Pigeons Project

LGBTQIA+ Youth Events for Christian Youth and Allies

The Pigeons Project runs LGBTQIA+ youth events for Christian youth and allies. Our vision is to partner with young people to co-create welcoming and affirming spaces to explore faith, raise their voices and have some fun.

Our next Pigeons event is:

Date: Wednesday 8th April

Cost: £15 per person

Time: 10-4.30pm

Age range: 11-18yrs

Location: The Greenhouse at Barnes Close, Birmingham. This is a retreat centre that has cosy lounges and is surrounded by nature. The site is a closed site and only people booked to attend the PD weekend will have access.

Who can attend: Pigeons is a safe space for LGBTQIA+ young people. Whatever letter of the alphabet you identify as and whatever stage of your journey. We also welcome young people who are supportive allies attending with friends.

We ask all young people to attend as a part of a group with an adult group leader. This can be a parent, guardian or youth worker.

Young people must be booked in through an adult group leader. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss this further (pigeons@fyt.org.uk).

How to book:

Booking opens soon!

What’s happening on the day?

There will be a range of activities across the day for people to get involved in at their own pace. All the zones will be open all day. Everything is optional. Participants are welcome to get involved as much or as little as they like.

Lounge: the lounge is the heart of the venue. This is a gathering space to hang out, chat and play games. In this space you will find discussion prompts, feedback zones where you can share your ideas for the next event, the Pigeons book recommendations and lots of board games. You will also find the craft zone.

Craft zone: The craft zone is located in the Lounge. In this space you can have a go at lots of fun craft activities like lego printing, jewellery making, hot beads, glitter tattoos, protest banner making and much more!

Workshops: get involved in interactive workshops around themes relevant to identity, faith and LGBTQIA+ lived experiences. Previous workshops have included:

Queer church history
Advocating for yourself and your needs
Wellbeing and mental health
Gender non-conforming people in the Bible
Craftervism (Craft-activism)
Creative worship

Rage Room: The Rage room is our catharsis space. At Pigeons we don’t shy away from the fact that sometimes the journey is hard. In this space you can be real and honest about what you are feeling and what you are experiencing. This room is covered in black paper and participants are invited to write and draw all over the walls. As an act of angry prayer and catharsis. At the end of the day the paper is ripped down and burned at the fire pit.

Pigeons Boutique: A pop-up swap shop. Come along to the pop-up Boutique to get some free clothes to take home with you. Experimenting with gender presentation and expression through clothing can be an incredibly affirming and powerful experience. But it’s often expensive! At the Boutique participants can try on different types of clothes and even take them home for free. Participants are also invited to bring along any unwanted clothes to donate to the Boutique for others to find treasure in.

Quiet Room: this is a quiet sensory space for all those who just need a little time out for any reason. In this space you will find soft furnishings, soft lighting and sensory toys. It can be accessed at anytime throughout the day.

The Chapel: In the Chapel space there will be a timetable of interactive prayer and worship across the day. Check the sign for details.

The Guardians Lounge: This is a space dedicated to parents, guardians and youth workers attending Pigeons. In this space you will get a nice cup of tea and a good natter! This space is led by Pigeons parents. Here you can connect with others who can relate to your experiences. There will be a scheduled time of reflection at some point in the day.

Fire Pit: At the end of the day gather around the fire pit for our leaving ceremony. Toast marshmallows, say goodbye, burn the Rage Room and give thanks for our time together.

Food

Participants are invited to bring their own lunch on the day. Snacks, cake and drinks will be provided throughout the day.

Pigeons Team

Pigeons team will be around and available to offer support all day.

Who are we?

Pigeons Project is ran by Frontier Youth Trust and was formally called The Prophetic Dreamers Project. It is a collaboration between FYT and The Greenhouse at Barnes Close and born of a desire to create spaces for justice, healing and reconciliation for LGBTQIA+ young people in the UK.

FYT is a UK charity committed to support youth work on the margins and edges of church and society. It holds and supports a movement of people and projects doing pioneer youth work. It is also an LGBTQIA+ affirming organisation. You can learn more about their inclusion statement here.

The Greenhouse at Barnes Close

Our Vision

Our vision is to partner with young people to co-create a safe space where they can gather together to explore faith, raise their voices and have some fun.

Experience – fun, actives, connection with others
Empower – explore faith, build community, grow in leadership skills
Prophetic voice – raise up new voices, creating safer spaces, bringing change

Access and Support needs:

Pigeons is committed to making their events as inclusive of access and support needs as possible. All of our activities have been planned with an awareness of being as neurodivergent friendly as possible. We know we won’t always be getting it right, so please do get in touch with us prior to the event to discuss how we can be as accessible to your group as we possibly can.

Quiet room: There will be a quiet room on site for those who need to take some time out.

Workshop style: There are will be no talks delivered “from the front”. All workshops will be delivered in an interactive manner bearing in mind different learning styles. All activities will be optional with zero pressure to get involved beyond your own level of comfort.

Food: The kitchen team will endeavour to provide snacks approbate for all dietary requirements. Snack food will be served in as neurodivergent friendly way as possible.

Step only accessible areas: Some areas of the Venue are only accessible by stairs however we will endeavour to make all activities as accessible as possible to those attending.

Toilets: All toilets are single occupier all gender toilets.