No, but seriously...

Moving to Clogher...

2011-10-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

Don't misunderstand the title...I am not for upping sticks from the Antrim Road for that Diocese which takes in Fermanagh and a bit of Tyrone, and probably some of Cavan too! But since the end of August it's begun to feel like a second home!

First I attended the institution of my good friend Gary McMurray, as Rector of Aghavea just outside Brookeborough (which was a double bonus because as well as a great service I got to visit my fave chip shop in Lisnaskea, which brought back loads of memories of Youth weekends in the Share Centre). Then a couple of weeks ago I went down to Enniskillen for the Ordination of John, Bishop of Clogher. I knew John a little from my last Diocese, where he was a Rector.

The Episcopal Ordination also had a couple of bonuses. I got to travel down with the Rev'd Alan McCormack and his Parents. Alan was my Chaplain and Greek Tutor when I was at trinity College in Dublin, and we renewed our acquaintance recently in Hong Kong (Alan remains connected to Hong Kong through the Dublin University Far East Mission). I gave a lift down to him and his parents...it was lovely to continue that contact. When I got there, before the service began I had dinner with another dear friend in ministry, James Boyd. James and his wife Shirley were great friends at trinity and Gary, James and I formed something of an unholy trinity sharing hot chocolate after a good day's work!

So that's two more times Enniskillen direction than I've been in nearly two years! And I've two more in the next week...because Gary and James are in the Diocese of St Macartin now!

Both chaps have invited me to preach at evening harvests, so I'm with Gary in Aghavea tomorrow evening and with James in Dromore, Co Tyrone next week. I'm really looking forward to meeting them in their parish contexts, to meeting the people among whom they minister and to spending some time with Gary and his wife Lynsey and with James, Shirley and their daughter Rebecca.

So it feels like I'm becoming semi-resident in Clogher...it's a pity I can't claim for a second residence!

I love harvest hymns, and harvest tea....so the people of the Diocese of Clogher should note that I have high expectations!!

Mid-Africa Matters

2011-09-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

Eight years ago, an old lady in my Church phoned me one day, and told me I had to apply for a team to go to Kenya. That's the sort of person Isabel was...she had decided this was the thing for me, so...she told me to do it. I had already filled out an application form for another team - to Albany on the first Diocesan Youth Team. But, Isabel was pretty insistent and I respected her a lot...and I knew of her passion for the Church Mission Society, Ireland. So I thought, why not.

The team was fantastic. Brilliant. But I don't even wanna talk about it in this entry...at least, not directly. It happened in the Summer of 2003, and one of the first get-togethers the team had was the September straight after when we attended the CMSI Mid-Africa Partnership Conference in the Glenada Newcastle. And that was the start of perhaps my most interesting journey with CMSI.

You see, I've never been away again with CMSI - although I'm sure I will one day. But I have maintained a passion for the organisation, and the thing that incites that passion for me is the Mid-Africa Partnership Conference. On the face of things it's any other Church Conference. There's an intriguing dynamic, as the residents tend to be the more senior supporters from the days of the Rwanda Mission and Mid Africa Ministry, while on Saturday there are day delegates, some from teams, some extra staff members and others who have spent time overseas or who have a heart for the work.

Every year, the conference surprises me. this year, Archdeacon Seth from Burundi excited and inspired us about the work of the Church in that place; Bishop Ken Clarke challenged us through the life of Peter; we heard from Ken and Judith Finch as they prepare to return to Uganda and look to what is next in their ministry; an infectiously inspirational young woman called Hazel told us about five weeks she spent in Rwanda; we also heard from Mission Director Ronnie Briggs. And I came away challenged and excited - determined to continue to live up to the calling we have, under the grace of God.

I've never been to mid-Africa, but I feel like it's part of my life because of this conference. How amazing that God does things with each of us, even when we aren't expecting them.

And I'm so excited that tomorrow the Bishop of Connor will commission me as honorary chaplain to the CMSI staff team; I will join the staff at least once a week for staff prayers and hopefully can serve them in a pastoral sense. But even better, I will be praying regularly with a group of people I respect greatly. It's brilliant, after two years 'on my own' ie not blessed with regular staff prayer times, to be preparing for weekly staff prayers again.

Thank god for CMSI - for what it has done in my life and in the lives of so many.

2011-08-18T10:45:00.001-07:00

Reading at the closing Eucharist; with Father KK; at work on an article for the IAYN Journal; sharing the peace at the Eucharist; our host, Father KK Chan, presiding at the closing Eucharist

IAYN Pics 3

2011-08-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

Some views of Hong Kong...three taken at night from the Star Ferry (one of these is obscured by Tim Feak, representative from the Church in Wales). The first picture is, I think, the two International Finance Centre which is the second tallest building in Hong Kong and number 13 on the list of the World's Tallest Buildings.

IAYN Pics 2

2011-08-18T08:56:00.001-07:00

The group with some of the clergy and young people from the Cantonese Youth Mass in Holy Trinity Cathedral, Eastern Kowloon; the group with Diocesan Youth Officers and Youth from the three Dioceses of Hong Kong Province, as well as the Youth Officer from Macau; Rev'd Augusta presenting us with gifts from Hong Kong Diocese.

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

2011-08-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Network meeting has ended...some of the delegates headed straight to the airport after our closing dinner. I have a few days of holiday here in Hong Kong before the journey home.

So what are my reflections on the meeting?

Firstly, I note how important relationships are. Naysayers would have us believe that the Anglican Communion is in meltdown, and on some levels that may even be true, but here this week I've worked with people of different cultures, nationalities, churchmanship and theological perspectives. And it has been a sublime pleasure. The bonds are important not just because the conference has meant a great deal to me personally in terms of friends made, but because these relationships bring to life those words which say 'one church, one faith, one baptism'.

