Living off the Land

Anyone who has been to Youthscape Towers (aka Bute Mills) here in Luton will know we’re lucky enough to work out of a truly magnificent building. It may not have the climbing walls or slides of Google’s workspaces but in my view it’s a pretty close second for a comparatively modest UK charity. By virtue of having such a great space to operate from, the spaces in YS Towers are often hired out to other organisations and groups. The bonus being that when visitors’ appetites don’t match up to the expectations of our Room Hire team, the surplus is delivered to the second floor. It doesn’t take long before the hungry Youthscape staff appear and those that gambled on lunchtime offerings find out whether today is a day that they can indeed ‘live off the land’.

Last week we had such a day, when we ran an event in house. As the hosts, our nutritional needs were guaranteed to be met but how would the rest of the staff upstairs fare? It all started with the arrival of 9 Youth Workers from around the country, gathering in the Conference Room. Yes they were here for our highly significant research, but let us not forget that their presence meant pastries, and lots of them. As the hosts it would have been rude to not join them in sampling these sweet treats, so we sacrificially got stuck into the almond croissants and cinnamon buns. Between us we made a pretty good dent in the supply.
Research Team 1: Staff upstairs 0.

Now these youth workers were here because they were learning how to use our newly developed Bible reading resource. So what’s so special about this resource, I hear you ask, that it requires its own training day to use with your youth group? Well, it’s a bottom up meets top down approach; where suspended knowledge meets imaginative contemplation; and where young people are encouraged to respond to the gospel authentically from where it lands in their narratives. Not where we as Christian adults situate it for them. It’s a resource that we hope will help young people themselves translate the gospel message into today’s cultural languages and create thirst for further encounters with scripture. These intrepid youth workers were joining us on a journey to evaluate and reflect on how well it does its job.

As a youth worker it’s a brave undertaking to put your own agenda and knowledge aside for a bit. However, this approach has echoes of informal youth work, where learning is unplanned and incidental, and the role of the youth worker is critical to the process. After some helpful practice and robust discussion we realised the enormity of what we were asking these youth workers to do. To help with the potential anxiety about having to explain to their Church Leaders that they were ditching the discipleship curriculum for the next 8 weeks we thought it was time for tea and biscuits. Fortunately for the staff upstairs tummies were still relatively full of pastries so the biscuits were left largely untouched.
Research Team 1: Staff upstairs 1.

As we moved on with the training the confidence grew and the enthusiasm in the room was tangible. Lunch appeared and the in-house competition was nearly derailed as Jemimah tried to send everyone off to the mall to buy their own food. Unfortunately for those on Floor 2 Hannah stepped in and the visitors (& us) nibbled on wraps, sandwiches, cakes, crisps and fruit.
Research Team 2: Staff upstairs 1.

The day continued and the excitement grew, finally our youth workers were ready to be sent out on their very important mission. But not without encouragement from us to take some supplies for their journeys home. We also had a few more munchies as we cleared up and packed down the room.
Research Team 3: Staff upstairs 1.

Then, the moment arrived. The leftovers were taken ceremoniously up to Floor 2 and laid out on the table for all to see. The ping of the whats app alerting staff to the food’s presence was all that was needed and before long only crumbs remained. Was this offering sufficient for the YS staff to ‘live off the land’? You’ll have to ask them. And as for the Youth Workers' new mission, well, we’re only just beginning!