It's a riot is my latest blog post, now over at timabbott.co.uk Continue reading

Sanctum at Stanway School - Tuesday is my latest blog post, now over at timabbott.co.uk Continue reading

Sanctum at Stanway School - Monday is my latest blog post, now over at timabbott.co.uk Continue reading

Sanctum at The Gilberd School is my latest blog post, now over at timabbott.co.uk Continue reading

My blog, including all previous posts from this one, can now be found at timabbott.co.uk I've updated the source for my RSS feed to reflect the new blog, so hopefully followers of this one should now automatically see the new blog feed. Let me know if it's not working. Thanks, Tim Continue reading

Thanks to Jonny Baker for flagging up this wonderful live animation of the big picture story of the Bible by Rich Oster. [If you can't see the video or you're reading this via RSS click here.] More background on this at CMS Pioneer Mission Leadership Training I can see an immediate use for this as part of an RE day we're running soon. Continue reading

For the last year and a half The Financial Times has been asking business leaders a few questions, including, "What are your three worst features?" On the BBC web site in "The seven deadly sins CEOs won't admit" Lucy Kellaway looks at the findings. There seems to be a general trait of spinning failings as strengths. Control-freakery can be presented as attention to detail or passion for the core vision; impatience might be justified as sustaining a cutting edge or ensuring you ship on time. You think you're focused - your team see you as a bully. You know the kind of thing... you've probably struggled at some point with this kind of leadership. Perhaps, deep down, you know you're that leader. Lucy writes; "In the past 15 years of studying them, I've drawn up a list of the seven most common deadly sins. They are control freaks. They are vain. They are ditherers. They don't listen. They are bullies. They are afraid of conflict. And they can't do small talk. I suspect the real problem is they don't know what their faults are. A decade of psychobabble, coaching and 360-degree feedback has made no difference." Ouch. I recognise some of myself in a few of those. But here's what I think is at the heart of the matter; "It has not changed the most basic truth - people never speak truth to power." Within CYO we've had a system for many years where team members have a pastoral mentor from local churches that they meet with once a month. These people are in first or second tier church leadership and have complete permission to speak to any other team member, including me, about any concerns they have. And any team member can speak to any of our trustees if they wish. Of course, as a first recourse we still encourage people to be open with each other, incuding about any behaviours that are challenging. But giving people an alternative safety valve helps them feel safe, and means I can't hide behind a positive spin on a negative behaviour. How do you manage your 'blind side'? Continue reading

AoF have a mini tour coming up, bringing their unique and hugely proficient take on funk to London and to carefully selected nearby towns. You will be well entertained... Update - I gather there's a chance you will find AoF busking (with permission!) in these places on the afternoon of the gig. Friday 1st July - Hooga, Chelmsford Saturday 2nd July - The Pickerel, Stowmarket Sunday 3rd July - Bar 62, St Albans Monday 4th July - Barrio Central, in Soho Tuesday 5th July - The Herschel Arms, Slough Wednesday 6th July - Global Café, Reading Thursday 7th July - The Porter, Bath Friday 8th July - The Emperor, Cambridge AoF on Facebook AoF web site Continue reading

Fewer numbers; greater depth. We're contiuing to see students engaging seriously with Sanctum in lessons and, in answer to our prayers, numbers at break and lunch time have consistently been 8-10. In amongst the deep conversations about life and faith there's also been loads of humour. Yesterday one boy wrote on the Big Question activity; "Why did you make me so damn sexy?!" which turned into a discussion with his mates responding in terms of how God made us and how he sees all of us. Today I chatted with Alan over the 'character' activity. He'd chosen as his top three attributes, "Love", "Joy", and "Strength". Alan saw strength as something that's more than just physical but also mental which led on to a conversation about whether it's possible to have spiritual strength. His conclusion was that he really hoped to have a strong faith as he grew up. Later Stu, a Year 13 who has only one A level exam left, came in during a year 8 lesson simply to spend time at the prayer wall leaving a prayer for a friend who's going through a difficult time. We've also had some of the secretarial staff popping in and taking part. With two days still to go I'm excited to see how this week concludes. If there's one thing that's proved true, it's all about the individuals. (Names have been changed) Continue reading

The summer season of Sanctum kicked off on Monday at Colchester Royal Grammar School, our third annual visit here. A few weeks ago we prayed about this visit of Sanctum. Although we probably shouldn't be surprised by these things, all three of us felt God was saying exactly the same thing about our approach this time, "It's not about the numbers." This has two practical implications. The first is that we've chosen activities that have a particularly personal application. The second is that we're limiting the maximum number in the room at break and lunch times to 10 and not recording the number of students visiting. As a result there's a very different feel to the room. People have really engaged with it and we've already had some good conversations with quite a few students. One of the surprise successes, in terms of activities that young people report to be meaningful and helpful, is the prayer beads. Take a glass bead, hold it as you pray, then add it to others in a bowl. Continue reading