Secondly, you would not believe the sheer volume of work that we got done. In four full working days (after we'd received reports and had our Sunday together in fellowship) we worked through the business of the network - electing regional reps to the steering committee, drafting resolutions for the Anglican Consultative Council meeting next year, framing a rationale for the whole network (not that one didn't previously exist, but rather we freshened it) and working on some supplementary material for a wonderful resource entitled 'Ending Violence Against Young Women and Girls'. We then produced a series of articles that will form the next edition of Buenos Nuevos, the IAYN Journal. Furthermore, we heard moving stories of human trafficking problems in Africa and of the response to the Japanese Earthquake - and these stories spurred us to action as a Network.

I've been overseas with the church a lot. I've been to lots of conferences. But ti's been a while since I've felt a part of something this significant...this week has been truly life changing. And tomorrow I visit the Space Museum!!

IAYN Photos 1

2011-08-15T07:26:00.000-07:00

Some pics from the first weekend, including Holy Trinity Cathedral Eastern Kowloon, the group on tour, St John's Cathedral Hong Kong Island, the view from Victoria Peak and the group with Archbishop Paul Kwong and DYOs from Hong Kong Province.

Down to business

2011-08-15T07:20:00.001-07:00

Don't worry, we've had our fun and we know there's work today. We spent some time on our working agenda this (Monday) and picked a few priorities for discussion, including a refinement of the role and purpose of the network, the production of a resolution to be made by the youth reps at next year's ACC and also a strategic discussion for the dissemination of a resource the network has produced on Ending Violence against Young Women and Girls.

I can't say much more at the moment, because these are works in progress but I hope you will be able to see the fruits of our labours on iayn.anglicancommunion.org

First weekend of IAYN

2011-08-15T07:05:00.000-07:00

Having arrived on Friday at about 8.30pm (a long time after I left Belfast!) our first day was busy and brilliant. It involved introductions and a potted history of IAYN for the newbies (see previous post). Then each member was invited to make a report from her or his province.

On Saturday evening, we attended a youth event in Holy Trinity, the Diocesan Cathedral for Eastern Kowloon (Hong Kong Province has three dioceses: Western Kowloon, Eastern Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, plus the Macau Missionary Area). There was a huge Youth Mass which saw the cathedral packed out. It was fantastic...a pleasure to be a part of and it wasn't even in English (Cantonese, with some Mandarin songs I think). We were blessed to be wlecomed byt he Bishop of Eastern Kowloon.

Sunday was a day for worship and fellowship, allowing the group to bond after having met each other on Saturday before four very intense days of business from Monday to Thursday. We attended Sung Eucharist in All Saints' Cathedral, Diocese of Hong Kong Island. The preacher was the Dean, who is Bishop Elect of Western Kowloon. It was a lovely, familiar service in English. It is one of 6 services each Sunday in the Cathedral - which includes worship in English, Cantonese and Filipino.

After this, we took the tramline up Victoria Peak, where we dined on dim sum in a restaurant with the most magnificent views of Victoria Harbour and Kowloon. We spent the day there, before returning to Hong Kong Island for a welcome dinner with The Archbishop of Hong Kong, The Most Reverend Paul Kwong. We made our way home via Hong Kong's famous star ferry. What a wonderful day!

What's that?

2011-08-15T06:50:00.000-07:00

You may be wondering what the International Anglican Youth Network is? It has a varied, and fairly long past, so I'll give you the short version.

The Anglican Consultative Council has a series of networks to inform its work, and indeed to carry out some of this work on its behalf. The network has existed for around 20 years, though there have been dormant periods. Ostensibly, it brings together Youth Work representatives from from each province of the Communion - sometimes this is Provincial Youth Officers, sometimes it is representatives (I am here representing the Church of Ireland Youth Department because I am a member of the CIYD Executive Committee and Central Board).

The group produces resources, encourages provinces to share stories and resources and has two representatives on the Anglican Consultative Council. The network proper meets roughly every three years, with a steering committee meeting on the in between years.

It's important because it highlights the fact that much is in common for youth work across the world...issues like identity, self awareness, sexuality, suicide - things that are part of the youth work mentality in Ireland - are echoed by people from as far afield as USA and Southern Africa, New Zealand and the Indian Ocean.

With that, each province has its own specific issues - we have heard moving accounts from delegates from Japan of the change in their country since the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011; the Archbishop of Hong Kong who hosted us for dinner last night addressed us on his perspective on the London Riots - which he identifies as a worldwide issue.

Long haul...

2011-08-12T06:01:00.001-07:00

I have just arrived in Hong Kong. You take one wrong turn at the Fortwilliam Roundabout and you never know where you're going to end up next! In this case, the Guesthouse of the Church of the Holy Carpenter, Kowloon (mainland Hong Kong) after a gruelling journey (well, long...but there was food and there were movies, so maybe not gruelling...) as I prepare to spend the next six days as the Church of Ireland Delegate at the International Anglican Youth Network. I will try my best to keep this blog updated with info from the conference, and hopefully a few photos as well. I am also staying on a few days afterwards.

So, what to note at this stage? Well, two things. Firstly, the flight was really long. And some of the passengers were hopping off to hop straight back on to fly on to Sydney. It said, int he departure lounge at Heathrow, 'Sydney via Hong Kong'. As if it was Lisburn via Dunmurray on Translink! I don't think I could do it. If any of my dear friends move to Australia and demand that I visit them, it will have to involve at least a night if not longer stopping over on the way. I mean, it's not like a drive to Bundoran.

