The Bishop of Blackburn, Rt Rev. Philip North, is establishing a Lancashire-wide Youth Forum; putting young people who worship in our parishes at the centre of work for the wider church in the County.

Members of the new forum meet for the first time this Saturday (May 11) at Blackburn Cathedral. 

One of Bishop Philip’s declared aims on becoming Diocesan Bishop last summer was mission to and with young people. That work also includes an annual Diocesan holiday for the same age group ... next one coming up soon from May 28-30 at Borwick Hall. 

• Young people can still sign up for the new Forum here (including adding their parent/carers’ details alongside)
• There will coverage of the event after and on the day via social media on Twitter/X @cofelancs @BDBofE and Facebook/BlackburnDiocese

Bishop Philip foreshadowed the Youth Forum in his Installation Service at Blackburn Cathedral last year.

During his sermon at that time he said: “In the Bible, Jesus places a child right at the centre of the community and holds them up as the role model of discipleship. That’s quite a contrast from the contemporary church, where we so often push the child to the margins or ignore their voice.

“Imagine every parish engaging in ministry to the young. Imagine a network of children and youth workers supporting that ministry across Lancashire. Imagine too, an even closer partnership between churches and our amazing family of church schools for the benefit of the young.

“But equally, we want young people to inspire the church. So, let’s create the places where young people can pray, worship, sing and lead.”

Set to launch on Saturday, with a second meeting already planned for September, the new Youth Forum will comprise young people from parishes between the ages of 11 and 17 who will meet with a team of senior leaders in the Diocese two or three times a year with the following aims:

• To listen to God (through prayer, worship and the study of Scripture) and each other.
• To be a voice for children and young people in the Diocese
• To discuss and advise on areas of the life of the Diocese that have particular interest to the young (for example youth and children’s ministry)
• To participate in consultation processes which will eventually result in a new Diocesan strategy to replace the current Vision 2026 in two years’ time.
• To feed their views into governance processes of the Diocese (such as the Diocesan Synod) through presentations or video messages
• To attend to their own growth as Christian disciples and leaders and hear to God’s call in their lives

Bishop Philip said: “The Youth Forum will NOT be too formal. Instead, our meetings will comprise a wide range of activities and will be fast-paced and enjoyable.

“There will be food, relationship building, worship and games as well as times of conversation and debate. The idea is to encourage those taking part to take time to listen to each other and to listen to God.

“Currently we are asking older people in our parishes to stand for election for Diocesan Synod. It’s a three-week campaign running until May 23 when nominations close. I’m pleased to say this new Youth Forum was set up in direct response to a question raised at Diocesan Synod and highlighting the need for such a body.”

Diocesan Youth Adviser, Ben Green adds: “Our Youth Forum will be a diverse group of young people. We will work hard to ensure that all members can find their voice.

“Young people who bring energy, imagination and a sense of mischief can often make an especially strong contribution. Above all we want young people to be inspired by the person of Jesus.”

The first Youth Forum meeting will be on Saturday from 11am until 4pm and will take place in the Crypt of the Cathedral.

For more information, contact Ben Green on youth@blackburn.anglican.org or sign up via the link further above.

Captions for above pictures, top to bottom:

• Young people from our parishes - like the ones from across Lancashire who attended our annual Diocesan holiday for young people with Bishop Philip last year - are eligible to be part of the new Youth Panel
• Bishop Philip
• Ben Green, Diocesan Youth Adviser

Ronnie Semley, May 2024