The one thing you are not allowed to call me is beautiful – says Gemma our foster daughter, yet in truth it’s the word and the meaning that she craves the most. Don’t call me beautiful… but I’m going to fish for you to say it as often as I can.
As followers and reflectors of the God of Love, Christian youth workers, as Paul comments; need to be people that celebrate truth (1 Corinthians 13:6) and truth be told she is beautiful – I don’t make that comment irresponsibly but as a fellow human-being who wants to celebrate the truth of who she is and not the projection that society would place on her.
Youth work needs to a celebration of young people’s identity and worth especially in the highly explorative and vulnerable adolescent years. Whilst I don’t tell Gemma that she is beautiful literally (there are embarrassment boundaries to our relationship) – I do see my ministry to her as affirming and celebrating her beauty as a daughter of God made in his image. My ministry to her is to reinforce the truth that she was perfectly, wonderfully and preciously knitted together – that each hair on her head even if it does change colour on a bi-weekly basis is accounted for.
Seeing and celebrating young people as creations of a loving creator is fundamental – they are not “Daily Mail Youths” but precious sons and daughters paid for at a high price – images of God not the feral blight on society which is so often their description.
The image we have of young people matters, for it underpins the reason why we engage and therefore permeates through our youth work practice – are young people individuals who need correcting or celebrating, redeeming or restoring?
Question: what does your youth work practice communicate about how you view young people?
Andy Burns is the CEO of East to West
Filed under: Discuss, Gender, Image, Thinking out loud