Secondly, it is wild hot. Like we got in at tea time and it was 33 degrees. Which makes me wonder...do you think the band 'the three degrees' are called 'the three degrees' because they're, well, cool? Probably not. Guess who hasn't slept in 32 hours...

Pray for rest and productivity for the conference this week.

Newtownards hangover linked to fantastic organisations...

2009-10-25T00:33:00.000-07:00

Although it's been four months since I left Newtownards and moved to the Parish of St Peter and St James, there are a couple of things that keep bringing me back to 'Ards, more often than even I expected. In September while Ken, my boss from 'Ards, was on leave I covered pastoral emergencies in the parish. Unfortunately I was called into action on a few occasions. As well as this, I was involved in a number of community organisations and this work has been ongoing.

I represented St Mark's on the Board of Governors of West Winds Primary School, and for a while yet will continue to do so. WWPS is a small (ish) school on the West Winds Estate in the town. It's the most amazing place - there is a fantastic atmosphere among the staff and we've been delighted to note an increasing level of parental invovlement over the past few years. West Winds Estate is one of a number of residential estates in the town, and to a greater or lesser degree these estates all have involvement from those who would have been part of the loyalist paramilitary scene at some point. But West Winds is leading the way in the town in community development and the school is proud to be connected to the estate and involved in helping build good relationships.

I also served during my curacy as the representative of the local clergy on the Board of Directors of The Link Family and Community Centre. The Link is a Christian Community Group at work in th etown, with a particular vision to share God's love with the marginalised of the town. We work with young people from the estates, with members of the different ethnic communities in the town and with addicts, often some whom the system has written off. I was delighted when I was asked to continue as a member of the Board in my own right and not just representing the clergy of the town, in part because when I finished Queen's the first time round I had a job working in Poleglass with marginalised young people and so I have a community work background.

The Link is one of the most exciting things I encountered in Newtownards. The group stands alongside the community when churches can't, or sometimes won't, do so themselves. The Link in Newtownards has a transformative effect on the lives of so many people - whether their 16 staff, who work and work and work, or their over 60 volunteers, to say nothing of the dozens if not hundreds of youth, elderly, members of ethnic minorities and addicts who see their lives changed by the work of the Link Family and Community Centre. I remain very proud to be associated with The Link, especially when sometimes the community is challenged by the work we do. One of my favourite passages of scripture is in Luke 4, when Jesus quotes Isaiah and says that he has been anointed by the Spirit of God to free the prisoners, restore sight to the blind and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour. This is what the Church should do, and tries to. It's what the Link does.

2009-08-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

Time for the guys to take over the blog and fill you in on what has been happening over the past few days.

On Wednesday we had a slip and slide in the afternoon, and the English counsellors decided to gang up on Tara, with Danny and Clare combining to drop her on it, making a hospital trip necessary to get her back checked out. Luckily no serious damage was caused, although she did need to rest for a while.
That afternoon the rest of us paid a visit to the nuns to get a tour of the convent. The nuns were keen for Soraya to keep a leaflet about becoming a nun - she was considerably less eager!
In the evening there was a healing service that all the overnight campers went to, ironically Tara missed it as she was at the hospital.

On Thursday we managed to have the campfire this week as the weather stayed good, Andrew gave his best Brokeback Mountain impression with his choice of outfit (cowboy hat and checked shirt) and we had hard work getting everyone enthusiastic about singing campfire songs on the other hand everyone was very keen to get s'mores.

On Friday we woke to heavy rain which caused some alterations to the day's itinerary for both overnight camp and day camp. In addition to the rain Tyler Slade cut his hand on the bus window meaning Father Joel had to step in to do Christian Ed for the overnight camp. He gave a pretty hard-hitting message that a lot of the campers seemed challenged by, which was a good way to end the Christian Ed for the week.
In the afternoon everyone got into fancy dress - the girls took a superhero theme, and the guys formed an elite ninja squad, 'The Sim Squad' in honour of one of the councilors who had had to leave camp early for his brother's stag do. There was then a performance by a magician/comedian Mr Twisty, who got a lot of laughs, and a considerable amount of awe for his tricks.
After that we had "The Messy Olympics" which involved relay races with all sorts of messy food products like jello(jam), flour and chocolate spread, during which everyone got pretty dirty. Then the fire brigade turned up to give everyone the most extreme (and cold!) power shower know to man.

In the evening we had a pretty evenful Talent Show. Soraya and Andrew teamed up with another councillor, Tanya, to preform an animated routeen from grease. The results (especially Andrew's greased back hair and sunglasses which really looked the part) have to be seen to be believed! Fortunately video evidence has been captured...
There was also an inspiring preformance by some of the campers with a preformance of the song "im yours" by jason mraz. Of cousre we all joined in using whatever we could to help i.e. Instraments, singing and very interesting dancing.

Saturday saw many of the campers leave, and another leaving BBQ. In the afternoon we headed off to see a ValleyCats baseball game during which Danny and Andrew swapped national football shirts - Andrew felt everyone hated him while he had the England shirt on, and Danny thought everyone loved him in the NI shirt (although both both were pained by the experience). Afterwards we stopped at Megan's (one of the daycamp staff) for pizza and ice-cream. After we got back some of us headed up to a gazebo that looked out over the entire campsite and sat up watching stars. Some of us saw shooting stars, others were a bit distracted...

Today (Sunday) was our last day at camp, which was quite emotional saying goodbye to everyone. During the drive to New York most people took the chance to catch up on sleep, which had been lacking over the past few days. It was a long drive, but eventually we arrived and after getting checked into our hotel headed out to take a look at the city. Stopping to get a meal at TJI Fridays then moving on to get a quick feelng for city life. Tomorrow we'll be doing some more sight seeing as we unwind after a busy couple of weeks of camp, and hopefully manage to take in a show in the evening.