The CO1 Youth Cafe opened recently in Colchester in the redundant Holy Trinity Church right in the centre of the town. It's a triumph of faith in a vision and persistence in implementation as it's taken over ten years to get to this stage, but finally the doors are open. It's now our venue of choice for meeting people in town and, athough slightly biased, I can heartily recommend it. The obvious sense of space and natural light give it an ambience that no other cafe can match and there are also tables and chairs outside, under the shade of the ancient yew trees and overloked by the splendid Saxon tower. We (CYO) are looking forward to working with CO1 as the project develops over the next few months. For history buffs, Holy Trinity Church is one of the oldest buildings in the town, parts of which date back to about 1000AD. Continue reading

After a break of 9 months AoF returned to Colchester on Thursday to play at The Bull, one of Colchester's best live music venues. Joining Aof in The Soundhouse, the intimate but lovely second venue, support came from local friends Nick Platt and "Live and Unsigned" finalist Anna Pancaldi. Changes since last August mean that AoF is now in the novel position of having two lead vocalists, both called Livvy. Ben, the band's leader and songwriter has been busy writing so the evening was an opportunity to bring out the best of their older songs as well as introducing people to the newer material which will soon be released as an EP. More AoF photos on Flickr AoF web site AoF on Facebook Continue reading

Web-wandering this afternoon I came across this amazing timelapse video by Canadian photographer Dominic Boudreault. Timelapse - The City Limits from Dominic on Vimeo. Continue reading

This morning I was particularly inspired by this blog from Michael Hyatt on Three reasons why you must guard your heart, based on King Solomon's words, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23) Continue reading

Fruit and veg stall in Bergama, Turkey Continue reading

Back from an Easter break and the work of writing up the responses from the recent Sanctum prayer space continues, this time working our way through the responses to the "Sorry" activity. Among the many general but no doubt honest expressions of sorrow were a few that spoke powerfully of young people trying to come to terms with heartbreaking situations. This one, in particular, had a profound impact on us as a team and on school staff. "I’m sorry for not spending time with you Mum. Sorry Dad if I doubted you. I feel you two should get along better. I’m sorry for judging you both. I’m sorry for getting angry with you when you both needed me most. I’m sorry for loving you and then disowning you. I’m sorry." How do we help this young person and their family? Can we? How shall we pray? Continue reading

One of the joys of running Sanctum, once we get around to it, is writing up all the responses from the young people for each of the different activities. A couple of days ago I was typing up the responses to the "Thankful" activity, where students write a few words on a post it note about the things they're thankful for. Among the 400 or so post-its there was an overwhelming number saying "friends and family" or variations thereof including quite a few expressing gratitude for grandparents. Then there were the others, not just for pets, football or x-boxes, but inspiring, honest and hearfelt mini prayers of thanks. Here are some of them. God for creating the beauty of the world for having that one friend who makes me feel wanted I am thankful for you in my life. You are well nice and proper thoughtful I am thankful that I have food, water and a roof over my head. Also that my family love me to be unique and to be a twin I am thankful that the 5 year release time is coming up for my sister since she had leukaemia I’m thankful for everything, even the bad. Thank you for letting me live that I’m not in somewhere like Haiti or anything and that I’m not poor I am thankful for my mum who made meI have life and I’m glad it’s how I want it to be I am thankful for my amazing life family pets and friends I’m grateful for having all the people I love most around me I am thankful for nature and all good things memory and forgiveness God for creating us Continue reading

Former colleague and friend-whom-I-should-meet-far-more-often, Tom Haward, has been reflecting on identity in a series of raw, provocative, and brtually honest posts. Tom writes remarkable prose, exploring the light and the darkness of our search for identity, viewed sharply and passionately from within yet free of morbidity or self pity. His latest looks at unconditional love. I don't care about the mistakes you've made... Continue reading

Liverpool Hope University run a PGCert course in Christian Chaplaincy in Education. This one year part time course covers two modules, Contexts for Educational Chaplaincy, and Skills, Knowledge, Understanding & Values for Educational Chaplaincy. Increasing numbers of people are now working in state schools in a role that combines pastoral supprt and spiritual development from a Christian perspective. Alongside this remarkable movement has been the growing expectation that those working with young people will have some level of relevant qualification, something that has been lacking for regular school visitors but which this course clearly addresses. With three team members currently involved as chaplains in two secondary schools and the sixth form college we're looking into adopting this course as part of our CPD. We've begun discussions with Hope Uni about the possibility of hosting the teaching days so if you live closer to Colchester than Liverpool and you're interested in this PGCert please get in touch as they need a minimum number of students to make the course viable. Continue reading

