Supporting chaplaincy by drinking coffee. Seems like a dream, right?!

Well, dream no longer because Phil Sargeson has made this dream a reality.

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As any parent can attest, a well-fed child is a happy child. That’s the idea behind Chaplain Angie Brown’s new lunch time initiative to get food in the stomachs of those young people who need it the most.

When Angie started at Browns Plains State School, she discovered a need. Every day, there were a number of students coming to school without any lunch in their school bags and trying to power on through the day without the fuel to do so.

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Since the very beginning in the 1860s, Scripture Union (SU) organisations worldwide have run local, community-based outreaches to provide fun activities for children and families.

Dozens of events still take place every year throughout the state.

From December 26^th to the 2^nd of January 500 young people and their families heard a story of hope in Bargara, a coastal town of Bundaberg.

AMPED Bargara Community Outreach was a week of fun, community engagement and building great relationships.

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I’m now 25, but I still remember this one particular afternoon when I was 8 years old. I was new to the school and I remember feeling lonely, like I didn’t fit in.

On this particular afternoon, the moment I saw my Dad after school, I burst into tears. A couple of kids had made fun of me… and I felt humiliated. They didn’t do anything major, but a bit of taunting was all it took for me to unravel.

You see, I was a fragile child. I had moved from South Africa a few years earlier and I was pretty traumatised and unsettled. I was still struggling to settle into a new country, let alone a new school. It all became a little too much.

Luckily, I had a great teacher. After that afternoon, she chatted with me and spoke to the class about friendships. Her actions really made a difference.

This week marks the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence, so to find out more about how bullying affects kids, I interviewed psychiatrist Dr James Scott a few weeks ago.

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Just ONE parenting tip by Terry Williams, SU QLD Children’s Ministry Specialist

As a parent of three and grandparent of three, I know it’s a busy world – there are dozens of mini events taking place every day, a thousand decisions to be made, and millions of pieces of information flying at us.

In a world that’s become so driven by and focused on achieving goals, it’s easy to lose sight of the most important goal for those whom you helped bring into this world.

Take a moment to reflect on what your goals are for your kids. For me, there is ONE goal that sits atop the list…

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It’s normal for some kids not to get on with other kids or for some kids to fight with other kids, but this isn’t what we’re talking about when it comes to bullying.

Bullying is more about an abuse of power. It is when a child repeatedly intimidates, dominates or threatens another child, often with harmful effects. Bullying can involve teasing, name calling, pushing, tripping, spreading rumours, exclusion, humiliation or vilification. It can happen face-to-face, from a distance or via the internet (cyber-bullying).

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Most of us have heard of the ‘Butterfly Effect’, but not many of us would know that this influential theory started out as the less catchy ‘Seagull Effect’.

In 1961, Edward Lorenz was entering data into a weather prediction program and mistakenly entered 0.506 rather than the longer and more accurate 0.506127. The abbreviated entry resulted in a completely different weather model, and Lorenz marvelled at the incredible difference one small change could make to the larger outcomes within a defined system.

In a later paper on the subject, he commented that, “one flap of a seagull’s wings could change the course of weather forever”. Over time, the analogy morphed into, “the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil could set off a tornado in Texas”, and the ‘Butterfly Effect’ was born.

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As I sat on the train yesterday morning, riding into work, I found myself watching a group of high school girls – all had their phones out as they chatted about a friend’s Instagram post the night before. They were laughing, talking about boys, completely oblivious to everyone else.

This whole scene got me thinking… I was in the same position as them only eight years ago, wearing the same school uniform. Did I used to act the same? Did I struggle with the same things as them? Was I just as self-conscious? Just as unsure of myself?

My answer: Probably yes.

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It’s become a familiar image on our TV screens – an ambulance is parked on a street, with its red and blue lights reflecting in the window of a night club or bar. Someone is lying on the ground, knocked unconscious, with emergency crews surrounding them.

The media has been a platform for discussions about ‘King Hits’ and ‘Coward’s Punches’, especially in the last year. Many people are asking what’s to blame for the unnecessary tragedies we’ve heard about – is it alcohol?  Our hyper-masculine culture? Our legal system? Or are boys ‘these days’ just out of control?

Whatever the answers are, young men and violence continue to be closely associated with one another.

But it’s an association that doesn’t have to exist.

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