Latest pictures

2009-08-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

Rachel's ointment...

2009-07-29T10:06:00.001-07:00

Hey! Adrian here blogging today...sorry things have gone quiet for a few days. It's all still going really well so don't worry...silence in this case is a good thing as it means that we're doing lots and working hard!
After a relaxing, but busy, weekend which included visits to Lake George and Saratoga, a new week of overnight camp began on Sunday and a new week of daycamp on Monday. The overnight camp for the next two weeks is made up of high school students - maybe 13-17 years old. That's a very different dynamic to middle school...indeed, some of our team and some of the Beaver Cross Counsellors are around the same age as the older kids. They are adapting really well though. There are three lodges for young people, each with two cabins in them. One lodge is for boys and the other two for girls. This means that the boys cabins are full to the brim. Andrew and Peter have therefore moved to the staff lodge, but they remain as helpers with the overnighters. Both boys are clearly making an impact...they have connected well with young people in both weeks and are popular with the counsellors.
Tara, who had been on daycamp has swapped with Ashleigh, although Ashleigh is sleeping in a cabin with some other counsellors at night. Jennifer, who despite having been under the weather at the end of last week, has been nothing short of brilliant with the day campers, has chosen to remain in daycamp this week...although Jen has been involved in evening activities, remaining with daycamp allows her the option of resting in the evenings if need be. It should also be noted that Windy, the Director of Day Camp, has singled Jennifer out for high praise after watching her work with Nick and Nattie, the two blind children our team is looking after. On Thursday, Soraya and Ash will swap for a day to give Ash another taste of overnight camp and to give Soraya a taste of daycamp. It is easier to swap the girls between daycamp and overnight as the boys would be leaving overnight with bodies short where as with the girls it's a straight swap. I can't tell you how proud I am of the team...they are all engaging really well and while I think this trip is stretching all of us in different ways, it's been a real blessing so far.
Two popular campwide games we played this week were Goldrush and Clue (Cluedo!!). On Monday, some of the staff spent much of the day spraying rocks and dead brances (and trash!) gold. The lodge which collected the most gold would be declared the winner but teams of counsellors armed with water guns were onside to both assist and impede the capture of said gold. A well timed warning from a charitable American allowed me the chance to escape before a mutiny would have seen me drenched...thanks team! A campwide game of clue is pretty special too...each councellor took the part of a character, dressing up and so on, and each had clues to offer campers. Of course, the campers had to work through various forfeits and tasks before getting the clues and figuring out who the bad guy was. What amazed me about both these games is how simple they were...no technology of any account was involved, nor any elaborate ideas. But these sophisticated older children loved it. Almost as much as the staff!
Today we're going to visit the nuns on site. ST Mary's Convent is a community of Episcopal Nuns based on site. I think it will be a really good experience for the team to visit them for afternoon tea because it's something that simply doesn't exist in the Anglican context in Ireland. Last week, as you know, we visited Bishop Bill in Moosehaven. This was a brilliant night but it meant we missed the healing service at camp. Luckily, the second of only two all summer at beaver cross, happens tonight. This is led by Father Nigel Mumford, who is the Director of the healing centre here at CtK...it's a very emotional experience and offers a chance to be really challenged by what God can do in the world today. I think the team is really looking forward to this.
So, about the jock itch...Rachel has a foot fungus. She's been given an ointment for it which is also applicable for jock itch, athlete's foot and ringworm. Sometimes it's probably better not to read the packet...

These t-shirts are five for $20 ..... let's all get one!

2009-07-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

You join us on a gloriously hot Sunday evening ... our first chance to sit down and chillax after a busy weekend.

Our middle schoolers have flown the Beaver Cross nest, but not before providing us with a very entertaining talent show on Friday night, where almost all of the Cabins, a number of counsellors and a bunch of crazy Irish folk all put in super performances. The DDYC contingent will now contemplate either entering Britain's Got Talent or Eurovision after their rousing choruses of Ireland's Call & Tell Me Ma (and we look forward with anticipation to Adrians performance as Stavros Flatley/Susan Boyle this week!) Performance anxiety does not exist at Beaver Cross and each camper thoroughly enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame, before receiving their Cabin Awards. Saturday morning saw clean cabins all round..a first for the week! Parents joined us for the closing ceremony where we showed them everything we had learned in Christian Ed.

After saying our goodbyes an air of excitement filled the staff cabin...it was time...for a Pirate Adventure aaaarrrrrgh! The pirate fleet set sail communicating via walkie talkies and managing to lose each other within 5 minutes of leaving camp! Cap'n Steve with his trusty parrot kept the shipmates (and hairy bikers) hearty with a supply of ice pops and we were good to go!

Half of our fleet went to Pirates Golf whilst the Irish amongst us headed into Lake George on a super hot Saturday. Lake george is 34 miles long and 3 miles wide and is very prettiful...or a Bronagh likened it..Portrush without the Ocean...and Barry's. We strolled the boardwalk, dipped our toes in the lake, checked out the touristy shops and made a pit stop at Ben & Jerry's mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Canon Matt and the pirates joined us for an absolutely delicious dinner at the Adirondack Bar & Grill where we were deeply intrigued by the 'Bear Naked' etching on our glasses! We had some retail therapy on the way back, stopping at an outlet centre and parting with a few dollars. Later some of the team headed to the cinema for Harry Potter whilst the rest stayed back to rest their wallets.