Our week running Sanctum at Thurstable School in Tiptree has been a very 'full' experience in all sorts of ways with over 500 students visiting, some returning a couple of times. Classes have ranged from chatty to silent and from totally engaged to permanently distracted in almost every combination! But we've had no real issues with behaviour beyond a few inappropriate posts on the Sorry activity and the Prayer Wall which we quickly, and subtly, removed. On one ocasion I was standing with a group of Year 9 boys who had posted some very disrespectful 'prayers' on the prayer wall and while they were still there I was able to so discreetly remove them that one lad was totally confused when he tried to show his mate his 'prayers', as they'd disappeared! Early on in the week we had one of our mp3 players stolen (it was at the activity when they finished but not when they left). The staff were outstanding in following this up immediately with this class, though the mp3 player was never found. We've been blessed with great support from local church leaders and friends who have been warm and welcoming to the young people as well as getting totally stuck into running some of the activities. One of the new ones which has worked so well is what we call "Character". Students choose two character cards from a face down set which they then turn over one at a time as a discussion starter about how their life is and how they'd like to develop. (e.g. Joy, Kindness, Strength, Responsibility...) Time and again students turned up a card that exactly matched their situation resulting in a conversation that brought insight and clarity to them. My colleague Amy and I watched one girl leaving the Identity activity with the biggest smile you've ever seen on her face, declaring that it was "really good!" "Really good" doesn't begin to describe the boost to her confidence the activity had inspired - you had to see that smile. We've had the usual crop of heartbreaking glimpses of tragic home lives and relationships through the Sorry activity (the example below continues on the other side) and the Prayer Wall. And it was wonderful to see Japan literally covered in prayer. I was talking to a group of girls at the Prayer Wall when one of them showed me her prayer, for her dad who has arthritis and is in constant pain. I'd love to have prayed with her for her dad there and then, but this wouldn't have been appropriate. Instead I said to her, "In that case my prayer is that your prayer will be answered." She seemed incredibly grateful. There have also been some wonderful thank you's posted on the very overcrowded "thankful" activity. The response from staff, in particular the senior staff, has been wonderful, not least because Sanctum has followed immediately after the Beloved course here this term. Inevitably conversation turns to other ways we could be involved, bringing into the life of the school and its students the blend of therapeutc benefit and spiritual development that Sanctum embodies in a more regular and sustainable way. As ever, I have a mixture of new insights and unanswered questions about how we continue to develop Sanctum. However, after what I thought might be a difficult week turned out to be glorious, I'm looking forward to the next three in the summer term. If you're interested in running something like Sanctum, check out Prayer Spaces in Schools Continue reading

I loved this from Joe Knight, reflecting on the life of the community he is part of in Gloucester. May I be quick to bless And slow to hurt Quick to build up And slow to injure Quick to listen And slow to react hastily Quick to be honest And slow to blame Quick to gentleness Slow to forcefulness Quick to humility And slow to superiority Quick to make peace And slow to divide Quick to be meek And slow to over confidence Quick to affirm Slow to argue Quick to keep an open heart Slow to manipulate Quick to be selfless Slow to defensiveness Quick to discern And slow to judge Quick to patience And slow carelessness Quick to love And slow to break friendship Quick to see you Jesus And slow to reinforce my image Quick to let you speak And slow to my own opinions Quick to hear your words And slow to my own interpretations Quick to let your kingdom come Slow to make my will be done Quick to seek and find you And slow to hide from you Lord Jesus, Fill my heart, my mind and my mouth May they be you to others And for you forever Amen Continue reading

