oxygennews

Kingston’s Roadshows 08

Over the course of the last 2 weeks Oxygen has joined in with the council and met over 1,200 people from across over the Borough. By being involved in the now annual Kingston Extended School Roadshows we have had a (free) chance to meet, engage and involve young people and their families in our after school club as well as the forthcoming Sacred Space Art Competition.

These roadshows provide an ideal opportunity to encounter people from many different walks of life and to share a little but of what we are doing in giving young people the opportunity to discover and follow Jesus. Next year I would really encourage all people running local project with children, families and young peoepl to be involved.

Oxygen monday prayer mailings 23 06 08

Pray for the appointment of 2 paid workers

In last weeks prayer email I mentioned the excitement we have as we look forward to the future developments of Oxygen. Central to the initial stages of that future are the appointment of two (part time) paid workers. Both are exciting posts that build on years of hard work by the Oxygen team in the last few years. Although they are based with other agencies (YMCA and St Peters Norbiton) they are both to be undertaken in close conjunction with Oxygen and its team of Gap year workers and contacted young people. Both are part time (for around 20 – 25hrs per week initially), but previous experience tells us that there is the possibility for further work in future if desired. The first post we are looking to fill is the post of Project Leader of the Extended Schools club Rm1. Based at Hollyfield School in Surbiton and employed by the local YMCA you would be in charge of overseeing and running an after school club for 11-14 year olds 4- 5 evenings per week. The aim of Rm1 is to give young people, particularly those aged 11-14 a place to study, chill and play. Many of the young people who come along to Rm1 do so as they have been referred by the school or social services because they face complex personal and family issues and would benefit from extra support. The deadline for application for this post is July 11th. The second post is working with St Peters Norbiton, this role works at the other end of our work, seeking to take those young people that we have worked with further in discovering and following Jesus. Your role, employed by the church would be to work with the church and oxygen staff and volunteers to establish a new community of (previously unchurched) young people alongside the other congregations of the church. We are really excited by both these posts, the first works on the margins with those young people who need the greatest supports, the second works with the church to grapple with the question of how the church should disciple unchurched young people. Would you therefore pray for these two significant appointments, pray that the right people apply, that we are able to make the right appointments and that we are able to sort out the details needed. Richard --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oxygen on Premier Radio: Listen to the interview between Oxygen’s Director Richard James, Youthwork Editor Martin Saunders on last weeks Premier breakfast show http://wantachurch.typepad.com/oxygennews/2008/06/oxygen-on-premi.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Oxygen fund raising quiz night took place at St Peters on Sat 21st June. Seven different teams battled it out to be known as the top quiz team of 2008. http://wantachurch.typepad.com/oxygennews/2008/06/oxygen-fundrais.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Street Pastors in the newsSee the story in this weeks Kingston Informer about Street Pastor's 2nd Anniversary http://wantachurch.typepad.com/oxygennews/2008/06/street-pastors.html

Boroughthon 2008

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It started at 10.30 and finished just before 6pm, it lasted around 20 miles and involved many sore feet and sweaty people.

It was the the Oxygen 2008 Boroughthon involved the Oxygen team, volunteers and young people spanning the entire length, breadth and width of the Borough to visit the site of each of the Oxygen projects in Kingston Borough. This video gives you snapshots of some of our walk, without any shots of developing blisters

OXYGEN: MIND THE GAP

A gap year with Oxygen is a journey of discovery, it is one when people enter into a period in their lives when they are given a chance to discover Jesus for themselves whilst also seeking to reveal Jesus to others. Each year, Oxygen takes on up to 10 people, usually aged 18 – 25, to come together in this MIND THE GAP adventure. They come together in times of sharing, teaching and exploration, learning to rely on God before heading out into streets, clubs and churches seeking to serve and relate to young people they meet. We believe in Jesus’ own instruction when he called for people to go out and be involved in mission and discipleship. As he showed us, it is as we respond to this call so we are transformed by the people we meet, just as we hope and pray that they are transformed by meeting us.

This is why Oxygen’s MIND THE GAP is not a GAP year but rather a chance to respond to Jesus instruction to be involved in the work of the Kingdom. MIND THE GAP is not about people coming to serve us, but more about us going on a journey together to discover what God’s will is for ourselves and the young people that we meet. Our hope is that Oxygen is a place where both young people and workers draw closer to God and closer to each other. If you are wanting to find out God’s plan and pattern for your life, if you love God and love young people and are willing to be challenged, trained and supported through something that will affect you not only for a year but for the rest of your life, then why not apply, or come and visit us and maybe we will see you at Oxygen in the near future!

