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News from Ireland
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KERYGMA TEAMS and YOUTH 2000 One of the features of the different ministries and groups
working with young people in Ireland is the way they work together.
An example of this is “L5, in the City”, a series of 5 evening
meetings equipping leaders hosted by Kerygma Teams and YOUTH2000 in
Dublin. Topics covered will include such things as “Stirring up
the Charisms” and “Making Leadership Teams Work”.
In May and June this year they are also running L5, a five week leadership course. Rob comments, “It is a course for those who are interested in a good structural input on leadership.” He adds, Being a leader in a Christian or church context is different from being in a business situation or administrating a school says Rob. “In Christian ministry you are leading a group of volunteers, not people who are paid. This means motivation is a key thing if they are going to give up their time on a regular basis. This often makes it a more difficult task than secular leadership.” The other challenge in leading volunteers, he says, is the constraints on people’s time, as usually they can not give a full time commitment to the work. He comments, “YWAM has huge experience in this whole area of motivating and training people for mission, and have developed an expertise that we in the Catholic Church can really benefit from. We are simply here to facilitate that.” Among the topics covered during the five-week course are team building, decision making and problem solving, honing your vision as well as balancing the demands of family life, personal life and service to the Church. Aware that not everyone can take the full five weeks off to do the course, Kerygma Teams are offering the possibility to do just one of the five week modules. People can also have a taster by attending one of the five ‘L5 in the City’ nights they have organised in conjunction with Youth2000. Other events that Kerygma Teams are organising this year include a charism school led by Damian Stayne from 9th-12th November 2006. There will also be a summer programme for 17 – 25 year olds from 4th-17th July in Dublin, where the participants will be trained in evangelisation skills, particularly using the radio. Those interested in doing a Kerygma Teams DTS in 2007 or the L5 Leadership course should visit www.kerygmateams.org Taking a stand for Jesus Sr Bridget Dunne, the secretary of the Irish NSC, is part of an ecumenical group, which each year takes a stand at the Body, Mind and Spirit Festival, as a way of reaching out to New Agers with the message of the gospel. Below she shares her experiences. Twice a year Cork has a “Body, Mind, Spirit” Festival. Those who take a stand are healing practitioners. Most of the 60 – 65 stands advocate non-Christian practices. A few years ago we decided to do something about it. So we took a stand to proclaim the healing power of Jesus. “We” being a group from most of the Christian denominations in Cork. We pray and witness together to the Christian values we share and invite spiritual seekers to turn to the Lord. Our stand is simple: a few posters on the partitions, a table with Cross, a bible, a candle and flowers; an explanatory handout, including information on healing services, prayer ministry, Alpha Course contacts. The only thing we advertise is the Alpha course, because it is the one course which is common to all of us. We invite people to have a chat or to ask for prayer. We also have prayer request slips for people to write down a name and their request. We promise to pray for all these people for one month after the Festival. In March this year we had more requests than ever – over 300. We have a rota of people to man the stand during the 3 days. It is a demanding thing to do and takes some courage and a real commitment to the Lord. This is why we undertake a sustained effort at back-up prayer. While the conferences is on, for eight hours a day, we have ongoing prayer at our Prayer Centre in Cork. Intercessors come to pray for shorter or longer periods in the chapel during this time. Some of the people we meet do make contact afterwards. We have had news of answered prayer, but for the most part we do not know what effect we are having. But together we are – literally – taking a stand for Jesus.
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Joining
Fr Jack McArdle and Rev David Matthews(see page 26) on the speakers’s
podium in Athlone will also be Rev Dr Ruth Patterson. A Presbyterian
minister, she was the first woman to be ordained in Ireland in
1976. Since then she has won great renown for her work in promoting
peace and reconciliation. Laden with honours she received the
Alumna of the Year Award in 2000 from the University of Edinburgh
and was also awarded the OBE in 2003. A writer, as well as an
inspiring and down to earth speaker, Rev Ruth will be sharing
what she feels the Holy Spirit is saying to Ireland at this point
in its history.