Youth Officer.....Children's Officer
I'm Scott, your Diocesan Youth Officer. I grew up dividing my life between Wicklow, Waterford and Bangladesh until I started studying in Dublin at 15. I went into youth work as a volunteer at 17 and full-time after training when I was 21. I have just turned 26 and have been here since November 08 and am incredibly excited about the possibilities for youth ministry here in the Dioceses. I'm a big reader, tend to be reading 5 or 6 books at a time (though some never get finished!), I love film and music and that tends to be how I spend my relaxation time ... especially when you move to a new city and don't know anyone! Otherwise, I love hanging out with friends, debating life, issues, politics and theology and have just starting playing for a local football team ... which should be interesting!
My aims within the Dioceses
My biggest struggle after coming to the Dioceses has been coming to terms with the huge needs our churches face in our current culture. My greatest battle since my arrival has been with myself. I have had to work so hard to overcome the urge to become every church's youth worker as I have met amazing teens everywhere that I have gone and would love to be able to invest in each congregation and community. And yet, it is doing exactly this that would destroy any potential positive impact I could have.
Jesus came to rescue the world and gave us a model for doing so. Limited to one place and one time for 33 years, he could not be everywhere or everything to everyone. So he called to himself disciples, trained them, loved them, prayed for them, sent them out and gave them the Holy Spirit and a mandate to change the world. It is their legacy upon which the Church is built. So we shall seek to do the same. Calling, training, loving, praying and sending.
The bottom line is, my role is not to do youth work so much as to facilitate it. My vision is to train youth leaders, volunteers and workers, support them in their local work, fight for resources on their behalf and come alongside them in their work.
This means, I'm afraid, that at a local level, you may not see as much of me as you would like even though I do aim to play some part in local ministry. However, what I do hope you'll see is highly trained, well-resourced leaders popping up in your community, coming alongside your youth and playing a crucial role in their holistic development throughout their adolescence.
Elemental, our Diocesan Youth Initiative, will be a youth ministry development agency dedicated to achieving this vision in our Dioceses. For more info, check out the website 
Email us at elemental@me.com or my blog at www.scottevans.ie. Website: elementaldyi@me.com
Children's Officer - the Revd James Mulhall
Aspects of Children's work include
- Information: getting information on all relevant groups, people and activities; keeping it up to date and coherent; making it available; briefing, publicizing and promoting.
- Assistance and Advice: helping and liaising with Clergy and others to set up and organize children's groups and activities; developing and advising on policy, goals, approaches and pitfalls.
- Organization: personally setting up and running groups and activities.
Children's Ministry Officer's Role connects with schools and parishes:
Schools
- Visiting schools, meeting with teachers and the children, also sharing new available resources.
- Working on a practical level with the children preparing them to take part in various liturgical services.
- Meeting with the clergy linked with primary schools.
Parishes
- Sunday School Teacher training and helping with the setting up new Sunday Schools.
- Involvement with the BB & GFS.
- All age worship events in parishes.
- Sourcing, advising and providing resources throughout the diocese according to the specific needs.
Teacher Training Events
Every summer there are week long holiday clubs held in a number of parishes. 60 teenagers went on weekend away to Ovoca Manor, Co. Wicklow in March and have met for a practical training day each month preparing to help at these clubs; socializing and learning new skills in a fun environment.
Brainarama Table Quiz
Each October our annual fun table quiz called "Brainarama" takes place. Expectant teams from around the dioceses compete for the Bishop's Cup and medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams. All diocesan Sunday school children from third to sixth class are invited to take part in this activity. A separate sibling's programme runs concurrently for the younger children who come along on the day.
The Children's Officer is available to offer resources, advice and practical help to clergy and others on setting up and organising children's groups, activities and trainings at parish and diocesan level.
