Drink for Thought

I just read an article that estimates alcohol abuse (NHS costs, crime costs and lost of productivity) alone costs the country £25 billion a year. (Read it here)

£25 billion is an awful lot of money. That works out around £415 for every man woman and child in Britain (according to the article).

For those of you that are interested, take at look at some of the life changing things that you can spend considerably smaller amounts of money on (for those that aren't, skip to the point):

http://www.watoto.com/get-involved/needs-list

https://www.tearfund.org/get_involved/give/give_main/one-off_donations/general_fund/

http://www.watoto.com/sponsorship

I'm going to get straight to the point:

Imagine if the finances wasted every year on both alcohol and the abuse it causes was spent instead on eliminating issues of poverty and injustice in the world. We'd see the change we often hear people talk about become a reality. Or at least, go a good way to getting there.

Let me highlight that I'm not saying that people shouldn't drink at all - although that would be my personal preference. Rather, I'm talking about a dream of eradicating the excessive drinking that is so normal in today's society.

Surely, saving the lives of millions of people trumps a night in a drunken stupor? Perhaps we need to find a way of connecting with poverty and injustice that we find it so easy to ignore.

This is all a projection of my frustration at helplessly watching people suffer. I wish I could do more. I will find a way. Bear with me.

Kerith Worship Academy

I'm still planning on writing a blog about encouragement at some point, but I'm struggling to find the time! Instead, I wanted to talk a little bit about Kerith Worship Academy.

I really want to encourage anyone reading this to consider taking part in one of the six Kerith Worship Academy courses that start in September 2011:

Level 1 (Beginner - years 5 to 8)

Keyboards in Worship

Drums in Worship

Electric Guitar in Worship

Level 2 (Intermediate/Advanced - years 7 to 11)

Vocals in Worship

Drums in Worship

Electric Worship

So what's the difference between Level 1 and Level 2?

Level 1 takes beginners and puts them into a position where they have all the skills to get through a basic worship set, as well as looking at the theology behind the songs that they are singing and provoking questions about their faith.

Level 2 is aimed at people who would already be at our youth band (Revolution) standard. This course teaches advanced skills and techniques that not only seeks to get them through a worship set comfortably, but also looks to give them the skills to improvise, write and arrange their own parts to any songs. There is also a much greater emphasis on theology - students from all disciplines come together for the final half hour, looking at what it means to be a Christian in the 21st century. In term 1, this is in the form of the Youth Alpha Course, which we will use as a foundation for development in terms 2 and 3.

We have already seen fantastic technical and spiritual growth in our youth band due in no small part to participants of the Kerith Worship Academy courses - my prayer is that within a few years, Kerith Worship Academy will have had a noticeable impact on our worship teams, not just at Kerith Community Church, but also in other churches around the area. For more information, why not have a look at the following links:

Kerith Worship Academy Website

Kerith Worship Academy on Facebook

Kerith Worship Academy on Twitter

Don't forget to also watch our promotional video too:

I'm really looking forward to seeing what God does in the next few years!