Hello from James Gardner – Diocesan Children and Youth Ministry Lead
Hello, I’m James Gardner and the Children and Youth Ministry Lead in St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane. Welcome to our Children and Young People’s pages. Here you can find out about some of the exciting work that goes on within the Diocese, and throughout the Scottish Episcopal Church.
My role within the Diocese to:
- Promote and support young people’s work throughout the Diocese.
- Maintain contacts with individual congregations who have Young Church/Youth Fellowships. Acting as a source of knowledge and point of reference for Youth Leaders within individual congregations.
- Support, run or facilitate Youth Fellowships, Young Adults Groups and Young Church as and when required or requested.
- Support congregations in development of youth work via advice, support, planning, policies and procedures.
- Develop, together with the Youth Committee, Diocesan Events specifically for young people
- Encourage the active engagement of young people in all decision-making bodies including Vestry, Diocesan Synod, Diocesan Committees.
- Work with Rectors/Priests in Charge to encourage young people to engage and participate in worship services.
- Be the single point of contact between the Provincial Youth Network and Provincial Youth Committee and the Diocesan Youth Forum, promoting for example, Yeek and the Provincial Youth Weekends.
- Ensure that all SEC Safeguarding policies are upheld.
Our Mission with Children and Young People
Our churches warmly welcome young people of all ages. Clergy, Volunteers and Children and Youth Leaders across the Diocese are working hard to include young people in church and encourage them to deepen their faith. We do this by:
- listening to our young people,
- valuing their insights and questions about God, life and church,
- by being fellow Christians walking along side them in the journey of faith.
The Youth and Children Ministry Lead is a central point of contact for all churches in their work with children and young people, and can provide support to any church looking to expand or develop Children and Youth activities in their churches.
James Gardner is our Diocesan Children and Youth Ministry lead and can be contacted by:
Email: youthandchildren@standrews.anglican.org
Tel: 01828 670473
Diocesan Youth Committee
The Diocesan Youth Committee was set up in November 2020. The Youth Committee’s remit is to resource young people’s work in the diocese and to support the Diocesan Youth Ministry Lead. A number of charges have Young Church and Youth Fellowships.
The remit of the Committee is as follows.
First to act as a support to the Diocesan Children and Youth Officer.
Second to promote the collegiality of youth work within the Diocese, to engage with the young people by, for example hosting youth events at the Cathedral, visiting local diocesan Youth Fellowships and Young Church. To raise the profile of the committee and to build a knowledge base so that the Diocese comes to regard the committee as a resource and source of support for individual congregation’s activities.
Third to engage with the local community through contacts with education and established organisations to ask what the SEC can do to help support them in a non-denominational way.
The Youth Committee can be contacted by emailing youthcommittee@standrews.anglican.org
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