Children's/Youth Worker starts work on Islay

It is apparently several years since Argyll Presbytery decided that it would be good to have a children's/youth worker based on Islay, but we had our first meeting with the appointee this week! Her name is Jess Reynolds and she is staying at Portnahaven with her husband Scott.
The meeting was attended by childrens workers from around Islay and it was encouraging to see the energy and enthusiasm that folk had for young people and their needs. It was also great to see that this new initiative of the church is not about a new person coming along and waving a magic wand for us all. It was much more about starting to form a new team, with a new approach, one that we hope will be relevant and engaging for young people of the 21st Century.
The first step is for Jess to get to know the various congregations, the childrens workers, the children, plus the schools, the teachers and how Islay works. This is no small task and clearly it will take a while for her to get some sense of what is needed in each setting. Nonetheless it was just great to make a start and please pray for Jess, for Paul Beautyman her online manager in Argyll Presbytery, and for all those involved in the team, including me...  :)