DESPITE ongoing debates within the Church of England, Moya Ratnayake, a Ministry Youth Worker in Richmond, is certain religion has a place in the lives of the borough's young people.

"There are a lot of questions they are trying to find answers to," she said. "The church needs to be relevant to the culture that it is within, that is what we are seeking to do. The Gospel always has to be forwarded to the next address as the culture changes."

By we' Moya refers to the three churches in Richmond, St Mary Magdalene, St Matthias and St John the Divine, that make up Richmond Team Ministry. Together they provide support and guidance for young people within the community.

With special youth services designed by the young people from all three churches they search topics that are of interest to them. "It is nice for the young people to have power and the chance to raise their voice," explained Moya.

But is the church and religion something young people are interested in? Moya believes so. "I think this generation are the most spiritually seeking generation since their parents in the 60s. They understand the importance of relationships because they have seen their parents getting divorced."

She insists: "I am not here to bible bash. I am here to listen to what they are searching for and help them choose the right options. I am a facilitator of their search."

The 29-year-old fell into youth work during a gap year before heading off to study a degree in religious studies.

"I had such a good role model when I was growing up in my youth group so I knew the job existed," explained Moya. "During my year out I was working with kids with learning difficulties at an outdoor activity centre. While I was studying for my degree I worked in a local church youth centre doing detached youth work. I then left to travel and found a job in the USA working in a Presbyterian church as a youth worker in Cleveland Ohio."

And ever since, Moya has been doing youth work. At one stage she considered social work and took a job in a drugs treatment centre, but soon realised just how much she loved youth work.

Not only does Moya work with young people, but with an MA in youth Ministry Theology she also teaches other youth workers.

"My parents became Christians when I was three and during my teenage years I was part of the church youth group," she said explaining her finding of religion. "Nothing was ever forced on me I took it on myself to become a Christian."

There are three parts to the job Moya carries out in the borough, the first involves working within schools. The main amount of her work is in Christ's School, Richmond, where she carries out detached youth work during lunch breaks.

She explains: "Students know I'm there as a youth worker and am there for them. Students want to talk about a range of things either they are worried about a friend or someone who wants health advice."

The second part of her job involves working within the churches of Richmond on youth programmes. "It is about listening to what young people want," said Moya. "We allow them to get involved by creating their own services, they are quite creative. Because the young people from the different churches did not know each other we have also carried out a lot of joint social events."

The final part of her job involves working in the community, liaising with all those involved in youth work.

At the moment the main concern for Moya and those she works with within the community is the lack of facilities within Richmond for young people on Friday and Saturday nights.

"My mission is to make Richmond better for young people," said Moya. "The youth club here closed years ago and as a result we have got young people hanging out on the Green. They need something to do. I have been listening to them and their parents and talking with people to see if anything has been done before that would work again.

"Another big issue that young people in this area face is that they are so busy. There is a lot of pressure on them to do well at school and to fit in as many extra lessons as possible," added Moya. "There is also a problem with parents working so hard that young people feel they want to see their parents more."

Listening is one of the main criteria Moya believes is necessary in her position. "I am patient and open minded," she said. "You cannot predict what young people are going to do. You have to be very open minded and creative. They are all completely different from each other, and there are often different solutions for the same problem. That is why listening is so important."

Moya work's alongside other detached youth workers in the borough, liaising with them to ensure no work is duplicated. But her main support comes from youth worker support groups established in each church and run by those involved with young people.

Each church in the Richmond Team Ministry has different connections with the town, something Moya believes is very important. "It is very important for the community to know that churches are not just little chapels. We are here for the benefit of and to service the community," she concluded.

Many youth services are being held over the Christmas period, the busiest time in the churches' calendar. The next major project for the Youth Ministry Team is to host up to 200 young people as part of Soul in the City event. The London event will see thousands of young people head to the city for two five day missions of community service, showing the physical side of the work of the church. The event takes place on July 26 to 30 and August 2 to 6 2004. In the meantime Moya's time is occupied helping run events with Richmond team Ministry and writing a book for youth workers and chaplains on contemplative prayer and meditation for young people.