Youth ministry needs to learn the lessons of social capital to avoid becoming a peer-led monoculture.
Tagged: social capital, youth ministry
I’m starting a blog series on my attempts (this year and next) to begin some youth work practice in Long Gully. Given the embryonic nature of my youth work efforts in Long Gully lately, and the need to think deeply about them, writing is a good way to go. I don’t expect many people to read these: I’m writing mainly for myself, and for the other youth workers who are Christians. But I hope you find something of interest here.
Tagged: community, youth ministry, youth work
Had a blast at Race 1 of the summer season of the Bendigo Mountain Bike Club this last Tuesday. But first, as I am wont to do, a short historical detour…
I used to mountain bike a fair bit when I was a teenager – Dad probably has some photos of me circa 1993 toiling away on my cool Repco Kakadu. This beast was bought with insurance payout on dodgy racer thankfully nicked by a kind thief at Nunawading Train Station. I bought some cheap SPDs and with the Schijf boys, would take any opportunity to take the train to the Dandenongs or ride the 15kms to the The 100 Acres Reserve where I’d have a whale of time skidding, dropping off, crashing etc etc etc. But, as most fitness activities tended as I got older, I stopped doing it. I’ve tipped my toe in every now and then with a duathlon at the You Yangs MTB Inc. and a race in Bendigo a couple of years ago thanks to club stalwart Jason Carter.
Recently, in my quest to complete the TreX Goldfields in late November, I bought a relatively cheap secondhand Specialized Carve 29″ (cheap when you consider that mountain bike’s can go for up to and over $10K), and signed up for the Summer Season of Racing with Bendigo Mountain Bike Club to actually get myself out there. Last Tuesday was the first race.
I was in the “Sport” group: which means I kinda know what I’m doing on a mountain bike, but not too fast and not too technical thank you very much. It also means, “I value unbroken skin and bones and do not enjoy hospital visits”. I put myself in the slow cohort and gingerly got going. The Sprint group was doing 45 minutes on the Green loop – which seriously, guys, is an unfair name…it kinda lulls you into a fall sense of security…luscious grass, softness, slow summer evenings…that kind of thing.
The Green loop is 4.5KM circuit which starts from the great shelter opposite sponsor’s One Tree Hill Hotel, in Spring Gully. The track starts with a relatively flat section, and then starts separating the fit from the not with a series of uphill switchbacks with just enough technical features to keep you concentrating. With no rain for a long time, the track is rocky in parts and several riders were seen dejectedly changing tubes mid-race. I managed getting up this hill without being totally exhausted – I reckon my calves had gotten some tone from my adventures 2 weeks before on the Southern Cross Trail at Mt Taylor Mountain Bike Park near Bairnsdale, which has a similar but more punishing structure. And like Mt Taylor, the Spring Gully track rewards your effort with an exhilarating downhill for 2km all the way to the finish – it’s singletrack all the way, and not too steep so you don’t feel like you are riding off a cliff. Perfect for the post-beginner rider, as I like to call myself. I managed 3 laps of the course, and loved it :).
(I had one nasty surprise. When the 45 minutes was up, I was halfway through a lap. I dismounted and started to walk back, only for a marshal to tell me that I needed to complete the lap in order to officially finish. Aargh!)
So thanks to the organisers who did a fantastic job catering for a very wide range of abilities! I’ll be back.
Categories: Uncategorized
My last “real” mountain bike ride was at the You Yangs Dirty Duathlon about 3 years ago, and before that I was barely an adult. So, what better way to test out the new stead than by throwing myself down some superbly-crafted tracks in the lowlands of Victoria’s high country?
I’d bought a “secondhand but in good knick” Specialized Carve Expert 2 weeks ago, equipped with front suspension and disc brakes – neither of which really existed when I began mountain-biking at the age of 15.
I’d warmed myself up on Forrest MTB’s beginner trails (with the 8-year old son on his Kona cyclocross). Now was the time to try something a little more challenging. Granted, I’ve never really used suspension forks nor disc breaks nor 29-inch wheels, but how hard could it be?
Bairnsdale is a fair hike from Melbourne, but given I was visiting some young people at a camp nearby, I thought it would be criminal to not use the opportunity. Off I drove, 35 minutes north of Bairnsdale to Mt Taylor MTB Park. The Southern Cross loop at Mt Taylor is labelled “Intermediate” or “More Difficult” than beginner. I thought, “I’m not a beginner – how hard can it be?” Yeah.
The trail starts off with a series of uphill switchbacks that tested my quads, though the SPDs and excellent XT gear changing really helped. So did the wonderfully-built berms on the corners that allowed me to get some momentum going. This long climb gets you up near the top of the hill, and next is a fantastic series of downhill switchbacks. These need a fair amount of concentration, but if you’re a half decent rider you can really let the bike fly, with just a few feather touches on the brake levers. The first of these downhills began with a hill so steep it looked like a drop-off to my “post-beginner” eyes. I promptly got off and walked the bike down; which, frankly, was harder than just taking my chances.
From here it’s more of the same, though I don’t mean that in a bad way: each fun downhill is followed by an uphill switchback grind. There are about 3-4 of this cycle, and then a short technical section before a long single track downhill to the carpark – so much fun!
So, my lessons as a post-40, pretty-much-a-beginner, MTB rider:
- There’s no shame in getting off the bike when terrified. I don’t bounce like I used to.
- Bringing lots of water is a must. I’d got a Camelbak only recently and this ride alone justified the cost. I’d forgotten how much MTB riding dehydrates you, unlike cruising Bendigo on the single-speed.
- Disc brakes are marvellous, but if you’re not used to them (like me), don’t practice while tearing down hill with a sharp berm approaching.
- Local MTB clubs rock; support them with money or volunteering time. I just did. Gippsland MTB have done a great job at Mt Taylor.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: bairnsdale, gippsland, mt taylor, mtb
In-between times in our professional lives are essential for non-linear percolation of ideas, thinking through possiblities, and re-connecting the affective side of our work.
Categories: Christian community, Youth & Community Work
I was still searching for a way to connect with young people in my neighbourhood. School-based chaplains and youth workers do great work, but they (and I, at the time) work within a bureaucracy that is sometimes helpful, sometimes not. I find the restrictions on friendships with young people in that system overly tight. I kept thinking: what can I do that is more relational, more communal, more organic in nature?
Categories: Christian community, Youth & Community Work
Tagged: Christianity, church, school, youth development, youth ministry, youth work
Bit of a good news story for you all, involving a few of my favourite things: my neighbourhood of Long Gully, coffee, creative community action.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: community, long gully
In a contemporary echo of Christian saints and thinkers through the ages, Shane Claiborne reminds us that: ‘The great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor.’
