Would your Church or Project like a part time volunteer Intern for a year from September 2015 ?

Apologies if you receive this more than once.. it is being circulated on several mailing lists:

 

As our Together Lancashire workers have got to speak to so many churches and groups who are serving Christ as they serve the poor and needy in Lancashire in one way or another, it has become evident that there are many ideas, but not enough people available during the daytime when so many church folk are at work.  You may be one of those and have projects you'd just love to get off the ground or expand if you had the people.

 

Together Lancashire would like to help you.

 

Together Lancashire is inviting young Christian people who are probably recent graduates to offer a year of part time service with a church or faith based project in Lancashire.

 

• Their commitment would involve offering 15-20 hours per week to a local project for the period from mid September 2015 to summer 2016. The work would be focussed on social and community action among needy and vulnerable people and communities. It would not be merely about sustaining the worshipping life or evangelistic outreach of the church but would need to make an impact on people struggling with issues of poverty in the locality.

 

• The work would be unpaid although necessary travel and other expenses would need to be covered by the host organisation.

 

• The assumption is that they would be supporting themselves, including housing costs through other part time work, and / or financial and in kind support they might raise from their church, family or friends.

 

• The role would involve an occupational requirement to be a practising Christian and to play an appropriate role as such in the spiritual life and activities of the congregation or project in which they were placed.

 

 Would you like to Partner with us in a project dear to your heart that would make a difference, and create a lasting legacy? You would need to commit to:

 

• Giving a clear commitment to ensure we are confident the intern would be well supported, pastored, managed  and mentored locally.
• Providing a clear and personally tailored job description showing that the intern will find an interesting and fulfilling role which would strengthen their CV and help your personal development towards a career or vocation. This would need to make proper use of any specialist skills or training they have in areas such as youth or community work, social work, IT, finance and business management, theology or social research.
• You need to ensure that the Job Description is clear to ensure that it has the necessary exemption from equalities legislation on religious grounds if you wish to ensure applicants are practising Christians.
• Carrying the risk in terms of ensuring the intern was covered on site insurance, relevant DBS status and local health and safety policies and procedures.
• Releasing the intern on a regular (probably one day a month) basis to a wider learning and peer mentoring programme offered by Together Lancashire
• Covering costs of locally incurred expenses such as travel so that the intern would not be out of pocket

 

While Together Lancashire can offer to support you over these areas we need to make it clear that we are only offering a brokerage and introduction service and even though the intern is unpaid, for legal purposes the local church or project is an employer and so all the necessary policies should be in place.

 

Churches or groups who are already offering such internships or apprenticeships under their own auspices, or under a wider scheme may also become associates in the Together Lancashire scheme, allowing their interns to benefit from the learning opportunities and peer support groups we will be arranging.

 

Also if you are in touch with any potential interns please put them in touch with us so we can talk about how the scheme might work for them. You can direct them to this web page if they need further information

http://prestonchristianactionnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/opportunities-to-serve-and-learn-in.html

 

 

If you are interested please contact us by July 14th giving a brief outline of how you might take part in the scheme. If there is a sufficient interest across the county we will call together interested parties to an exploratory meeting in late July or early August.

 

 

 

Email: greg.smith@together-lancashire.org.uk

Or as I will be on leave until about 10th July   contact Gillian Beeley Telephone: 07904 919413
Email: gillian.beeley@together-lancashire.org.uk

 

 

 

Shalom

Greg Smith

Development Co-ordinator Together Lancashire / Preston Christian Action Network

Phone - Mobile 07726177044

Postal Address and registered office : Together Lancashire,

UNIT 250, Glenfield Park Business Centre, Blakewater Road, Blackburn, BB1 5QH

Registered Charity no 1147848 Registered company no 07966145

Together Lancashire Website http://www.cuf.org.uk/together-lancashire