"Vue" is just one aspect of the AVENUE

J[gallery]ust thought I'd continue on the idea of featuring some of the fantastic work that is going on out of St Andrew's Church here in Bo'ness at the moment. As I was saying we're blessed in having people on the church staff who are copmpletely dedicated to their calling and are making a difference in the lives of the groups they serve. You could be forgiven when you walk past St Andrew's Church on the Avenue to think not much happens in that building. Howevr you'd be very wrong. looks can be deceiving. Tonight I popped into the Vue, this is the name the teenagers have given to their youth cafe. Around 60 -70 young people were in and around the church hall all of them behaving well and getting ready for their sponsored hall walk. Don't ask me all the details but I know their raising money out of it and I think its for their forth coming two week radio broadcasting project entitled ValleyFM. This is a community radio station they run each year over a 14 day period broadcasting 17 hour per day involving around 40 young people and six months of preparation . Lilias Snedden our youth worker has done a brillant job engaging with the community and increasing the needs and the profile of teenagers in our town. recently she and one of her youth team were elected onto the Community Council. this giving a voice to the needs of young people in our town. All sorts of plans are a foot from a group of teens working in partnership with the Steam Railway creating an interesting garden at a stop over platform to another group arranging a return visit to the UK for a group of teens they met up with in India in 2008. This experience has made our young people realise how difficult it is for young people in the developing world to get a visa to come to Britain for a short term visit. However if your rich and European or American, there seems to be no barr to you travelling the world. There is so much red tape. it is unbelievable. I know we have to be careful who enteres Britain but when your being invited as part of church exchange you'd think that would be seen in a different light. I'll write a post all about the injustices and indeed the way this group of young peole have been treated by the Foreign Office. I tell you this story on an another occasion. Back to the Avenue in Bo'ness. I really do believe that more and more of our churches need to get their doors open and begin to serve their communities. Almost every day is a busy one here in St Andrew's Bo'ness. Yesterday afternoon at 3.30 just after school, it was great to see the place buzzing with teenagers as one group went off to plan their garden platform, while another group of teens went through to the church to rehearse praise songs. They hope to form a youth band to lead praise in the church during the coming months. This will only help add to the musical mix of the congregation. Someone once asked Lilias what was her secret when it came to engaging with unruly teenagers. Lilias told them she tried to accept every child at face value. She tried not to allow the views of others to influence her. The truth is we are seeing behavoural changes in some teenagers and we believe it is because we have not written them off or tarred them with the opinions of someone else. In many ways this is the same idea of resilience that Dianne was talking to me about the other day. It is as we accept teenagers we sustain their self confidence and that allows them to see their significance . So a huge congratulation to Lilias an dher fantastic team of helpers. Your all doing a God inspired Job. The thing is the more we open ourselves as a church he more people God brings to us.

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