This morning we had a much needed lie in..and a Dunkin Donuts breakfast! We made our way to the morning service at the Church on site. The Episcopal Church is a little different to what we have at home. It's a lot more high church..a lot more serious at times and yet very relaxed, last week we witnessed the baptism of a man who had converted from Judaism which was particularly special. Adrian has been assisting with the distribution of Communion, which is also a little different - we have little paper wafers rather than bread.

The Irish made an escape this afternoon for a little more retail therapy at Wilton Mall. I believe significant dents have been made in everyones wallets but we fashionistically better off, Adrian in particular, with his 4 new pairs of shoes. The girls got lost in Target (ridiculously big hypermarket) and we all enjoyed dinner in Panera Bread before making our way back to camp. It was all a bit too much shopping for Andre to take and he fell asleep in the car on the way back..there will be photos to follow :)

Adrian drove us today. What one might have thought could be an horrific experience was actually very pleasant and Adrians first experience of driving was a huge success so we anticipate an increase in trips to K-Mart & Hannaford to stock up on Mountain Dew, Lucky Charms and Hershey Kisses!

Our high schoolers have arrived and we are all looking forward to the week ahead. Some of the team members have swapped their roles but we'll keep y'all in check with that. Please continue to pray for the team as we work out here, that we would all bond with our new cabin groups, that we would continue to work well with the other counsellors, that we would continue to have fun and that we would have the energy to allow us to work to the best of our ability.

Thats all folks,
Ash-a-lee x

P.S. Today we all went to church wearing our Happy Camper Lake George tshirts which Canon Matt bought us yesterday..a sight to behold!

Haircut...what d'you mean?!

2009-07-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

The late nights were beginning to get to Andrew...

2009-07-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

I see nuns. I see nuns. I see nuns with goats!!! on the golf cart!!!!

2009-07-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

The title of this blog is one of those peculiar things that you don't ever expect to see. As I write this blog in the office, some nuns from the convent on site have just driven past on one of the golf carts. With their goats. Tonight we're supposed to be having a campfire- however we've got a storm warning so the kids are watching a movie instead!

We've had another busy couple of days at camp- Tara and I are getting along brilliantly at day camp. Nick and Nattie are brilliant children who don't let the fact that they cannot see stop them from the full camp experience. They are adoring swimming lessons as well as all the other fun activities. Yesterday we had a very special magician called Mr Twisty who came to entertain the children...and Adrian (who got picked to do a magic trick!!)

Soraya, Ashleigh, Peter & Andrew are also getting on brilliantly with the middle schoolers. They have all been helping the campers with their specialist activities every morning and getting a mix of camper choice activities in the afternoon. The latest reports are that at this stage of the week Soraya, Peter & Andrew have all made it down the zip line at high ropes. And Ashleigh has done Arts & Crafts, Arts and Crafts...and more Arts and Crafts! And we all know how talented Ashleigh is at arts and crafts- the girl guiding skills come to the fore!

Wednesday evening saw the team accept a very kind offer from Bishop Bill to come to his house for dinner. A chance for the team to dress up...or at least get out of their shorts and t-shirts for a while!! There was a collective intake of breath when we drew up at the house, a beautiful wooden lodge surrounded by large trees! On arrival Bishop Bill told us that the lodge is known as Moosehaven, but we couldn't figure out why, although coincidentally the house was fully decorated with mooses!!! Bishop Bill, his son Chris and his young fiance cooked a lovely Texan meal, this was followed by a walk to the lake and then a bonfire in the pouring rain to make us feel at home!! On the trip home we drove through Chestertown and stopped at an old fashioned ice cream parlour for ice cream, were the portions would have put mauds out of business and they had Rachel, hot from the grill on the menu!

Love the girls!! xxx

Same time, same place...different breakfast!!!

2009-07-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

'I LOVE THIS COUNTRY'... what Adrian told me after I set him and myself the challenge of eating two breakfasts, two lunchs and two dinners, the perks of being on the programme team and getting to spend time with both day camp and overnight camp, who happen to be on different eating times!!

Camp is in full swing and all our folks have taken to it like a duck to water, Tara was asleep by 8.30 on Monday night and Andrew, well we dont think he has slept at all, he is worse than the campers but has soooo much AMAZING energy to give!! Peter got chosen for the game of dress the counsellor on Monday night, the theme being aliens, pictures will follow! Ash-a-lee and Soraya are in 2 of the girls cabin and are fitting in so well! Last night each cabin had to make up their own Country and flag and both of our girls got chosen as Royalty for that Country!! This was followed by a dance party of British music!

Tara and Jen are having an AMAZING week in day camp because of two very special children, who are both blind. These children, Nick and Nattie are true inspirations and just even wathcing them at times can be emotional! They don't let anything stop them and do EVERYTHING that the other children do, from swimming, to running, to painting and even low ropes and the giant swing! They are the most caring children you will ever meet and call Tara, Jen and I Miss Tara, Miss Jenny and Miss Rachel! Nick can see light, but as for Nattie she is totally blind and it is just so amazing to see how they have so much get up and go and love for life! Nick did not know that Adrian was standing beside him and was asked did he enjoy Christian Ed, his reply....No!

As many of you know this is not my first time at Beaver Cross, I first came on the team in 2003 and have more or less returned each year, I am so happy and grateful to be here and again find myself getting emotional when I see kids that have been in my cabin before and staff from Christ the King. Living and working in a place like this is like a family, hence why it is so tough to say goodbye and impossible not to stay in touch with people that we meet here!

Tonight the team are having dinner with the Bishop of Albany, Bishop Bill Love, he is a fantastic man and I reckon the team will enjoy some time off to relax and see some of the area! We have a busy week ahead with a campfire to look forward to along with some more campwide games. All staff members have the weekend off and so it is hoped that we will take a trip to Lake George this weekend, a beautiful tourist spot, followd by dinner with Canon Matt the director of Christ the King and his wife Brandi.

