Courtney McGrailThe Faith and Life Convention offers Catholics the opportunity to celebrate their faith
Fr Alan McGuckian
The Diocese of Down and Connor will have its second Faith and Life Convention on Saturday, September 26 in Our Lady and St Patrick’s College, Knock, Belfast beginning at 10am.
At the inaugural convention last September the well-known ‘Vaticanista’ John Allen Jr sparked a lot of interest and enthusiasm with his lively insights into the Church in the new Franciscan era. Delegates came from all across Down and Connor and the other northern dioceses and they left for home with an appetite for more.
The Faith and Life Convention is a forum for people to gather together and to take part in conversations about the meaning of faith and its relevance to our everyday lives.
This year’s theme will be ‘What hope for Faith?’ and delegates will have ample opportunity to address that question in a wide range of workshops. Fr Tim Bartlett will pick up on the key themes in Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment.
In her workshop Nuala O’Loan will explore what we as people of faith believe about human life from its first beginnings to it ending. A huge challenge that more and more Irish parishes are taking seriously is the need for us to be open and welcoming communities. St Malachy’s Parish in Belfast will share the fruits of its reflections on ‘Understanding mental health needs in parish communities’.
A major concern for all Catholics is how to hand the Faith on to the next generation. Breda O’Brien will share practical simple ways in which family life in all its moods and tenses can be brought to God in prayer. She will reflect on how family prayer can be adapted to take into account the different ages and circumstances of all the members.
‘Where is God?’: Children ask the most amazing questions about God and their faith, but sometimes we struggle to find answers for them! In a rapidly changing world it is necessary to meet this challenge by proclaiming the message of Jesus in a simple and enthusiastic way. Therese Ferry and Jennifer O’Kane from the Derry diocese will explore practical ways to engage children aged 3-11 in their faith at home, in school and in their parish.
In our modern world many Irish people feel, rightly or wrongly, that the media is now a ‘cold house for Catholics’. Pat Coyle worked over the years for both the BBC and RTÉ and is now the Director of Communications for the Jesuits in Ireland. In her workshop entitled ‘Faith and Media – Friend or Foe?’ she will give an all-round perspective on the world of new and traditional media and how their power can be both harnessed and critiqued.
As people across Ireland remember the events of 100 years ago it will signify many different things to different people. The events of Easter Week in Dublin will be front and centre in the first half of the year. Then, leading up to July 1 our attention will be drawn to the trenches and the Battle of the Somme.
There is likelihood that our remembering, particularly in the north of Ireland, will be separate and even partisan. Dr Johnston McMaster will lead a workshop on Ethical and Shared remembering. Ethical remembering will mean asking critical and ethical questions about violence, change, justice and peace in the context of the present and desired shared future. 100 years on there will be no ethical remembering without remembering the future, and without an ethical and concrete commitment to building it together.
Freshly-baked scones
At the convention in 2014 perhaps the highlight was the spirit of welcome and camaraderie.
The team in the kitchen of Our Lady and St Patrick’s were working early on Saturday morning and as the delegates arrived they could smell the scones freshly baked for the mid-morning break.
People renewed old acquaintances and made new friends from parishes all across the north of Ireland. When the sun came out at lunchtime and delegates ambled round the playing fields there was a very distinct feeling in the air: “It is good for us to be here.”
To book a place at the convention visit: www.faithandlifeconvention.org