Welcome to the second issue of volume six of the Journal of Youth and Theology.

In this edition we are delighted to be able to present three empirically driven articles and one very thoughtful essay; in addition to an increased number of book reviews and our regular Spotlight feature.

The first two articles focus on research from Australia. Richard Rymarz (who is now based in Canada) has spent a number of years, and has published widely, on the religiosity of Roman Catholic young people in Australia. In a follow up study to previous work centred on young people who have expressed a positive commitment to faith, he presents evidence of a potential plateau in their spiritual and religious outlook and activity and identifies a number of helpful factors that might influence this trajectory. In addition, Rymarz also addresses the theological concepts and language young people have (or lack) and the values that might be resourced by such a spiritual capacity. Such a concern on young people’s literacy and capacity in spiritual issues is very much at the fore in our second article.

McQuillan and Marx’ paper was one of the source studies for the International Youth Spirituality Project which we reviewed in the last issue (Vol. 6 No.1) of JYT. It complements Rymarz’ article well as it provides data on the spiritual experiences and understanding of young people who attend Roman Catholic schools, but who have not necessarily voiced the active commitment of those in Rymarz’ case studies. Not only do McQuillan and Marx provide insight into the experiences and values that these young people hold, but their analysis emphasises that even in a potentially influential religious context many ‘taken for granted’ notions about the Christian faith are lacking. The authors take time to outline an argument that a long-term capacity building work which stimulates a relational consciousness ought to perhaps be a key factor in youth ministry and religious education and they offer some pointers to how the church might address the ways in which such a consciousness is suppressed by wider society.

McQuillan and Marx’ theme is picked up in slightly different fashion by our third piece. In analysing the role of place in strategies to ‘raise Christian Consciousness’, Nash, Collins and Mayo link the significance of the places within which we do youth ministry to the foundational task that our previous authors argue needs to be an aim of youth ministry (especially to those not raised in a Christian context). Through qualitative enquiry the authors and their research team have sought to uncover young people’s perspectives on role of place in the ways in which they interact with the Christian youth work. The analysis of these accounts is a fruitful starting point for thinking theologically about place and how the notion of place (in all its individual, communal and physical significance) might be a factor in appreciating how young people develop a consciousness of the Christian faith and engage meaningfully in Christian practices such as prayer (or perhaps more accurately begin to find new meaning in the ways, and places, in which they engage such practices).

It is encouraging to receive and be able to publish works of Practical Theology which help progress both the theory and practices of youth ministry. Indeed this strikes me as an essential activity of our association and this journal. As John Swinton says in his work Practical Theology and Qualitative Research (reviewed in the issue),
“The fundamental aim of Practical Theology is to enable the Church to perform faithfully as it participates in God’s on-going mission in, to and for the world. As such it seeks to reflect critically and theologically on situations and to provide insights and strategies which will enable the movement towards faithful change”¹

As we work in and across the variety academic disciplines within our association it is important perhaps to keep such goals in mind. This is not to say that there are not issues of complication, confusion and contention within this process - indeed this is essentially what keeps debate alive - but in our debate it is always helpful to keep our students and the young people we and they serve in mind! Yet, we do still need to stimulate debate. With this in mind, we would value submissions that consider the purpose and polity of practical theology as it applies to youth ministry, as well as discrete studies from within this field.

Our fourth article is a newcomer to JYT, though its author isn’t. In our JYT essay Bert Roebben writes reflections on his life and work, influences and concerns and on his future hopes and continuing quandaries about the place of the Christian faith in late modern culture. The JYT essay is a piece we would like to occasionally feature which gives space for a degree of personal reflection. Though still very much an academic article, such an essay is a genre that we feel is a valuable tool for helping us all reflect on our learning and what we still need to learn. I am grateful to Professor Roebben for launching this series and we will be inviting others to contribute in the near future.

Our Practitioner Spotlight in this issue is upon Melanie Thirion. Melanie tells an interesting story of a career which is perhaps going in reverse! This is not intended to be disparaging so you will have to read it to find out how her journey between face-to-face youth ministry and academic work has been formed, and how she has been formed in the process. She writes a personal and provocative account, which has certainly helped me to reflect. I am delighted also that Melanie has agreed to join the team who coordinate book reviews. Melanie will be focussing on works that originate in Africa so please contact her with details of books that merit our attention.

As ever I will offer an invitation to help in the area of book reviews. Could I ask all members to please be active in taking the opportunity to review books and for those who have experience in this area, perhaps you might consider joining the team as we seek to cover a greater international perspective - Australia and the Pacific Rim being a key concern along with India and Latin America.

On this note it is appropriate to thank Jim Hampton and Richard James for their continued assistance in this area, and to all those who have submitted reviews. Thanks to Jim and Richard’s work we are increasing our capacity to review books so in addition to the reviews in this issue we will also be publishing some that we were unable to publish in the print journal on-line at the IASYM web site.

We hope you find this a stimulating issue of JYT and I look forward to receiving your comments and feedback.

Mr Nick Shepherd
On behalf of the editorial team

NOTES

1. Swinton, J. (2005). Practical Theology and Qualitative Research. London, SCM. p. 25.