Brilliant Kilbroney Weekend Blast
Tim Burns, Diocesan Youth Development Office reports on the first Kilbroney Weekend Blast.
Our first Kilbroney Weekend Blast is over, and it was brilliant! Born from an idea sparked during our Kilbroney Adventure Camps in the summer, we had 28 young people from across the diocese come to the Kilbroney Centre for a weekend of activities, bible teaching and good fun.
For our teaching and discussion times we explored the life of Paul, his conversion, his speech to the Athenians about ‘The Unknown God’ and his imprisonment with Silas within the context of Deuteronomy 6: 5 ‘Love the Lord your God with all your Heart, Soul and Strength’. Time was given for personal reflection on what was being taught, and there was a wonderfully designed prayer space with stations to reflect on various aspects of God and our relationship with him.
On Friday night we ran a night line through the Kilbroney Centre Wood’s, on Saturday, before lunch, we built catapults for eggs. Then, Saturday afternoon the teams made music videos, which where judged on Saturday night by our X–Factor panel, mixed in where some messy games, and the night rounded of with songs by the campfire, hot chocolate and smores. At the end of the weekend one camper said, ‘It was amazing, so much fun and a good time to hear from God but now I’m wrecked.’
It was a real privilege to spend the weekend with a brilliant group of young people, we had great laughs, important conversations on faith and life, and came away deeply encouraged by young people who were not only good to be around, but are also working out their faith in Jesus and what that looks like in the worlds that they inhabit.
A special mention must go to the leaders who volunteered for the weekend, who committed time and energy in the build up to making the weekend happen, as well as giving so much during the weekend to ensuring that it was a significant weekend for young people.
Next stop Saturday Night Live on the 3rd of December in Ballybeen. Visit https://www.facebook.com/SaturdayNightLiveDownAndDromore/ for more info.