Pilot ‘Dreamscheme’ for the youth of east Belfast; New Course For Church Musicians Starts in Avoca; Celebrity Parish Pancake Party; Crosslinks staff to train church leaders in Ethiopia; Catholic scholars call for changes in church; Two in five leave NI schools without basic reading and writing; Queen’s University Vice-Chancellor appointed to head up Cranfield University
Pilot ‘Dreamscheme’ for the youth of east Belfast
Willowfield Parish Community Association (WPCA) is currently working in partnership with Dreamscheme NI to deliver a pilot project in inner east Belfast.
Dreamscheme is a community youth development programme which inspires and enables communities to release the potential of their young people based on a simple concept of Work = Points = Trips.
“Young People can do Wonderful Things” – the project is providing positive work activities enabling teenagers to impact their community, combat anti–social behaviour, alcohol/ drugs misuse, interface tension and fear of crime among the elderly.
Although in it’s very early stages, the young people are already involved in community work activities and recently made and delivered Valentine’s day cards to some members of the community. Young Sam Spence is pictured right and below doing just that. This work is already breaking down some of the inter–generational barriers that exist and it is hoped that this is only the beginning of the impact that this project will have.
The project is funded by Belfast Policing & Community Safety Partnership and builds and adds value to the youth work that already takes place in the area.
“At a time when young people in East Belfast have been hitting the headlines in negative ways, it is great to see young people getting involved and actively making a difference in their community,” says David Jardine, Lead Youth Worker at Willowfield.
New Course For Church Musicians Starts in Avoca
Over the last year, Church Music Dublin has been working on devising a new course mainly aimed at church musicians in parishes where resources are limited – for example where there may be no choir, no pipe organ and a small congregation.
This new course Hearts & Hands & Voices will be launched in Castlemacadam Church in Avoca, County Wicklow and led by Ann Keary and Derek Verso. Over 4 sessions during March and April, participants will work together in group sessions and the more traditional one to one method for keyboard skills.
Hearts & Hands & Voices will be particularly suited to the person who plays in church occasionally and would like to improve their skills or those who would like to start playing in church. At the first session of this course, to be held on the evening of Thursday March 21, clergy are requested to come along with their church musicians when the session will look at how these two ministries interact, as well as ways of encouraging congregational singing and planning services.
The other three sessions are on Saturdays in April – 6,13 and 27 – and will concentrate on practical music making in a church setting. An application form and full details of the course, including the repertoire to be covered, is on the Church Music Dublin website: www.churchmusicdublin.org.
Further information is available from Jacqueline Mullen (hon sec) at
honsec@churchmusicdublin.org.
The total cost for entire course is €100 including refreshments. Parishes are encouraged to co sponsor a participant for this new course.
Celebrity Parish Pancake Party
The Parish of Larne & Inver (Connor) marked Shrove Tuesday with a ‘Celebrity Pancake Party’ hosted by the Curate, the Rev Jim Caldwell.
Parishioners were invited to the Curatage to make their own pancakes and enjoy an evening with comedy actress Olivia Nash. Well known as ‘Ma’ in the popular ‘Hole in the Wall Gang’ Olivia played a key role in the TV series ‘Give My Head Peace,’ and is also famous for the phrase, ‘Fred, there’s no bread!’ Olivia said: “It’s great to have an evening like this which brings people together to have fellowship. Fellowship is the key, having fun and being with each other, that’s what is all about, and the pancakes were absolutely delicious!” Donations on the night will go towards fundraising for a new sound system at St Cedma’s Church.
Crosslinks staff to train church leaders in Ethiopia
Crosslinks Team Leader in Ireland, Revd Trevor Johnston, will travel to Ethiopia with Staff Worker, Colin Morris on 22 February to conduct a week long ‘School of Biblical Training’ for church pastors and leaders.
They will travel to Mekelle in northern Ethiopia and link up with Crosslinks Mission Partner Karen Salmon, a former parishioner of Knocknagoney (Down and Dromore). Trevor and Colin will also be joined by a former Crosslinks partner, Revd Les Jesudason, now a vicar in England.
During the week the team will be looking at, among other things, Preaching Principles, a Bible Overview and the Gospel of Mark as well facilitating small groups. In addition they will do some Campus Ministry, linking in with university students in the evenings, helping them with Bible study and speaking at local churches.
At present they are expecting 50 people to present at the School of Biblical Training and 50 students to be present in the evenings. Crosslinks will be covering the costs for all participants during the week.
Trevor and Colin return on 4 March. Please remember them and their families in your prayers.
MEDIA REVIEW
Pope’s successor must be right choice or Church faces disaster
Irish Examiner – If it is the case — and it seems to be — that so significant a historic event as the resignation of a pope means so little to so many people raised in the Catholic faith, then surely the Church in Ireland, and presumably elsewhere, faces fundamental …
See Media Focus – CNI today
Catholic scholars call for changes in church
Irish Times – More than 160 leading Catholic scholars worldwide have signed a “Declaration on authority in the Catholic Church” that calls for change in church governance.
The signatories include leading theologians Hans Kung, Leonardo Boff and Dr John Wijngaards, as well as three Australian bishops, William Morris, Pat Power and Geoffrey Robinson.
In a letter to The Irish Times today, Irish signatories to the declaration speak of the need for “a pope who will redress the present imbalance in the exercise of authority in the Catholic Church.” Their letter continues that “more autonomy should be given to national bishops’ conferences and collegiality enabled at all levels in the church”. More at –
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2013/0219/1224330204418.html
Two in five leave NI schools without basic reading and writing
News Letter – Two out of every five teenagers in Northern Ireland leave school without the basic reading and writing skills, it was revealed today.
An audit office report into literacy and numeracy levels said unacceptably large numbers of pupils were not making the grade.
Kieran Donnelly, Comptroller and Auditor General said more must be done to tackle the growing problem of educational underachievement.
He said: “Regardless of how well the majority of pupils perform, it is also clear from our findings that unacceptably large numbers of pupils are failing to achieve even minimal levels in literacy and numeracy.
“It is vital that our education system does all it can to address underachievement in order to improve the life chances of our young people and to ensure that our economy is well equipped to compete in an increasingly global market place.” More at –
Queen’s president appointed to head up Cranfield University
Leadership – Sir Peter Gregson, Queen’s University Vice-Chancellor and president, appointed to head up Cranfield University. More at –
http://www.businessandleadership.com/leadership/item/39694-queens-president-and-vc/