As I wrap up, I ask that you continue to pray for the team and everything that surrounds us, the staff here, the campers, the weather and Christ the King centre staff!!

Much Love Rachel and the team!! x

2009-07-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from the team building games that took place on Sunday evening.

Albany 3

2009-07-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hard to believet that day two is down already! This morning we had a leisurely start, with breakfast at 9am. Breakfast is pretty amazing here - sausages and bacon and eggs and waffles...it definitely beats a rushed bowl of cornflakes! from Saturday lunch to Sunday lunch, there are fewer campers and this is a chance for the staff to let their hair down a little bit.

After breakfast at 10.30am was Church. There are two churches on site - an Oratory where healing services take place and the Christ the King Chapel. the Service was conducted by Father Nigel Mumford, who directs the healing ministry here in the centre. Father Nigel is a former Royal Marine who was on active service as a teenager in Belfast during some of the worst of the Troubles. He has a wonderful story and I know he's shared it with some people in Northern Ireland already. He and Bishop Bill led the retreat for candidate priests a couple fo years ago - I was one of the people on the retreat which was a very special time. There was as part of the service an adult baptism - of a Messianic Jew. This was a special moment and there was something very lovely about a church filled with its normal congregation, the remnant of the overnight campers and a random team there from Northern Ireland witnessing this important event.

Lunch included a staff meeting after which there was registration for new campers and the rest of the day was time spent getting to know the kids and getting them to know each other.

The team has taken to their tasks like ducks to water...both with kids and staff here at camp it's already possible to see relationships develop and you should collectively be very proud of them! The counsellors and staff members who commit their whole Summer to this are also very special people. Some of these kids are bursting with energy and very hard work. It's both exciting and interesting to see them in action, dealing with the kids in a caring, loving way but making sure that the right objectives are achieved.

Pray for us for tomorrow we have our first full day with campers and while we've done well so far it will be a test of our resolve and a real indicator of whether we'cve recovered from our long journey! Pray for me as I lead Christian Ed at day camp and for Jen and Tara who will be working closely with a couple of blind children. Pray for Ash, Soraya, ANdrew and Peter as they continue to develop int he role of counsellors. Please pray too for Father Jim, the clergyman at camp for the week. He's never been to camp in this context before and I know he's anxious to get a feel for what's going on as quickly as possible.

Tomorrow, I promise, someone other than me will blog!

Be blessed
A

Albany Pics 1

2009-07-19T04:30:00.000-07:00

the team worked hard for the Kingdom all day at the waterfront...

Albany 2

2009-07-19T04:10:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

It's Sunday morning here at camp. We've got our first full day out of the way, and it was a good day to start with. Camp runs from Sunday to Saturday, so yesterday while we were having our orientation, last week's camp was having their closing ceremony. Megan, who's looking after programming for daycamp, showed us around the centre.

In case you don't know, as well as Beaver Cross Camp, the Christ the king Spiritual Life Centre has a major conference facility, an Oratory dedicated to healing ministry, a convent and a number of other buildings and bits and pieces which contribute to the working of the Diocese of Albany.

We joined the outgoing campers and their families for a barbecue lunch before heading down to the waterfront, a wonderful lake on the 625 acre site, with the counsellors and the remaining campers (some campers will attend for more than one week of the overnight camp and so stay on Saturday night).

After this, Tina, the camp director took us into Greenwich, the small town beside the CtK Centre, where we had a chance to buy some bits and pieces (like maybe some oreo cookies!). It was around this time that the discovery of a luggage tag led the girls on the team to re-Christen Andrew as Andre. Coupled with the presence of Peter ont he team and much mirth pursued. It wasn't really that funny, but you try telling that to our girls!

Dinner was pizza before we watched a movie with the remaining kids in the staff lodge and headed to bed.

Today begins a new week of overnight camp. We'll attend Church on site this morning before formally meeting the staff at their Sunday staff meeting (we've obviously met most of them by now anyway!) and registration for camp begins at 2pm. Ashleigh and Soraya, along with Peter and Andre...sorry Andrew! will be co-counsellors for overnight camp this week, staying in cabins with the youth (there are 6 cabins, 4 for girls and 2 for boys). Jen, Tara, Rach and I will be just helping out in general terms today before joining the day campers tomorrow (day camp is Monday-Friday)where Jen and Tara will be working closely with two blind children who will be attending. Rach and I will contribute to the programme team's work and look after the Christian Teaching element of day camp.

So keep praying hard. A full camp will sap our energy levels; four of the team will be spending most of the day around the kids including being in the cabins with them and day camp is pretty frenetic and non-stop (this week will be one of the biggest day camps they've had for a while). Pray too for relationships. We've already begun to get to know some staff and those kids who are staying over the weekend but by breakfast tomorrow the place will be coming down with nearly 100 new young people for us to get to know. The purpose of the camp and the purpose of our trip is to share Jesus and we want to earn the respect and care of these young people so they're interested in hearing what we have to say about him! Pray too for good health for the team...continue to pray for Jen who was under the weather before we travelled, but pray for all of us that we don't stub our toes trying to negotiate our rooms in the (pitch black) darkness, that we don't get too tired or sun burnt or covered in midge bites! Those little things are minor in one sense but can really interefere with the smooth running of the team, but so far so good!

Hopefully as the trip goes on I'll get some 'guest bloggers' from the team in to post, but for now, thanks for your prayers. We miss you all loads. But we're having a blast!

