January will be another exciting month youth wise in the Diocese.
“Youth Alive”
3rd of January will see the first visit of the “Youth Alive” series
of youth services to Tullow. These youth services are shared monthly between
the parishes of Casteldermot, Baltinglass, Kiltegan and Donaghmore and recently
some youth from Tullow asked to be included. The services are lively and informal
evenings of praise and start at 8.00 pm
Children’s Ministry
Although as Youth Officer my ministry is primarily to teenagers, it is increasingly evident that a lot of thought needs to be directed towards childrens ministry in the Dioceses. What training is provided for instance and what opportunities are given to childrens workers to encounter new ideas or learn from the experience of other parishes? The Bishop has intimated that one of the chief issues that was raised at the recent rural deanery 2020 meetings was childrens ministry. To facilitate this concern a meeting of all those interested in childrens ministry will be held on Saturday 17th January. The exact venue has still to be decided at the time of writing but full details will be sent out to clergy and parishes. This will be a valuable opportunity to examine ways forward for this vital ministry.
Safeguarding Trust
Thankfully, the seemingly endless sessions of safeguarding trust seminars that I have been leading throughout the Diocese are about to come to an end. The final Safeguarding Trust seminar for leaders will take place at the National School, Green Road, Carlow on Thursday 22 January at 8.00. This will be the last training evening in the Diocese until at least October 2004. It is a requirement of the Church of Ireland that anyone working with under 18s should be introduced to Safeguarding Trust so please make an effort to be present if you have not yet attended a training event.
Regenerate
The fourth Regenerate will take place on Saturday 24th January 2004. Plans
are still being finalised but the format will be a half day of seminars, workshops
and games, followed by the evening worship and concert. Input at Regenerate
will be from the outreach team at Core. People will be happy to know that the
prices have been reduced and family/group tickets will be available. We hope
to see lots of our teenagers at Regenerate and more information is available
from the website
www.regenerate-ireland.com. Application forms will be in circulation by the
time of publication.
Finally, a very happy God filled New Year to you all. Don’t forget that
you can always glean the latest information regarding Diocesan, parish and
youth events from the world wide Web. www.cashel.anglican.org, www.lciyc.cashel.anglican.org
and www.regenerate-ireland.com.
If I can of help in any way regarding Youth work in your parishes, please do
not hesitate to contact me
Philip Heak