Youth Work

CCR has a serious commitment to running a dynamic youth programme and employs a full-time youth worker, Simon O'Moore Donohue.

We believe that the youth of today are as much a part of today’s church as any other age group.

Children and young people are subjected to all kinds of pressure as they mature and the church needs to encourage them to have a confident, questioning and positive relationship with the church.

We strive to make the church a safe environment, a learning environment, an exciting environment and a challenging environment in which they can explore and test their own responses to society and international issues and still feel safe.

YOUTH & FAMILY UPDATE:

Early June 2010:

Alas, all good things must come to an end and we have reached the end of our 2009-10 youth programme.  DIY Music Club, J-Club, and Elevate all wrapped up this week.  A big thank you to all the leaders and parents who helped out over the year.  And thanks also to all the J-Clubbers, Elevaters and DIY Music Clubbers for coming along and making it a fun year.  Things will be back better than ever after the summer.  What can you expect in September?  A new computer for the youth room so we can try our hands at multi-media (making movies, music and animation), an adventure sports outing or two, a weekend away before Christmas and maybe we'll get some youth club goldfish!

UGANDA - Youth Overseas Project, 28 July - 18 August 2010

Simon is leading a team of young people to Uganda this summer.  They will be holding fund raising events before the trip.  Please give them your support...

The preparation and fundraising for the Uganda trip has stepped into high gear these past few weeks.  We've all received our various jabs, except me and Craig; we'll be going next week, should be lots of fun!  And I've been working on getting our in-country itinerary sorted out with Jimmy Onen, our contact in Uganda.

As for fundraising, Susan and Siobhan will be running the mini-marathon this Tuesday; there are sponsorship sheets in various locations around the church.  Susan and Emma's comedy night for Uganda brought in €500 towards the trip and Craig is organising another comedy night for this month.  We had our big fundraising event last weekend, a Beatle Drive on Friday the 28th and a Car Wash, Cake Sale and Cooked Breakfast on Saturday the 29th.  We washed over 50 cars, cooked about 40 breakfasts and sold a lot of cakes.  Thank you for everyone who came along and donated generously and allowed us to wash your cars and feed you.  And also to those who helped out with cake making, car washing, cooking and tea making, a big thank you.  We raised just under €1,200 over the weekend which was a great result.  Keep your eyes peeled for information on other fundraising events coming up.

“Fringe is an initiative of Presbyterian Youth and Young Adult Workers in the Dublin area and its aim is to give an opportunity for young adults between the ages of 18-29 to meet together over dinner in a relaxed social atmosphere where everyone is free to discuss issues to do with their faith and Christianity”

Things have been quiet on the Fringe-front the past couple of months but we will be having a BBQ get-together over the summer and I hope to begin a weekly Fringe group for Rathgar in September.  If you're interested in finding out more, just give me a shout.

Over the past few weeks at Elevate we've been up to lots of different things.  We watched "The Dark Knight" on the big screen with ice-cream and popcorn, for our movie night.  As the weather improved and the evenings got brighter, we headed to the park for a spot of rounders.  Using no more than a few rubber bands, some baby shakers and some blindfolds, we managed to pass an evening challenging the blindfolded to catch the person covered in the shakers (odd? Yes. But fun!).  We took the train to Belfast to visit the science museum, W5 and indulge in some light retail therapy at Victoria Square.  And finally over the past two weekends, the Elevate guys helped at our car wash fundraiser and enjoyed a BBQ at our final Elevate last night.

Since the last edition of Cornerstone, the J-Clubbers have tried their hands at a multitude of activities!  On the arts and craft front, we've been t-shirt making and cigar-box building.  Lots of Wii has been played, particularly by the lads who are addicted to Super Smash Bros. Brawl.  We've played loads of the usual games; football, indoor hockey, dodge-ball, duck-duck-goose and snatch the bacon, and we've ventured outside to play rounders in the park and off to the Leisureplex for bowling and Q-zar.  We wrapped up yesterday with a BBQ and I'm sure the leaders are looking forward to a well-earned break over the summer.

DIY Music Club has really begun to take off over the past two months.  It can be quite challenging for us leaders to get the kids to stop making noise for 5 minutes while we try to teach them!  But despite our sore ears and throats from trying to talk over the racket, we've had a lot of fun and managed to get a few ramshackle performances out of the music clubbers playing songs by Johnny Cash, Arcade Fire and Blink 182.  We'll be back in September with a few more instruments to mess around with and plenty of new songs to learn.

For more information or if you have any questions, suggestions, criticisms, compliments, or want to help out or donate musical instruments, games, sports equipment to us, contact me Simon (Youth & Family Worker) on   086 338 9996 or  e-mail.

"Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young,
but be an example for the believers, in your speech,
your conduct, your love, faith and purity". 

1 Timothy 4 : 12 (NIV)

by ChristArt.com