Children and Young People’s Work 2002

All members of Forward in Faith have reason to be extremely grateful to Fr Ronald Crane, our Regional Dean for Mercia, and all his team of helpers, for all their work on our behalf with children and young people. They have planned an exciting programme for this year and Fr Crane himself takes up the story.

As I expect most of the readers of New Directions will know, Forward in Faith is more, much more, than a one-issue organization. Among the many pieces of work undertaken is our extensive programme of children and young people’s work.

The SHEEPDIP Youth Festivals have been delighting teenagers for eight years or more, and the Sunday School Course FORWARD teaching! is in use at many a Parish Church up and down the land.

However, Forward in Faith organizes a full range of activities for children and young people.

Easter Walk 2002

Our Easter Walk this year is from Warminster to Glastonbury in Somerset, starting at noon on Monday 1st April and finishing after lunch on Sunday 7th April 2002. It is designed for young people age 13+.

Each day we walk about 8 to 10 miles and stay in church and village halls. We provide the hall, breakfast, lunch and a mini bus to carry your luggage; together with a bed, showers and food when we reach Glastonbury! All you have to do is pay us £50 for the week, and provide your own evening meal from Monday to Friday at a pub or a take-away.

Interested? Fill in the form and leave it with us. We will contact you with all the details.

SHEEPDIP & SHEEP PEN go to Glastonbury

Glastonbury is the oldest Christian Site in Britain. Legend has it that Saint Joseph of Arimathea brought Our Lady to Glastonbury and built a church there in the first century AD. Indeed, some say that Saint Joseph of Arimathea brought Our Lord to Somerset whilst he was an infant and that they visited Glastonbury.

Whatever the truth of these stories, it is certain that Glastonbury was one of the first, if not the first, place in Britain to have a Christian church. The destruction of the Abbey at the Reformation was an act of vandalism, for which we are still suffering.

Each year, on the first or second Saturday in July, people from all over England and Wales gather at Glastonbury for Pilgrimage. The Mass is held in the Abbey Grounds and after lunch a Procession through the streets is fun for all. I made the Pilgrimage last year, and have arranged with the Glastonbury Pilgrimage Association to run a mini Sheepdip type event this year on the Friday before the Pilgrimage as well as a Barbeque on the Saturday afterwards. Camping will be available at the Isle of Avalon Campsite, where the owners are young people friendly.

This year’s Pilgrimage will be on Saturday 13th July. The cost of our events will not be great. If you would like to know more, and come to Glastonbury for the Pilgrimage next year, fill in the form. We will make sure you get all the details.

SHEEPDIP & SHEEP PEN at Fatima

Fatima is the Portuguese Shrine of Our Lady, famous for the appearances of Our Lord’s Mother early in the last century. Three children; Lucy, Francesca & Jacinta; had visions on the 13th of each month from May to October. The Shrine at Fatima has always had World Peace as one of its main themes.

Because Fatima is an important place for Catholic Christians in Europe, Forward in Faith have joined with the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament and the Ecumenical Friends of Fatima Association to organize a Youth Pilgrimage to Fatima from 9th to 16th August 2002. Thanks to generous subsidies amounting to 40% from CBS and Forward in Faith Diocesan Branches, the cost will be only £300 per teenager. This includes airfares, transfers, hotel and full board as well as days out to the Seaside, and lots of fun. To book your place, fill in the form and send it to The Sheepdip Office. We will send you the other details you need. Hurry, there are only a limited number of places available. Don’t forget you will need a valid Passport!

Leaders on this Pilgrimage will be Fr Ronald Crane, Mrs Jackie Ottaway, Miss Libby Le Bihan, Fr Malcolm Gray, Fr Andrew Stevens, Fr Victor Bullock and others.

SHEEPDIP goes to Scotland

We have been approached by Forward in Faith Scotland to help with a SHEEPDIP north of the border. This is great news as it is the first time SHEEPDIP has gone outside England.

Jackie Ottaway and I are going to Dundee in January 2002 to ‘spy out the land’, as it were. They will also meet some interested people and view prospective venues.

Fr Trevor Stevens of St Salvador’s, Dundee is prepared to host the event, and Fr Len Black of Saint Michael’s, Inverness and Chairman of Forward in Faith Scotland is backing the project. Now all we need are some people to help! Colin Niblett hopes to be at SHEEPDIP Scotland, so ‘the gang’ will all be together.

Because the school terms are different in Scotland, it looks like SHEEPDIP Scotland will be at the end of June or the beginning of July 2002; however, it will be open to SHEEPDIPPERS from England to go. We hope that some English youngsters will be able to attend SHEEPDIP Scotland, especially those from the northern province.

Watch the FiF press for details of those exciting new venture!

SHEEPDIP in 2002

We hope there will be FOUR, yes four SHEEPDIP’S in 2002. That means that even more teenagers will be able to attend one of our great Youth Festivals, or it could mean that some of your could attend all four! Remember they are for young adults aged 13 years and over. More details later, but book these dates NOW!

SHEEPDIP MIDLANDS will be at S. Alban’s School, Highgate, Birmingham from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th October 2002. Cost £20 per person.

SHEEPDIP SOUTH will be somewhere in the London area and on a different date to last year. In 2002 it will be from Friday 15th to Sunday 17th November. Cost £35 per person. Please note the increase in cost.

SHEEPDIP SOUTHWEST will be held in Plymouth on a date to be announced, but most likely during the autumn.

SHEEPDIP SCOTLAND will be held in, (probably in Dundee) in June or July 2002.

SHEEP PEN 2002

Our Festival for children aged 10 to 14 years will be held once again at St Alban’s Highgate, Birmingham; but in 2002 it will be from Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd September 2002. Cost £20 per person.