A great weekend in Castlewellan
A huge thank you to all the church groups and leaders who made our recent Big Diocesan Youth Weekend such a great success and an important time for our young people.
140 of us settled into Castlewellan Castle on Friday evening, 4 April, with a dozen parishes represented. Thanks to some great weather, we had a full day of activity on Saturday including archery, laser tag, sports, and team challenges. We had great fun connecting with others and expending a lot of energy!
The main focus of the weekend was, of course, to spend time in worship and explore core elements of the Christian faith together. Our guest speaker, Revd Ross Mungavin, taught us excellently from Psalm 23, reminding us that Jesus is the shepherd that we all need at every stage of our lives. Bishop David also dropped in for a visit and made it into the group photo.
Billy Fyffe who leads the Killough Kids and Youth Outreach took a session on Sunday morning and several young people expressed their desire to either follow Jesus for the first time or to recommit themselves to the life to which he calls each one of us.
We’re already looking forward to 2026!
Josh Thornbury
Diocesan Youth Development Officer
