You will have heard of the Youth Festival Sheepdip. Beginning in Birmingham, Festivals have been held in London and Plymouth and plans are afoot for Sheepdip Scotland. We also had a Festival for the younger age group called Sheep Pen.
We have been spreading ourselves too thinly, for we do have ordinary lives to lead! There have been requests for an event with a wider age range. This all means that we had to rethink the enterprise. After much thought, prayer and hours of discussion we have come to some decisions.
From this year, there will be just one Sheepdip, and that in Birmingham which is in the centre of the country. It will be for young people aged 11 to 18 years. This is not to say that people are not encouraged to organize their own Sheepdips, but we can only allow ourselves to run just one Festival.
Therefore: Sheepdip this year will be from 6pm Friday 3rd to 3pm Sunday 5th October 2003, and at Saint Alban’s School, Highgate, Birmingham. The cost will be £25 per person.
We have also revamped the programme so that there will be a number of new workshops run by some friendly circus folk! The fun, the essence of Sheepdip will, of course, remain the same. At the outset, Sheepdip was designed for young people from our churches with well-established young groups, and others with just one or two. Sheepdip is for them all. An opportunity for them to celebrate their faith, have fun in the context of the Christian faith, and to experience the sheer joy of Catholic worship and life. Using the liturgy of the church, we keep the rules of Holy Church both liturgical and moral. That we can advertise this and have fun is testimony to the skill and dedication of our Leaders, who are second to none.
For more information about Sheepdip just ring (0121) 373 8348 or write to the Sheepdip Office, 6 Saint Hugh’s Close, Bicester, Oxon, OX26 7UT. You may, of course, contact the Forward in Faith Office in London.
Posters and Handbills are available from the Forward in Faith Diocesan Chairmen and your Regional Dean.
Ronald E Crane