About Us

Letter from the Vicar

Dear Friends

Up and down the country young people are preparing to begin university and college courses with many of them leaving home and moving to begin a new phase of their lives with a mixture of excitement and natural apprehension. I remember well the feeling in our house of ‘empty nest syndrome’ when our youngest left and our emotion as we left him at his new accommodation and realised that our family life had changed.

Not everybody leaves home or goes on to further education following their exam results, but the starting of an apprenticeship or entering the world of paid work is equally an important moment of transition and change where the support and encouragement of loved ones is part of the process of engaging with change and opportunity.

During a conversation I heard recently on the radio discussing the receiving of exam results somebody was saying how difficult and challenging it is for young people to be growing up in the world we inhabit today compared to past generations. There is certainly evidence to show that young people are less happy and instances of low self-esteem, mental health crisis, and worries about the future are on the rise. We associate young people with optimism, compassion and a desire to see justice prevail, but grappling with a post-Covid world, the uncertainties and anxieties, as well as the pressures put on young people to succeed, integrate, and grapple with what type of world they will inherit are all taking their toll.

Greater awareness of mental health, respect and understanding towards young people who are questioning their identity, the call for social media reform, listening and engaging with young people, and offering hope that they can and will have opportunity to flourish, succeed and shape the future of our planet as well as social and political structures for the good of all, can help to reverse the feeling that life is stacked against me before I can properly begin to engage with in in my own right.

Positive parenting, encouragement, values, creating safe streets and environments, and addressing the social divides that offer greater opportunity for young people in certain parts of our country to prosper as opposed to those who live in more disadvantaged communities are also important ways of creating positive and affirming opportunities for young people to find happiness and fulfilment within their lives.

We must do all that we can to reduce the turbulence and uncertainty that cause unhappiness, anxiety and division in order to create a more positive and hopeful life for all, especially amongst the younger generation of our country.

Every Blessing

Canon Tony