Youth Stuff Notes April 06

Greetings All,

Before we see what’s coming up in the near future let’s jump right in and take a look back at what we’ve been up to over the last couple of months…..

Christmas Dinner Dance

Racket Hall was the venue once again for this social highlight of the year. There was plenty of style evident with long flowing ensembles, high heels and fancy hair do’s everywhere you looked (and that was just the lads!). Those present for the entire event enjoyed a fabulous five course Christmas dinner before dancing the night away to Skyline and DJ General. Many others joined the crowd after the meal in plenty of time to show off their moves on the dance floor. A great night was had by all – many thanks to all who sold tickets or provided raffle prizes, and to the hotel. Thanks especially to Michelle Hales for all her work.

Teenage Day Trip

The Teenage Day Trip to Dublin was the usual marathon including swimming, shopping, bowling, ice-skating and a visit to Funderland at the RDS. Thanks to Roscrea Hall Committee who allowed us to use its facilities for a rest stop on the way up which included breakfast rolls in the hall at 8.30am! By the time the gang got back to Corbally that night they were weary but contented as they participated in the candlelight carol service in the church and disco in the hall.

Music at the service was provided by ‘Resurrection’. Thanks to Corbally parish for the use of its facilities and to all the leaders who ensured everything ran so smoothly on the day.

Junior Day Trip

A first Day Trip for this age group at this time of year but not the last! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed all the activities including bowling and quazar in Blanchardstown, ice-skating at the RDS and swimming at the superb National Aquatic Centre. On the way home there was a Youth and Family Worship Service in Roscrea Church where many of the parents joined us. Thanks to Nicole Robinson for providing the music.

Worship Belfast 06 Concert

A small but enthusiastic gang headed North to be part of an amazing event in the Odyssey Arena, Belfast where eight and a half thousand people of all ages gathered together to worship Almighty God led by some of the most popular Christian singer-songwriters of our time. Topping the bill was the world famous Robin Mark who wrote such UDYC standards as Days of Elijah, Lion of Judah, Jesus, All for Jesus and The Wonder of the Cross. The other two main performers were Matt Redman (who wrote When the Music Fades, Everything That Has Breath and everyone’s favourite Blessed Be Your Name) and American Chris Tomlin who may not have been quite as well known to the gang at the start but was many people’s favourite by the end. The support acts were Eoghan Heaslip from Core Church, Dublin, Johnny Parks who led the worship at Summer Madness 05 and Brian Houston. In all we enjoyed almost six hours of passionate and inspirational worship before heading off to our 3 Star Hotel (that must be a first for UDYC!) for a well earned rest.

The next morning we joined the regular worshippers at Christian Fellowship Church, Belfast where we received a warm welcome to the Sunday morning service which was vibrant and joyful. Following that we took in all the sights of Belfast on top of an open-top bus tour and then grabbed some coffee to thaw out before heading home. All in all, a never-to-be-forgotten weekend- well, we did warn you all not to miss it, didn’t we?

Senior Spring Weekend

The Senior Spring get-together was held over St. Patrick’s Weekend in the beautiful venue of the Scripture Union Christian Adventure Centre, Avoca, Co. Wicklow. The bitterly cold weather which included snow showers couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the gang who throughout the weekend took part in canoeing, obstacle courses, dry slide, archery and climbing wall. In addition to these, there were somewhat warmer and drier activities such as a disco, charades and indoor soccer to name but a few. The U.D.Y.C. contingent was joined by some members and leaders of the C180 youth club in Coolock and many new friendships were made. The all-important spiritual side of the event was based around the New Beginnings programme in which participants explore in small groups their relationships with their parents, their friends and God. The Spiritual Director of the weekend was Archdeacon Wayne Carney and the worship was led by our old friends ‘Icthus’ from Dublin.

Overall it was a great event which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Thanks and well done to the members of the first class leader team with whom it was a pleasure to work (says the cook!)

M.A.D.D. Day, Limerick

Saturday 25^th March saw our MADD gang descend on Villiers School for a full day of Music, Art, Drama and Dance with a spot of bowling and arcade games thrown in for good measure. One of our biggest ever MADD Days, over seventy children from National Schools throughout the Diocese enjoyed fun, faith and fellowship based around the Lenten theme of ‘Temptation in the Wilderness’. The Music was led by Nicole Robinson supported by members of Icthus, Resurrection and St. Mary’s Cathedral Choir! The Art workshops were led by Michelle Hales who received a presentation at the end of the day to mark her retirement as UDYC secretary after many years devoted service. Joanne Kenny and Phil Downes from Icthus led the Drama and Dance workshops respectively. The heart-warming closing service was a joy to behold from beginning to end as all the preparation which had been done in the workshops during the day were brought together to produce a worthy offering of worship to Almighty God. It was also great to see the large number of parents who came to enjoy and participate in the closing worship. Thanks to all concerned and to the management and staff of Villiers School for their support and co-operation.

Coming Soon to a Diocese Near You……

Easter Vigil & Dawn Worship

9pm Easter Saturday 15^th April – 9am Easter Sunday 16^th April, Corbally Parish Church and Hall.

This all-night event is well worth coming to if you are in the 13+ age group. It starts at 9pm on Easter Eve as we join with the parishioners of Corbally Parish to light the Easter Fire, hear the traditional Vigil readings and celebrate the first Eucharist of Easter in this ancient service of the Church. Then, after refreshments, we will watch the movie ‘The Chronicles of Narnia – The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’ the story of which contains wonderful Christian symbolism and analogy. The rest of the night will be a mixture of worship songs, games, snacks, bingo, charades (and maybe even forty winks if necessary!). Then as we approach the glorious dawn of Easter morning when the good news of the resurrection was first discovered we will head off to Monaincha, the oldest Christian site in Roscrea, to welcome the sunrise and greet the dawn with a time of joyful modern worship in this holy place where the Resurrection would first have been celebrated in rather different fashion some 1500 years ago.  A cooked breakfast will be provided back at the hall before departure at 9am. Supervised transport will be available from Limerick, Nenagh and Moneygall. The cost is €15 if booked and paid before Friday 14^th April. Return transport fee is an additional €10 from all locations.

Kerry Alive 2006

Friday 28^th April – Monday 1^st May (Bank Holiday Weekend) , Muckross Youth Centre, Killarney, Co. Kerry

This year’s Kerry Alive event is a faith development weekend aimed at all 2006 Confirmation candidates and open to other participants aged between 10-13 years who wish to delve a little deeper into their relationship with Almighty God. In addition to the worship and workshops, participants will have the chance to partake in rock climbing, abseiling, canoeing, swanaboring, swimming at the Aquadome, Tralee, team challenge, hiking, icebreaker games, disco, nightline, a visit to Torc waterfall and Muckross Traditional Farm. Transport will be provided from Roscrea, Moneygall, Nenagh, Limerick and Adare. The cost of this four day event will be €70 if booked and paid for before Friday 21^st April and return transport will be an additional €15.

Other dates for your diary……

Further details will be available in advance of all the events but in the meantime if you have any burning questions, ring Ed @ 087 2907553

That’s all for now,

Best wishes, Lesley. 087 9091561