07/03/2008
By Sarah Beresford
If there was a song for the weekend it was “climbing up Sunshine Mountain” but you’ll have to ask the candidates about that. We set off on Friday evening to begin our mountaintop experience with God. This was a weekend of opportunity, where we would meet God and come back transformed.
We began with this phrase: “We have a hope in Jesus that all things will be well”, exploring our expectations, hopes and fear and wearing blindfolds and trusting that the person leading us wasn’t going to make us walk into a door or forget to warn us about steps!
Late night tea and cake was followed by Night Prayer and a bedtime prayer story with David and then it was off to bed, if not off to sleep!
“Good morning Vietnam” was the wake-up call heard on the boys corridor as Patrick had exuberant levels of energy and an unrelenting commitment to waking people up, we rolled down to breakfast and got stuck into to washing-up and wiping tables.
It was then that Geoffrey was born; a knight in the shining Armour of God (Ephesians 6) who stood on guard protecting us for the rest of the weekend. You may have met him! He lived in my lounge for a week.
We then explored different visions of community and Christian values and presented them to one another. The candidates were not shy in sharing their thoughts and had some inspiration for all of us about how we can live out the Christian life. Then it was off in pairs for a type of Emmaus walk where they were encouraged to share deeply with another person. This was easier for some than others and those who went for it expressed how good it was to be able to share the deeper things of themselves with another person.
In the afternoon we took some time to serve the Sion Community in respect for their service of us over the course of the weekend. This involved digging out the compost heap and spreading said compost on the flower beds, scraping out the moss and weeds that had grown in the cracks on the path and cleaning windows. The window cleaners had the benefit of having buckets of water and as is to be expected it wasn’t long before a rather large water-fight took off. I have rarely seen people as wet as Chris, Rosie and Ebony. Let’s just say we had a lot of fun.
After showers and drying off we took time to explore the Holy Spirit, and how the Holy Spirit is best seen through its effects - the fruits and gifts.
On Saturday evening we had our mass. We took time beforehand in different groups to prepare parts of the mass. We began outside with a theoretical candle lit procession. I say theoretical because it was far too windy for the candles to stay lit although Poppy was determined that hers would stay lit the longest. Fr Joseph Silver presided for us and he was brilliant at bringing together all the bits we had prepared and offering his own thoughts on extendable forks! The mass was great and we each in turn reverently received the Eucharist praying for one another as we received. Our music group led us brilliantly in song with Chris getting more and more use of the microphone as the mass continued. Each group was excellent with the things they had prepared and it was a good experience all round.
Pictionary was the next task of the day and there was the usual level of controversy over what people had or hadn’t drawn and lots of laughs.
It’s very late now and time for Night Prayer. All of us are tired and often the Lord can use us best in this place and many of us were very open to receiving God this night.
Thank you Lord.
In theory we then went to sleep, the reality was this was an extended night of duty for the team as most people were rather unwilling to drift off. Eventually things settled to a low hum and we all got some rest that night.
Time then for us to pack up our stuff and strip and remake our beds – It always surprises me that 15 year olds have no idea how to make a bed; I’m not always convinced they are telling me the truth however. When the rooms are in a fit enough state to continue we spend some time together exploring what happens next, what contribution would people like to make to the parish communities as a result of their confirmation? The ideas were wide-ranging and exciting from people wishing to read at mass to fundraising projects to build orphanages in third world countries.
We also spent time preparing for our area reconciliation service and looking at who might be sponsors and the name we might choose for our Confirmation. It was then time for our final meal together and then the coach arrived. Geoffrey was given pride of place at the front and a good time was had by all.
If there was a song for the weekend it was “climbing up Sunshine Mountain” but you’ll have to ask the candidates about that. We set off on Friday evening to begin our mountaintop experience with God. This was a weekend of opportunity, where we would meet God and come back transformed.
We began with this phrase: “We have a hope in Jesus that all things will be well”, exploring our expectations, hopes and fear and wearing blindfolds and trusting that the person leading us wasn’t going to make us walk into a door or forget to warn us about steps!
Late night tea and cake was followed by Night Prayer and a bedtime prayer story with David and then it was off to bed, if not off to sleep!
“Good morning Vietnam” was the wake-up call heard on the boys corridor as Patrick had exuberant levels of energy and an unrelenting commitment to waking people up, we rolled down to breakfast and got stuck into to washing-up and wiping tables.
It was then that Geoffrey was born; a knight in the shining Armour of God (Ephesians 6) who stood on guard protecting us for the rest of the weekend. You may have met him! He lived in my lounge for a week.
We then explored different visions of community and Christian values and presented them to one another. The candidates were not shy in sharing their thoughts and had some inspiration for all of us about how we can live out the Christian life. Then it was off in pairs for a type of Emmaus walk where they were encouraged to share deeply with another person. This was easier for some than others and those who went for it expressed how good it was to be able to share the deeper things of themselves with another person.
In the afternoon we took some time to serve the Sion Community in respect for their service of us over the course of the weekend. This involved digging out the compost heap and spreading said compost on the flower beds, scraping out the moss and weeds that had grown in the cracks on the path and cleaning windows. The window cleaners had the benefit of having buckets of water and as is to be expected it wasn’t long before a rather large water-fight took off. I have rarely seen people as wet as Chris, Rosie and Ebony. Let’s just say we had a lot of fun.
After showers and drying off we took time to explore the Holy Spirit, and how the Holy Spirit is best seen through its effects - the fruits and gifts.
On Saturday evening we had our mass. We took time beforehand in different groups to prepare parts of the mass. We began outside with a theoretical candle lit procession. I say theoretical because it was far too windy for the candles to stay lit although Poppy was determined that hers would stay lit the longest. Fr Joseph Silver presided for us and he was brilliant at bringing together all the bits we had prepared and offering his own thoughts on extendable forks! The mass was great and we each in turn reverently received the Eucharist praying for one another as we received. Our music group led us brilliantly in song with Chris getting more and more use of the microphone as the mass continued. Each group was excellent with the things they had prepared and it was a good experience all round.
Pictionary was the next task of the day and there was the usual level of controversy over what people had or hadn’t drawn and lots of laughs.
It’s very late now and time for Night Prayer. All of us are tired and often the Lord can use us best in this place and many of us were very open to receiving God this night.
Thank you Lord.
In theory we then went to sleep, the reality was this was an extended night of duty for the team as most people were rather unwilling to drift off. Eventually things settled to a low hum and we all got some rest that night.
Time then for us to pack up our stuff and strip and remake our beds – It always surprises me that 15 year olds have no idea how to make a bed; I’m not always convinced they are telling me the truth however. When the rooms are in a fit enough state to continue we spend some time together exploring what happens next, what contribution would people like to make to the parish communities as a result of their confirmation? The ideas were wide-ranging and exciting from people wishing to read at mass to fundraising projects to build orphanages in third world countries.
We also spent time preparing for our area reconciliation service and looking at who might be sponsors and the name we might choose for our Confirmation. It was then time for our final meal together and then the coach arrived. Geoffrey was given pride of place at the front and a good time was had by all.
|
Click on a picture for a larger version