A brand-new Lancashire-wide Youth Forum, which is open to young people aged 11-17 from the many Church of England parishes across Lancashire, had its inaugural meeting at the weekend.

The Forum aims to put young people of the GenZ and GenAlpha generations who worship in our parishes at the centre of ongoing work across the Diocese. 

And they came … from Blackpool to Clitheroe and all compass points in between … members of the new Forum met at Blackburn Cathedral for five hours of discussion; lots of fun too!

The Bishop of Blackburn, Rt Rev. Philip North, is passionate about mission to and with young people.

Bishop Philip foreshadowed the Youth Forum in his Installation Service at Blackburn Cathedral last year when he said: “We want young people to inspire the church. So, let’s create the places where young people can pray, worship, sing and lead.”

That work also includes an annual Diocesan holiday for the same age group coming up soon, during the late May bank holiday week.

There was coverage of the new Forum on the social channels for the Diocese, including on Twitter/X @cofelancs @BDBofE and Facebook/BlackburnDiocese. You can see videos live-posted from the event on X here, here and here.  

Meanwhile, there is more to come with the first of a new set of videos issued today and available here on YouTube; featuring Bishop Philip and some of the young people who attended the Forum launch.

Those who attended the first Forum loved the event:

• Noah said: “I’m on the Youth Forum because I want to bring active change to the church.”
• Lucy commented: “I’m here today because I want to make a difference and try to get the attendance numbers of young people up in our churches.”
• Will added: “I’m here because I want to see what I can do to help people our age get into religion.”

A second meeting is already planned for September and young people can still sign up for the new Forum here (including adding their parent/carers’ details alongside).

The Diocesan Youth Forum comprises young people from parishes who are between the ages of 11 and 17 and 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 the consultation processes which will eventually result in the new Diocesan strategy which will 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 added: “The Youth Forum is deliberately NOT too formal; the meeting on Saturday featured a wide range of activities and was fast-paced and enjoyable.

“Future meetings will do the same as we explore together how young people can contribute well to the work of the Diocese. There is food, relationship building, worship and games as well as times of conversation and debate.

“On Saturday the young people had time to listen to each other and to listen to God; thinking about the ways they can work well together as a team and getting to grips with some big questions about young people and the church today.”

Currently, the Diocese is asking older people in parishes to stand for election for Diocesan Synod. It’s a three-week campaign running until May 23 when nominations close and the new Youth Forum was set up in direct response to a question raised at Diocesan Synod highlighting the need for such a body.

Diocesan Youth Adviser, Ben Green adds: “The voice of young people is vital in helping the church to share the gospel with GenZ and GenAlpha. We worked hard on Saturday to ensure that all members of the forum had the opportunity to be heard and listened to. Everything shared has been noted and will feed into future discussions, at future Youth Forums as well as other key meetings including our Diocesan Synod.

“We are still looking for more young people to get involved in order to build a strong group of young people, inspired by the person of Jesus. Young people who can bring energy, imagination and a sense of mischief are welcome to put themselves forward! Sign up here.”

• For more information about the Diocesan Youth Forum, contact Ben Green on youth@blackburn.anglican.org or sign up via the link provided.

Pictrure captions, top to bottom

• Tucking in: l-r, Will from Longridge, Noah from Clitheroe and Alfie from Blackpool tuck into food during their lunchtime break
• Table talk: Getting down to business to discuss issues from their own perspectives
• Listen in: Diocesan Youth Adviser, Ben Green, gathers feedback from the youngsters

Ronnie Semley, May 2024