The Ugly Duckling Company has been working with a number of youth workers over the last several months to create a whole range of Table Talk packs for young people and children.

There will be four packs in the inital launch....

Table Talk for 10-11 year olds

Table Talk for 12-14 year olds

Table Talk for 14-16 year olds

Table Talk for 16-18 year olds

More information is available on the Table Talk website www.table-talk.org

Copies can be pre-ordered (which would make it far easier to produce them) from the UDC shop.

"Everyone has heard of the Alpha Course -- but in Europe today there are a lot of people still not yet ready to come that close to a church. We have to be ready to go to where they are, in places like the pub. We have to talk about issues they are concerned about, like sports and sex. And we have to start with questions, not just answers. Paul Griffiths of the Ugly Duckling Company is bridging that gap with the most innovative materials I know of for meeting with your friends, blokes, students, etc and starting conversations that will hopefully get around to God. I recommend you talk to him. At the very least you'll enjoy the conversation."

Courses such as Alpha and Christianity Explored presuppose an openness and basic knowledge of the christian faith which is great for those on the fringe of the church, but isn’t always the best starting point for many people today. Puzzling Questions seeks to bridge the gap and help people journey towards faith. There are six sessions which make up the course:

Who am I?

What is God like?

What happens after I die?

How can I be happy?

Why is there suffering in the world?

What is the spiritual world and how does it impact my life?

Each session is based on a DVD with a PQ Programme followed by a time for discussion, with suggested questions to kick off the conversation. There are 2 DVDs in the pack, one contains six programmes which can be shown in their entirety before the discussion begins. The second DVD gives you the opportunity to pick the elements you want from the programme and structure the session in a way which works best for you. Each programme is hosted by Mal Pope. Initially Mal sets the scene and raises the issue in a way which makes sense in the contemporary world, so the first session looking at our identity is filmed in a women’s fashion shop in Swansea. There’s a vox pop where other people’s responses to the issue raised are heard. Stewart Henderson provides a poem, and then there’s the naked interview where honest opinions are shared. Two of those who share are Sue Philips of Elim Pontllanfraith, and Tendai Mbaserah of Pantygwydr, Swansea. The programme then moves on to an expert interview with Mal. In the first session he chats with Joanna Jepson the chaplain at the London School of Fashion, whose overcome significant challenges to her own identity as a child and now celebrates the uniqueness of every individual made. In the session on what happens when I die, Mal meets Idris Baker (son of Patrick) a consultant in palliative care in Swansea and they have a fascinating conversation about the various ways in which people approach death and the recognition of their own mortality. Each programme ends with a song performed by Mal.

Paul Griffiths and Martin Robinson have put together a quality resource which can be used in a variety of ways to engage with people in their journey of exploration into the spiritual side of life. The resources available include a leaders guide with lots of good advice on how to go about running the course, as well as the text for six talks on a CD if you want to engage with the material in a different way. The 2 DVDs come in a set and you can also get a work book for each participant on the course. The work book contains some of the key questions for discussion, resumés of the naked interviews, the poems, and a bible passage to consider each week with a few questions to think through in a journal format.

If you want to know more about the course visit the ugly duckling website run by Paul. If you want to take a closer look at the resources or take a look at one of the DVDs then get in touch with us at the office where we have a copy of each of the resources which you’re very welcome to take a look at.

Marc Owen says "If you're looking for a resource that you can use to gather your friends together and explore spiritual issues, then Puzzling Questions is for you. I highly recommend it." As do I.

Andy Hughes

Great picture from a recent messy church weekend where Lucy got people playing table talk for messy moments.