Faith in the community: Leigh Park people will make up their own minds about faith

I SOMETIMES marvel at the faith of people who describe themselves as ‘secularists’.

You may have seen that the National Secular Society complained about a job advert for a Church of England youth worker to be based at Park Community School. It’s a project I’m working on with the school.

The idea is that a youth worker offers pastoral support and mentoring to pupils. They would also lead some worship activities, similar to those you might find in a school assembly. There may also be lunchtime or after-school activities involving worship or discussion.

But all of it is entirely voluntary. No staff or pupils will be forced to take part, and those who want to join in are likely to have some kind of Christian faith already.

However, the National Secular Society complained because they thought we would be ‘converting’ schoolchildren. They seem to have more faith in our ability to change people’s minds about Christianity than even I have!

Do they really think it’s so easy to ‘brainwash’ people into accepting faith? That’s an insult to their intelligence. Children and adults here are more than capable of hearing about faiths of all kinds – and then making their own decision about whether to embrace faith or not.

To suggest that a handful of Christians singing, talking or praying in a classroom is going to cause mass conversions is to misunderstand how these things actually work.

I’ve been going into schools here for many years. I wear a dog collar and I’m a vicar, so people expect me to talk about God, Jesus and the Bible. No one bats an eyelid when I do. For some staff and children, that’s interesting. Others feel free to ignore me.

It’s similar when chaplains work in schools, hospitals, universities and workplaces. For some people, that’s really helpful, as they have someone to value them and listen to them. They can talk about faith with the chaplain, but it’s never forced on anyone. Some don’t feel they need that support, and so don’t ask the chaplains for it.

I know the pupils at Park Community School will feel the same. They won’t be remotely phased by a church youth worker in school – especially as they’ve actually experienced having one before, without any issues.

I’m just grateful for the strong partnership between the church and the school which will make this valuable work possible.

ST FRANCIS CHURCH, Riders Lane, Leigh Park, PO9 4QTST CLARE’S CHURCH, St Clare’s Avenue, Warren Park