A

Albany Team Update 1

2009-07-18T09:45:00.001-07:00

Hey folks

So I'm writing this Saturday lunchtime in Beaver Cross in Albany Diocese. Our long journey yesterday was good but tiring, especially the bus trip at the end in the heavy rain. But we got here safe and rested well, before orientation this morning and a look around the site.

We also have a better idea of what we'll be doing. The team has six emmbers and two leaders at this stage. Rachel and I, the leaders, will be looking after Christian Ed at day camp (that's Christian education, not some holy guy called Ed) while the girls will be sharing responsibliities as counsellors and as close care shaperones to two blind children at day camp. The boys will also be in cabins helping out the counsellors.

Everyone is really excited by what they've seen so far and looking forward to getting stuck in. Keep praying for us - that we'll be excited by what we do and that we'll do it well. Pray for Jen from the team, who was unwell before she travelled. She was especially tired after our long journey but seems to be on top form today!

More updates to come.

Be blessed
A

So long, farewell...

2009-06-03T03:46:00.001-07:00

My last letter as Curate in St Mark's Today, the Parish Magazine:

I’m sitting at my computer trying to put so many things into perspective - it’s hard to crystallize three years of experiences into just a couple of pages.

As I write this, it is less than three weeks until my institution as rector of the Parish of St Peter and St James in Belfast. Therefore, it is obviously less than three weeks until I preach my final service and preside at the Lord’s Table for the last time as Curate of Newtownards. This is hard to grasp - I’m still introducing myself to people as ‘the new curate’!

Elsewhere in this issue of St Mark’s Today the rector has made some kind comments regarding me, and how he knew that I would be something of an unknown quantity as Curate in Newtownards. There was a sense of the unknown for me as well...even though I wasn’t going to be too far from home I had a lot of hopes and fears in anticipation of my start in Newtownards.

It is entirely without exaggeration to say that all of my hopes have been fulfilled and my fears laid to rest. From a very early stage as Curate, I was made to feel as though I belonged as people welcomed me into their homes, and were willing to share with me some of the most special and difficult moments of their lives: I remember clearly my first home communion, with Joan and David; my first wedding, Jill and Peter (and subsequently I had the honour of conducting the marriage of Jill’s sister Laura and her husband Neil); my first baptism, a child whose Father had just returned from military service in Iraq; my first funeral - the death of a young man in tragic circumstances. These are things which shape ministry but the sense of privilege which all of these experiences instil in me is not from the priestly duties in and of themselves, but from sharing in the lives of people at these significant times.

I guess what I’m trying to say in a cumbersome way is that, standing in those places few people get to occupy, I have been overwhelmed by the sense of friendship in this place. Not just friendship towards me, but the support and Christian Fellowship shown from one person to another in this Parish. I don’t know if you realise this, but that is something to be richly treasured. It is lovely to have members of the congregation asking after one another if there has been a period of difficulty.
A first curacy is of course a training experience and I believe that in all of the experiences above I’ve received fine training. I feel, though, that there has been more to my experience here than just learning the basics. An understanding Rector (more on that later) and an enthusiastic congregation have both given me the freedom to try new things - Discipleship Programmes like Alpha and PRISM, new liturgies like the Service of the Word, old liturgies like Choral Evensong and of course re:mark, our monthly contemporary praise service. That these events have had their measures of success demonstrates not any gifting or wisdom on my part but that there is a yearning of the people of God in this congregation to come closer to him in a variety of ways and this is the main factor in my valuing my years here so richly.
Of course, the experience for me has been very much about people. I don't want to get into producing a long list of names, but there are a few people whom I would like to mention particularly.

For two years of my curacy, David Cochrane has served with the greatest distinction as a Churchwarden. I’ve been a Churchwarden and I know it’s an oftentimes onerous job; David’s competency, grace and good sense of humour took the edge of many an early morning Communion as the bleary eyed curate arrived down in the nick of time! His wisdom has been a constant source of counsel to me and I have been honoured and blessed not just by David’s friendship but by the friendship of his whole family. I’ve been privileged to share in happy and difficult times with these near neighbours, to say nothing of cups of coffee and even the occasional glass of wine. Alison’s generosity of Spirit is recognised, I believe, by many in this Parish and although I know it’s probably bad form to single an individual family out I’ll take the flack for it; I’m also really looking forward to travelling to Albany Diocese this Summer leading a team with both Jennifer and Ashleigh as members.

Colleagues in parish life are important. Gwynneth Weir and Stephen Shaw both adapted well to my idiosyncrasies whether in service sheet production or liturgy. Stephen in particular has been very enthusiastic in response to my new ideas and, if it’s true that you can negotiate with a terrorist but not an organist then there must be a touch of the terrorist about Stephen!

I am happy to admit that I was treading water somewhat as the new curate. I may have known the geography of the town well, but not the people. I am richly indebted to Hugh Mitchell for sussing me out with local knowledge; indeed, Hugh, his wife Rosemary and their daughter Debbie’s family have been dear friends to me since before I took up post here in Newtownards. It was an honour for me, in May 2007, to be in attendance at the service where Hugh was commissioned by the Bishop as a Diocesan Reader. Hugh’s love for the great traditions of the Church of Ireland has taught me much about how important our historical worship is.

I used to be a Youth Worker. I was nervous that, with this in my background, I was coming to a Parish that already had a Youth Co-ordinator. I was genuinely nervous of meeting Stephen Doherty and little did I know when I called in for that first meeting that I was about to encounter someone who has not only been a wonderful colleague but the best of friends. Sharing an office with Stephen has been a real pleasure and sharing in ministry to the young people of this parish has been wonderful. I knew that coming to Newtownards that I would receive a great training experience - little did I think how much I would learn from Stephen. Gemma and the kids have been a happy fixture in my life these past three years too. I look forward to saying in touch with him in the future.

