Where signs warding off skateboarders once hung, a new movement to
blend skating culture with Christianity is taking root.
Tonight, Christian rock music will blare from the speakers as kids
take advantage of the only place in town they can skateboard indoors. When
their boards hit the ramps, they will be taking part in a new iteration of a
global Christian movement called Fresh Expressions that is making the teachings
of the Anglican church accessible to people who haven’t felt a connection to
the traditional church.
This new skateboard ministry, which will happen every Tuesday from
6:30 to 8:30 p.m., is a collaboration between a local teen who was looking for
a space to skate in the winter, and a church that has switched from opposing
skateboarders to welcoming them.
Last spring, skateboarders broke into the church’s hall and damaged
folding tables they used as makeshift ramps.
“There was a misunderstanding,” said Rev. Christine Piper. “The
youth understood they were free to come in and use the church, and that wasn’t
the case. There was a little bit of distress over that.”
When the skateboarding continued, the church put up signs telling
skateboarders they weren’t welcome at St. James.
Then, Piper attended a workshop, where she learned about ideas for
reaching people who don’t come to church. A video about Fresh Expressions,
including a clip of a youth skateboarding group, caught Piper’s eye.
“They were working together to create an expression of religion with
their skateboards,” she said. “It was very, very interesting.”
Soon after, a member of the church congregation, Peter McCracken,
approached Piper with the idea of offering kids a space to skateboard at the
church.
“I saw those signs, and I thought, that’s exactly what we don’t need
to be doing,” McCracken said. “We need to be welcoming these kids in.”
With the congregation aging, McCracken said he saw skateboarding as
a way to show youth there is room for them in the church.
He enlisted the help of Thor Stewart, a Perth and District
Collegiate Institute student and avid skateboarder who runs a skate shop,
Fisheye, at his parents’ store, the Running Goat. Before the idea could take
off, the pair needed the approval of the parish council.
“I was expecting some resistance from the parish council,” McCracken
said. “When they saw it in the light of an opportunity rather than a more
negative light, they saw that there was a potential to welcome kids into the
church.”
“They were all very open and interested,” Piper said. “We could see
clearly that youth were seeing our church as a place to come skateboard, and we
didn’t have a problem with that. We said ‘Let’s learn from this. Let’s turn
this into a learning opportunity for them (youth) and the church.’”
After all, Piper said, Christianity is all about reconciliation and
moving forward.
While Piper sees the skateboard ministry as an opportunity to reach
youth who may not otherwise set foot in a church, she said youth shouldn’t
expect “heavy duty stuff” if they come out to the Tuesday-night sessions.
“We’re trying to meet them where they’re at,” she said, noting that
Christian music and videos will be playing, literature will be available and
she will be there supervising, but it is up to the youth themselves to show an
interest in the religious aspect if they choose.
Beyond the Christian-based message, the skateboard ministry will be
a boon for kids looking to extend their skating season after the ramps at Conlon
Farm have come down for the season.
“In past years you just put the skateboard away for the winter,”
Stewart said. “If we get a lot of kids skating all winter, that’s fun. And we
can have ministry outreach, fellowship and mentoring each other.”
Stewart and McCracken constructed a couple of ramps and are seeking
donations of wood in order to build more.
Youth who wish to participate must have consent forms signed by
their parents. Forms will be available at the Good Shepherd Hall at the
Anglican church (Drummond and Harvey streets) or they can be picked up any time
at the Running Goat (74 Foster St.).
Youth must bring their own skateboards and helmets. The skateboard ministry
will run every Tuesday until Dec. 15, and “phase two” in the new year will be
based on feedback received over the next two months.