom Conference for Christians working with young people at risk will bring together employed and volunteer practitioners, project pioneers, thinkers and leaders in the field for a gathering and networking event designed to explore this important area of youth work.

Where: St Paul’s Centre, Bordesley Green, Birmingham
When: on September 2 and 3, 2009.
What: This conference is designed to be a meeting of hearts and minds to consider how shalom, a Hebrew word for peace that implies justice and wholeness, might be developed in work with young people in socially excluded situations. In these challenging economic times, the timing of the conference is designed to offer support and cohesion across the Christian faith-based sector. The conference will cover topics relevant to the development of shalom in challenging youth work situations. Workshops, key note inputs and space for spiritual reflection will be on offer. There will also be opportunities to share good practice and innovation with delegates expected from across the country.
Who: organised jointly by: Church Urban Fund, East to West, Frontier Youth Trust, The Living Well Trust and Worth Unlimited.
Cost: The conference fee of £55 includes main meals and refreshments. A non-residential approach has been taken to keep costs as low as possible. Information about local accommodation can be provided on request.
How: A booking form and further information can be downloaded from the FYT site.

Also, don't forget other events coming up:
Sophia Network Essex regional event on 27 June at Benfleet, Essex
East to West Christian Schoolswork Conference on 23 June in Guildford and
FYT Live! on 4 July in Birmingham with a rich choice of workshops for all types of youth workers.

Interview with Amy Stock, schoolswork.co.uk

What was your route into schools work?
After studying for a music degree I pretty much ‘fell’ into a music teaching role in a local secondary school. Trying to get the balance between keeping a class of 30 year 9s under control, sharing something of my passion for music, at the same time as giving them great learning moments was truly a dive in the deep end. However it was the perfect introduction for being able to adapt myself to the differing needs of a school environment. I not only began to understand the demanding life of a teacher but also witnessed hurting young people trying to cope with school, students going unnoticed and unheard, bullies breaking down and confessing they don’t want to stay this way forever. Then on my final day in that school a girl, who had wandered in and out of the Christian Union I ran and stayed on the edges a bit, came to me and said “I’m ready, I want to know God, how do I do it?”. By that time I had already made plans to begin a course in schools work and had a place lined up in a school for that September, but that was such a confirmation that this is what God was calling me to. I wanted to be available in schools for those moments that teachers just don’t have time or the responsibility for. I wanted to be a schools worker.

Who have been your role models?
I’ve been hugely blessed with some wonderful female role models in my life. I grew up in the Salvation Army where I was used to women preaching and leading and I adopted an understanding from a young age that women have a vital role to play in church. From the age of about 14 I can think of many different women who have impacted my faith journey by living their lives passionately for God. Whether it be the teacher I had at school, the friend I got to know working at a camp in the states, my big sister – an amazing woman of God, listening to women like Danielle Strickland (flying the Sally Army flag!) share about living radically for God, or older women who have mentored me over the last few years and guided me through different circumstances. They have demonstrated what it means to live a life surrendered to God and I thank them all for showing me Jesus.

Ironically perhaps, I now find myself as part of a church that has a reputation for not supporting women in ministry! I feel strongly that this church family is right for me at this stage in my life, for whatever reason - God knows! What I do know is that ever since becoming part of this community I’ve been supported in my giftings, encouraged to lead a cell group and even mentored in leadership by my church leader! Until the point comes where I am held back from doing something I feel the Lord guiding me to do I’m really happy to be serving God in this part of his church. Sorry that felt a bit like a rant there…I think there are a lot of gifted women who should be up front in churches, sharing, encouraging and equipping others, and some of us end up in church communities where we get to do that in different ways. I think in my heart I’ll always have a lot of Sally Army influence in me, I don’t think you can ignore it if you’ve grown up in that environment.