Youth work and the spark of the divine

It is my belief that the first aim of every teacher, whether in schools, colleges or universities, or more informally in the home or local community, should be to discover the [divine] spark in each of their charges, to look for the talents we all have in some measure. Having discovered it, educators need to nurture it very carefully until eventually it can be fanned into flame.

In this publication Larry Parsons reflects on his philosophy of youth work - and the fundamental significance of the spark of the divine that he believes is in everyone.

Download Youth Work and the Spark of the Divine (pdf)

Larry Parsons

Throughout his professional career Larry worked among and with young people, in the Royal Air Force, as a teacher and eventually as headmaster. It was this experience which commended him to the Directors of the Rank Foundation who in 1979, shortly after the deaths of Lord and Lady Rank, were looking for someone to assist them in developing their plans for implementing Lord Rank’s bequest to help young people, whom he was wont to describe as the seed-corn of a future prosperous Britain. Under the inspiration and guidance of Robin Cowen, the Chairman, the Rank youth scheme in due course encompassed most strata of the social spectrum, from children in independent schools whose parents had fallen on hard times to young people struggling to survive in the most deprived and rundown parts of some of our inner cities.

Larry was born in 1923 into a devout Catholic family long established in Worcester. It was here that the foundations of his strong Christian beliefs were laid. Although for a period he was not particularly assiduous in practising his faith, his experience with the social problems he encountered while working for the Rank Foundation made him re-assess his view of life and how he should respond.

Larry and his wife Helen have two sons and six grandchildren.