Days after my appointment was announced, I received a letter from Isaac Delamere telling me how much he loved his time in Newtownards. Especially, he told me what a special man Ken Smyth is and how good it would be to work with him. Since then, Ian Poulton, Andrew Totten, Grace Clunie and Andrew McCroskery have all shared similar sentiments with me (these are all the former Curates whom I’ve met). When I spoke recently with one of the Parochial Nominators in St Peter and St James, who works in a senior role in the administration of Down, Dromore and Connor Dioceses, he told me outright: ‘Ken Smyth was one of the main reasons we wanted you. He is one of the gems of the Church of Ireland’ I can’t say it better. Ken and his wife Jennifer have been great friends, advisors and guides as I’ve fumbled my way through the last three years. Jenny’s dry wit and looks of horror at some of my clerical shirts form the bedrock of many happy memories from this place and I am so grateful for her friendship over the past three years.

Ken Smyth is simply one of the finest men I have ever met, and as far as I am concerned is one of the great priests of his generation or any generation in the Church of Ireland. He has been an enabling, encouraging, empowering Rector with whom to work. He is funny, kind, generous but most of all a man of God. His entire ministry has been devoted to pointing people to that God through pastoral care, through witnessing in a very real and a very brave sense in this community and through standing up for those things in which he believes, even in the face of potentially great personal cost. If, in thirty years time I am half the priest he is, I will count my ministry as a great success. There are innumerable things for which I have to give thanks to God stemming from my experience here in Newtownards, but chief among them is serving alongside Ken Smyth as a fellow priest and as a brother in Christ. I thank him for his faith in me, for the opportunity to experience ministry in this very special environment and for the friendship and guidance he has shown me. It is my delight that Ken has consented to ‘preach me in’ at my Institution on 22nd June.

I am not St Paul. I wrestle with St Paul’s writings but he starts and finishes all his letters in a manner I can appreciate - by pointing to Jesus. I hope you will allow me to use some of his words, from the Letter to the Philippians, as I draw this letter to a close: "I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:3-11)
Be blessed, in his service. Adrian D

I'm about to witness a resurrection...

2009-04-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

No, but seriously (see what I did there?!). Of course, as we approach Easter we're about to recall the Resurrection story, but that's not what I'm talking about for this particular post. I went up on Friday morning to meet with my secretary-to-be in St Peter and St James. Anne is the most delightful lady, and nervous as I am about becoming a rector for the first time I'm really looking forward to working alongside her in my new parish.

Presently the Parish Office is based in the Rectory; during the vacancy a major work of refurbishment and extension on the Rectory is taking place - the Church is spending a lot of money bringing the beautiful house in the shadow of Belfast Castle up to the most modern standards; this means that poor Anne is literally working at the moment in the middle of a building site, because the work goign on in the house involves more than a lick of paint. I went in today and all I saw were floorboards and bits of wood where there might previously have been walls! I'm excited about the new hosue - just as I'm excited about the whole arena of the new parish - and it's amazing to think that in just a few short months I'll be moving into a building that will be frankly unrecognisable in comparison to it's present self. The whole thing will be completely reborn.

I wonder if you ever think about rebirth and apply it to yourself? As a Christian, I believe that I was regenerated by Jesus Christ when I made good on the promises of my baptism and put him at the centre of my life. But that doesn't mean I never sinned again; it doesn't mean that from that moment I never did anything 'unChristian'. What it does mean, is that I have the opportunity to constantly come back to God and ask for his help in doing better.

As a priest in the Church of Ireland, I'm very aware of the cyclical nature of the Church's year. As we go through the times and seasons of Christian reflection, there's a comforting inevitability in the fact that we will always come to the Nativity, when we remember that Jesus dwelled among us to understand in a very real way what we go through in our lives; and the Nativity inevitably leads us to Easter, the greatest of the Festivals when we remember Jesus' death and glorious resurrection.

I like this cyclical manner of things. I like the fact that the rhythm of the year points us to the need to constantly experience rebirth in Jesus. And I like that from Palm Sunday through to Easter day we get the chance to prepare for the remembrance of that glorious event. And that's what I plan to do.

here beginneth...

2009-03-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

So I'm not a technophile, but nor indeed am I a technophobe. I do, however, spend enough time in the world of cybercommunication that it was really only inevitable that I'd end up blogging. I'm not quite sure what's going to result - I've set out on the process this evening with no goals or expectations and I don't have any particular soapbox from which to proclaim a message. Of course I have an agenda - who doesn't - but this is not an attempt to proselytise. Much!

I decided now might be a good time as there are a few new starts coming to me in the next few months. On Wednesday past I was offered and accepted the post of rector of the Parish of St Peter and St James, Antrim Road Belfast. This is a new parish, obviously. It's also a new job description - instead of being a curate assistant I'm the senior (and indeed only) cleric in the parish. And it's a new diocese - a new network of support and a new group of colleagues. And I'll be honest, I'm more than a little terrified of the whole thing.

I can't wait to get stuck in, and I'm certain it's the right step for me, but it will mean leaving my friends and parishioners in Newtownards, and it will mean going from being one of a team to being the only pastoral member of staff. Thankfully I'll have admin support and I gather a fantastic director of music. But the truth is I don't exactly know what to expect. So, who knows...

I also decided now would be a good time to start becuase, well, my good friend Gary McMurray has been at me about it for a while. Gary is a prolific, award nominated blogger whose writings sometimes entertain me! So I thought I'd better plug him at this point!