This week we're in Thurstable School, Tiptree running Sanctum there for the second year. This is our thirteenth Sanctum which you'd think would mean we've got it pretty much sussed by now... We're back in the same room that we had last year, a former Youth Club that's part of the school site next to the dining room and which would normally be the Year 7 break and lunchtime area (more on this later!) We've decided to go for fewer activities, just nine, but to put more effort into theming the room. This has included suspending netting from the ceiling using magnets to hold it to the light fittings. Improvisation is definitely a key skill for a Prayer Space in School practitioner! We've also added our own lighting which has helped transform the space into a much softer venue, including curios like the orange ribbon and battery led lights in the glass bowl shown above. Our timetable is pretty intense. From Monday breaktime to Friday lunchtime we have just two lessons off and given that we're open to visitors at break and lunchtime this makes for a long day. In compensation the Thurstable school lunches (which are being provided for us) must rate as some of the best in the country as they employ their own chef and source most of their ingredients locally. One thing we're struggling with this time is the slightly 'hyper' behaviour of the Year 7's, many of whom seem to think the aim is to get round all the activities as quickly as possible but then run out of things to do and struggle to work out what it is they've just done. One issue is that this being their break time social space they're used to letting off steam here and though our theming of the venue often produces "wow" comments it's still a space they feel they own. We're managing break and lunchtime numbers very tightly, a maximum of 15 at any time, which seems to be controlling the randomness and noise and allowing those in Sanctum to engage with it appropriately. Lessons are being handled by splitting groups into 2 and having half visit for each half of the lesson. Having 30 students in at once for an hour would be a fascinating social/educational experiement but I fear for what would happen and whether they'd get anything meaningful from the experience. The Year 8's and Year 9's, on the other hand, have been amazing. Both groups remember last year very positively and are delighted to be back and to try the new activities. Some comment that they miss the 'quiet tent' with the bean bags, but we decided, for the first time in 12 Sanctum's, to leave this out as last year it had been a constant source of noise and crowd control issues. Instead we're encouraging them to see the whole room as a quiet space which many seem to be able to connect with. Feedback from classes post-visit is coming in and is proving to be very positive. Once again the "Forgiveness" activity is coming up as the most popular and most helpful, followed by the Identity activity. Being forgiven and knowing how God sees you. Could you come away having discovered anything better? Continue reading

A couple of Saturdays ago I was in Bristol leading a one day workshop on running Prayer Spaces in Schools. Also on the team was Catherine, from Oxford, Joe from Gloucester and Jo from Cheddar. We each told a few stories about prayer spaces we've run which illustrated the variety of approaches possible. I love the thematic approach thet Joe takes with the prayer spaces he runs, diving deep into gospel stories as a source of inspiration for prayer activities. (photo - Joe sharing news from Gloucester) We had an amazing buch of youth and schools workers taking part and towards the end we challenged them to look at how they might put all this into practice. As a result we identified about 5 groups that were planning to run a Prayer Space in their school and were keen to make a start! The range of people and resources available in Bristol along with the excellent networking that's taking place (and which brought people together for the day) bodes well for the future. If they do go for it I can easily see Bristol becoming a regional hub for Prayer Spaces in Schools. My thanks to Jane and Lorna for their warm welcome and spplendid organisation and to Catherine, Joe and Jo all of whom contributed stories and wisdom in abundance. Joe's posted his own thoughts about the day here. Tomorrow and Wednesday I'm in Oxford working again with Catherine to run a two day workshop for CYM/Oxford Youth Works on setting up and running Prayer Spaces. Continue reading

Michael Hyatt poses Seven better questions you can ask in the midst of adversity. He writes, "I learned a valuable lesson: the answers we get are often determined by the questions we ask. If we ask bad questions, we will get bad answers. If we ask better questions—empowering questions—we will get better answers." I won't post the questions here - go read for yourself, including the link at the end of question 6. ; ) Because we weren't able to run Sanctum in the Sixth Form College in the week we had previously planned, we were forced to ask new questions about why we were doing it, how it might work differently and what outcomes we wanted for students. This led to the amazing opportunity to run it on the concourse which turned it into the best Sanctum we've ever done there. Now we're facing a similar dilemma... I think we'll be asking ourselves some good questions. Continue reading

Into the current debate on the place of RE in the 'English Baccalaureate' (see REact) Robert Jackson, Professor of Education at the University of Warwick and Director of Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit, has responded to David Cameron's speech in Munich where he spoke on multiculturalism, security and religion. In particular, he highlights the desires of young people for more and better qualitiy education on these issues, and particularly on the role of religious education. This extract is from an overview article in ekklesia: Professor Jackson cites European research – notably the European Commission Project on Religion, Education, Dialogue and Conflict (REDCo) among 14-16 year olds in eight countries, with which he was involved – as demonstrating the desire of young people for a 'safe space' within the school curriculum to explore different beliefs in a thoughtful way. He declares: "Mr Cameron might give some careful attention to their views. First, the majority of students surveyed wish for peaceful coexistence across differences, and believe this to be possible. Second, they believe that peaceful coexistence depends on knowledge about each other’s religions and worldviews and sharing common interests as well as doing things together." The research also shows that "students who learn about religious diversity in school are more willing to have conversations about religions/beliefs with students of other backgrounds than those who do not... They want learning to take place in a ‘safe’ classroom environment ... They want teachers to combine expertise in the study of religions and social and cultural issues with expertise as facilitators of discussion and exchange." "Students do not want to be told what to believe," stresses Professor Jackson, "but would like the state-funded school to be a place for learning about different religions, and for clarifying their own views." The original article by Robert Jackson is here. The full REDCo report is here (pdf) and there are some compelling research findings from students, some cited in the extract above, as well as policy recommendations. It's only 4 pages long and succinct. More info about REDCo here and here Continue reading