BWCF Forum held at the Seventh-day Adventist Church
by Yvonne Hill
Photographs supplied by the YMCA
The meeting was held at the  Seventh-day Adventist Church, Burnt Lane, Gorlestton. It was a wet and cold night but that didn't stop people from attending. The church was almost full, and all though it was cold and gloomy outside, there  was a happy and warm atmosphere inside.
Worship began with a medley of songs accompanied by Glynn Jones this was followed by a solo entitled 'I Believe in Miracles' which was sung by Maureen Roat.
Roger Hill led out in Worship and Prayer and on behalf of the church welcomed and thanked everyone for coming.
The Chairman, Revd Peter Paine, welcomed everyone and prayed. Peter also welcomed the speakers for the evening, Mary Ives from the YMCA and The Revd Tony Ward from St Andrews Church in Gorleston.
MARY IVES (YMCA)
Mary Ives spoke about how she came to work for the YMCA. She said that God had led her in a very clear way. Rev Tony Ward a  nd his wife Helen felt that she was the woman for the job and gave her a lot of support and encouragement to apply for the position. Her application was successful and she commenced work in September 2006. Mary is now the Area Director for the Great Yarmouth office which opened up recently.
Over the last four years, Mary has been actively involved in helping young people find lodgings and also to help sort their lives out. She explained that the YMCA has very much changed over the years and no longer caters for men only. YMCA Norfolk was established in 1856 and is part of a world-wide movement and is active in over 122 countries.
BELONG, CONTRIBUTE, THRIVE these are the key words for Norfolk’sYMCA vision for the future.The goalis to be an inclusive Christian organisation, transforming communities across Norfolk so that young people truly belong, contribute and thrive. They even look at ways in which these young people can help within the YMCA and to involve them in the work
Projects in Great Yarmouth have changed considerably over the years having begun with a hostel in 1874, developing a schools team in the 1990’s and now focusing on Supported Lodgings.
What is Supported Lodgings?
• The YMCA provides up to 40 bed spaces in Yarmouth each night.
• The scheme provides supportive accommodation for young people aged 16-24 to gain the confidence and skills needed to achieve independent living.
• We recruit and train suitable lodgings providers who act as landlords for the YMCA, providing a safe and welcoming home to young people.
• The cases referred to us are frequently
Mary spoke of a young man of 27 years who tried to take his life. It is hard to imagine a young person with his whole life ahead of him even thinking of doing such a thing. But thank goodness for people like Mary who are able to give them a chance to start again and to find a new life. No  rmally their help is aimed at the 16 to 24 year olds but this story just shows that the YMCA can adapt according to needs.
A young lady of 16 years arrived on Mary’s doorstep with just a carrier bag with her worldly goods. She had been thrown out of her parent’s home and told that she couldn’t come back for anything. Mary took her to ASDA and kitted her out with essential bits and bobs. The council had given her a place to stay but it was amongst drug addicts and alcoholics totally unsuitable for a young person with problems how the council could place a young person in such terrible accommodation is beyond belief!
There is much concern regarding the government cuts especially where young people are concerned. The YMCA has lost some of their financial funding schemes and as a result they have had to take stock and find other ways of financing the projects and care.
What is the future for Great Yarmouth?
The YMCA would like to become more involved within the community and to develop a stronger partnership with groups, churches and individuals. One project would be to develop a mentoring scheme to encourage  young people to become more involved. They would also like to set up a hub offering a group and individual support in areas such as mediation, advice, counselling and bereavement. They would also like to explore new ways of developing good health and wellbeing for young people in the area with community based holiday activities and inter-generational projects. The YMCA would like to target work in different localities for example, work with Neighbourhood Management Groups plus partnership working with other voluntary sector groups
YMCA Yarmouth has been negotiating for premises in the area but they need funding to do so. They need people to pray and for Christians to open their homes to give these young people a stable and Christian home background. Mary pointed out that God is very much at work in the YMCA.
The Salvation Army do a wonderful job in providing food and St Andrews gave some harvest baskets. Mary’s task over the next two weeks will be to contact the supermarkets to donate food.
A prayer card has been handed out to the churches your prayers are urgently required.
The card lists the following key areas to pray for:-
- Our Great Yarmouth office
- Those who work there
- The young people we work with
- Those who come through the doors
- Our lodging providers
- Our partner agencies
- The local Christian community
- Our future development
- The work of YMCA Norfolk
You can help by providing Christian lodging, pray for the work, volunteer for the drop in centre, and donate any gift food projects.
Mary would be happy to come to the churches and groups to give a presentation and to share with you the work that she does.
Her contact details are as follows:-
Mary Ives
Regional Manager
Great Yarmouth
NR30 1JB
Tel: 01493 854162
Mobil: 07894 935775
www.ymca-norfolk.org.uk
REV TONY WARD
Tony said that he had put a lot of thought and prayer into what he would talk about. He pointed out that there was some fabulous work being carried out in the borough and a  lthough we can only see bits of it God sees the whole picture.
At his church, St Andrews, they are studying prayer and the example of Nehemiah. When Nehemiah learns of the state of Jerusalem and the plight of the remnant of the Jewish people living there, he sat down and wept and mourned. He then prayed and fasted because his grief was so deep and he needed to know what God was going to do about it. Tony said that something very deep was going on in his heart.
Tony said that when he looks around he sees the church in a similar light and that it is a bit like the state of Jerusalem and the remnant at the time of Nehemiah. The church of God doesn’t reflect the glorious state that it should. Paul likens the church to a beautiful bride dressed in her glory for her husband. What has happened to the church as it no longer appears as a bride of Christ?
The picture Tony described in these days is one full of squabbles and disagreement. What has happened to the church? Has it lost the wow factor!? We need to understand that we should be proclaiming Jesus Christ and not arguing amongst ourselves. It must make Jesus really sad, and worst of all, it takes the focus off Him. Like Nehemiah, and the pain that he experienced, the heart of God must also be broken to see the state of the modern day church.
The church in this area, that he loves, is dry and parched. We need to become more involved in corporate prayer. Jesus taught us how to pray and what to pray for. Our prayers tend to be self centred and the pleasures of this life become more important than our relationship with Jesus. The disciples came together in corporate prayer at Pentecost and when they were of one accord, bang they were filled with the Holy Ghost. The room that they were praying in shook with His presence.
Tony brought the talk to a close by emphasising the need to pray together. If we don’t then we will not see God working through us. We need to humble ourselves and say sorry to our Lord. We should seek His face, to listen to Him, rather than pursue our own agenda. Tony’s prayer is that we take seriously the need for corporate prayer. Pray for God to do great things!
Tony’s Prayer.
Lord help us to put aside our differences even as the disciples did and be of one accord so that you can accomplish mighty works though us.
| 