Clydebank Waterfront Parish Church Mini Youth Group

Youth Column: Faith in Action

Monday October 19 2020

Two young leaders talk about their work with Clydebank Waterfront Parish Church Mini Youth Group.

Rory Simonis

My name is Rory, I am 13 years old and a young leader of Mini Youth Group which consists of about 20 children from eight years to 15 years and an S6 young leader.

Our focus is faith in action – playing games, listening to bible stories and crafts. We were awarded a £500 sports grant from Aldi Community and when permitted plan to use this with other groups including the local refugee community and play some badminton games with the senior church members. Messages and drawings are sent to our local nursing home via our minister and we bag packed at Christmas to raise funds for some fun games/lunch in the church for the elderly. It’s fun to watch eight to 80 year old people playing table tennis together!

We have regular chats about homelessness and in December raised funds and took part in the Social Bite Big Sleep Out in the church. Our leaders are researching an initiative that helps the homeless by recycling crisp wrappers into waterproof blankets.

I like the fact that children can meet with others that they perhaps don’t speak to normally. It provides an environment that is welcoming to anyone. I would like to hope that the group can continue to grow and attract more people to it. It would also be good to continue to plan activities that benefit the community especially the elderly.

Niamh Hudson

My name is Niamh, I am 14 years of age and a young leader. We learn about caring for our world and each other through group discussions and themed group crafts and games. We are looking into a new recycling programme that recycles items that are currently unrecyclable, in particular that pollute the ocean. This company also helps to clean up the local coastal areas and we can help when permitted in the future as we have been learning about the effects of water pollution. As part of our eco challenges, we looked at a book called The Ugly Animals, We Can’t All Be Pandas that encourages us to think about endangered animals.

Our leaders have contacted a young writer and eco expert, Sarah Roberts, who was really interested to hear about our group’s focus. Sarah has a YouTube channel and we look forward to watching her video on The Rescue of Humpty, The Little Hippo. We also have an emoji group that concentrates on health and wellbeing and this will be another particular focus this year and how we can support each other.

For the future of Mini Youth Group and our community I would love it if we could decrease the amount of plastic and waste being thrown into the ocean. For our mental health, it would be great for everyone when kids, teenagers or even adults express how they feel and not be embarrassed or nervous. I think that Mini Youth Group is a great opportunity for young people to help, get involved and make a difference.

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