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1
year on from the launch of the ALOVE vision,
ALOVE interviews Carl Jobson to find out a
bit about how the social action essential
has been implemented in his area; all by spreading
the love on a Wednesday …
Carl is part of the Timothy program and was
involved in launching ‘Do Something
Good Wednesdays’ (DSGwed) at Sutton,
South London. He explains what is involved
and the difference it has made.
What is, 'Doing Something Good Wednesdays'
and what does it involve?
Do Something Good Wednesday's is the new youth
program at Sutton SA. It takes place on a
Wednesday evening, when we gather together
to do something good for our church, community
and world. So far we have spent time prayer
walking our area, trying our hand at some
emergency repairs for our building, have designed,
decorated and delivered Christmas cards to
every house on the local estate, provided
a gift wrapping service, and have become quite
active in the current MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY
campaign.
How did you come
up with, 'Doing Something Good Wednesdays'?
Basically, as a youth group we had spoken
for a long time on getting out into the community,
yet apart from a mission week every summer
we really did very little. Our church building
is in a brilliant location because it is very
close to the town centre and neighbors a huge
council estate home to all manner of needs.
DSGwed is the youth's response to that need.
How many people
are involved in, 'Doing Something Good Wednesdays'
besides yourself?
Each week we will usually have between 10
and 15 people attend, however we believe that
DSG is about more than Wednesday evenings,
it's about an attitude change which affects
our whole lives, and I'd say we have at least
30 people trying to live out the principles
of DSG in their everyday life.
The ALOVE essentials
are: worship, discipleship, mission and social
action. Can you describe how, 'Doing Something
Good Wednesdays' is relevant for social action?
This is a key part of what we do. Social action
for us is not just about signing petitions
or putting some change in a collection tin
every now and then. It's about us changing
our attitudes towards how we view things.
We are trying very hard to make sure that
we are taking part in social action in every
part of our lives. Through thinking ethically
about our purchases, to becoming active in
campaigns such as MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY
ensure that we are living out this ideal.
Something which, as The Salvation Army, is
an integral part of our DNA.
What kind of things have not worked as well
for you as you tried to develop, 'Doing Something
Good Wednesdays'?
When we started, we had these grand visions
of how we were going to transform our community
and that we would be able to solve everyone's
problems. Thing's have moved forward a bit
more slowly than that (which isn't a surprise
considering that this was quite a fresh idea
for all of us). This isn't an issue because
the problems of this world cannot be solved
overnight. We need to be in this for the long
haul.
Can you tell ALOVE
of any encouraging stories?
A few weeks after we launched DSG, one of
the member's of our church involved in our
Parent & Toddler group stood up during
the Testimony time in one of the evening services.
They tanked us for attempting to fix the leaky
roof in the room where they met. We did our
best, although as none of us had much experience
in that area we didn't do the most professional
job. However it was really encouraging to
see that we are doing a good job just by trying
to make a difference, even if we don't always
succeed.
What has challenged
and changed you in the process of doing, 'Doing
Something Good Wednesdays'?
I think I've started to become a lot more
selfless in the way I view things. I have
been blessed with so much, however there are
millions and millions of people around the
world with nothing and that just isn't right.
I have been challenged to really do everything
I can to try and ensure that in the future
this isn't the case. I have also found myself
becoming more and more passionate about being
a light in my community. Doing everything
I can to be love to those who have forgotten
what it means to be loved.
If you were to
encourage others to follow your example what
would be your top five pieces of advice?
1) Take a good look at the needs of your community,
and try and think about what you can do to
reach out to them.
2) Try and be as creative as you can, always
looking for new and exciting ways to engage
with your community.
3) Keep on the look at for campaigns you can
get involved with. Christian
Aid and Tearfund
are both very good for this as they are involved
in a number of campaigns and have a wide range
of resources that you can use. Also keep up
to date with the news as much as possible.
If we are to be lights in this world we need
to know what's going on in it.
4) Delve into the bible, there are loads of
great passages talking about social justice
and love which won't fail to inspire you to
get out there and do something.
5)
Pray
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| Our thanks to Carl and for more
information visit the DSGwed web site - www.freewebs.com/dsgwed |
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Youthwork -
The Partnership ...
ALOVE,
Youthwork Magazine, Youth For Christ, Spring Harvest and
Oasis are working together to equip and resource the Church
for effective youth work and ministry. |
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