Football Oxygen

The Oxygen team entered the NMBC May Bank Holiday football tournament and got to the semi finals where we lost 1-0 to the team known as Foreign Legion. Not bad for a team of odd bods without a kit and definitely without a clue! See the rest of the photos on the Oxygen Facebook group by clicking the picture above

Borough-thon 27th May

To mark the first seven successful years of their work with young people and to help fund work in the next seven, myself and a group of Oxygen staff, gap workers and volunteers are going to undertake the mammoth task of visiting each of the 18 Oxygen projects in just 7 hours.

Leaving the Oxygen centre at 10am,we will head out to the Cambridge Estate, Kingsnympton Estate, Richmond Park, Kingston Vale, North Kingston, Kingston town Centre, Surbiton town centre, the Alpha Estate, Tolworth Girls School, Hook’s Devon Way Youth Centre, Chessington Methodist Church, Venner Youth Centre, Coombe Boys School, New Malden High Street, Kingston Road, before arriving back at Oxygen by 5pm . Altogether we will cover around 20 miles as they span the entire width of Kingston Borough.

Would you consider making a donation towards our sponsored efforts via:
http://www.justgiving.com/boroughthon

All donations are secure and sent electronically to Oxygen. If you are a UK taxpayer, Justgiving will automatically reclaim 28% Gift Aid on your behalf, so your donation is worth even more. 

Thanks and best wishes,

Richard

The 2008 Borough Community Road Shows

The Kingston Borough Community Road Shows are RBK organised events intended to reach out to the local community to promote services and important issues and they are looking for groups to come along and be involved. They are looking for a wide range of services and organizations for families with children and young people aged 0-19 to be available with activities, goodies and details about their service.

Following the great success of last years Road Show events across the borough, the Extended School Managers are pleased to announce details of the 2008 Road Shows. The details of the dates and venues for this years road shows are:

• Tuesday 24th June 2008, Alexandra Recreation Ground, Surbiton
• Friday 27th June 2008, Dinton Fields, St Agatha’s Drive, Kingston
• Wednesday 2nd July 2008, Dickerage Adventure Playground, Dickerage Lane, New Malden
• Thursday 3rd July 2008, Churchfields, off Compton Crescent, Chessington

The road shows will run after school, 3.00-6.00pm with set up from 1.30pm. There is no cost for being involved. It would be great for us as Oxygen to work with churches in each area to promote the work underway in that location. In addition to working with Oxygen, any group who wish to run their own stall would find themselves coming into contact with children, young people and families from across the community.

For more information on this great event and Oxygen's input contact Richard James on 020 8547 0566 or email richard@oxygen-online.org

Oxygen is now on Facebook

Oxygen is now on Facebook. Here we have posted the pictures from thevent as well as news of forthcoming events. Become our friend by clicking here:  

   

 

Oxygen towards 2012!

You are invited to the evening launch of the Oxygen 2008-12 Strategic Plan due to be held at St Peters Church, London Road, Kingston at 8pm on Thursday April 24th 2008. It was in 2001 when the churches of the Royal Borough of Kingston came together through their young people to launch a new local charity that they subsequently named Oxygen. Now just six years after it was launched Oxygen has run over thirty different projects, has been in contact with over 4,500 young people and has been the springboard for many new and exciting initiatives around the Borough including Rm1, Street Pastors and Sacred Space Kingston.

Building on the great foundation established in the last few years the staff and trustees of Oxygen have conducted a comprehensive consultation and review of Oxygen, its work, its role and the opportunities that there are to make a long term difference in the lives of those young people who need the greatest support. The results of this review and the subsequent exciting plans for Oxygen’s work over the next 4 years are going to be unveiled for the first time at this special launch event which we hope you are able to come to. Our event will last for 1½ hours and will start with a review of Oxygen up to followed by the Oxygen 2006-7 AGM and a time of thankful worship. After this review of the past, we will move onto the future by giving a presentation summarising the plans and strategic aims for the next 4 years. The issues raised in the presentation will be used then for a time of prayer. Following this and over coffee there will then be a chance for questions and an opportunity to look around various displays and meet different people involved in Oxygen's work in different areas including the Borough wide detached youthwork project Urban Nites, the Extended School club Rm1 and the town centre initiative Street Pastors.

We do hope you are able to join us at this unique day, please feel free to invite anyone you think would benefit from coming as we are excited about what God is doing amongst young people in this area and as such what are our plans to respond to that in the years ahead.

Questions @ Rm1

It was Wednesday afternoon and I was sat at the table in Rm1 encouraging one of the boys to complete a piece of homework. The task was to design a poster depicting aspects of 'your local community' and whilst he was drawing a church he asked how if God was the father and Jesus the son how could they both be part of the same thing? As I began to explain about the trinity other Rm1 members joined in the conversation and asked about creation, why snakes are seen as bad, what does the devil look like and who created him.
Praise God that Rm1 is seen by the boys as a place where they can ask questions. May we continue to have such conversations and that the boys would be receptive to hearing what we have to say.