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25th Annual Briars Golf Tournament

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:21:49 +0000

On Friday 11th June, over 180 keen golfers gathered at Chevin Golf Club, Duffield to compete in the 25th Briars Am-Am.

Held each year in support of the Briars Catholic Youth Retreat Centre, this hugely popular tournament continues to be a hard fought contest and an enjoyable day out for the participants.

Begun by Father Michael O’Donoghue in his time as Director of the Briars, teams from all around the East Midlands and beyond come to tackle a beautiful but demanding course, renew acquaintances and support the work of the Briars.

Over 5000 young people stay at the Briars on retreat each year, coming as a school, parish or youth group for a mix of prayer, reflection, fun and friendship. As a charity, the Briars depends on the support of events such as the Chevin tournament and it raises several thousand pounds each year for the centre.

This year, the tournament organising team of Fr Michael, Pat, Leo, Rosemary the secretary and staff at Chevin and the staff at the Briars joined together to provide a superb day of golf. The weather kept fine, the course was in excellent condition, the welcome from Mike Reilly and his staff was as warm as ever and winners and runner-up alike went home happy.

The overall prize was won this year by a team from Lincoln College, 2- 5th places were shared between teams on the same score and the Mike Nolan schools trophy was won by St Bede’s School Scunthorpe.

Father Joe Wheat, the present Director of the Briars, was present throughout the day and awarded the prizes. He described the day as ‘an essential event in the life of the Briars and a testament to the dedication of our supporters and friends. All the staff, volunteers and young people who call the Briars ‘home’ truly are grateful to all the organisers and participants.’

You can download the results table here.

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

‘LIVE IT’ Leicester

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:47:53 +0000

‘LIVE IT’ is coming to Leicester!

On the 4th of July the Youth Service is coming to the “World Cup Chapel” at St Peters Church in Leicester. Running from 3:30-5:30pm it will be a chance to meet other young people, share your faith and take part in some special World Cup themed activities!

Come along in your favorite football kit for what promises to be a fantastic evening.

If you want to see what ‘LIVE IT’ is all about check out the story so far.

If you’re under 18 you will need a parental consent form for the event, which can be downloaded here. Alternatively you can bring a parent/guardian along at the start of the event to fill one in when you arrive!

To find out more about the “World Cup Chapel” click here!

Live it – Scunthorpe!

admin — Sun, 16 May 2010 17:17:37 +0000

‘Live it’ is a series of events taking place across our diocese, all aimed at bringing young people together to socialise and have an opportunity to share their faith with others!

Having already visited Nottingham and Derby it’s not Scunthorpe’s Turn! Held at St Bernadette’s Parish Hall Scunthorpe on Sunday May the 16th at 4:00-6:30 there’s loads to do, new people to meet, and of course free food!

If you need any further info then get in touch and if you want help spread the word, you can download the poster here!

Letter from the Bishops’ Conference

admin — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:39:52 +0000

The Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales has recently released the following statement concerning the current child abuse allegations. Please take the time to have a read of this important document concerning the response of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

You can also download a copy by clicking here

Child abuse in the Catholic Church has been such a focus of public attention recently,

that we, the Bishops of England and Wales, wish to address this issue directly and

unambiguously.

Catholics are members of a single universal body. These terrible crimes, and the

inadequate response by some church leaders, grieve us all.

Our first thoughts are for all who have suffered from the horror of these crimes, which

inflict such severe and lasting wounds. They are uppermost in our prayer. The distress

we feel at what has happened is nothing in comparison with the suffering of those who

have been abused.

The criminal offences committed by some priests and religious are a profound scandal.

They bring deep shame to the whole church. But shame is not enough. The abuse of

children is a grievous sin against God. Therefore we focus not on shame but on our

sorrow for these sins. They are the personal sins of only a very few. But we are bound

together in the Body of Christ and, therefore, their sins touch us all.

We express our heartfelt apology and deep sorrow to those who have suffered abuse,

those who have felt ignored, disbelieved or betrayed. We ask their pardon, and the

pardon of God for these terrible deeds done in our midst. There can be no excuses.

Furthermore, we recognise the failings of some bishops and religious leaders in handling

these matters. These, too, are aspects of this tragedy which we deeply regret and for

which we apologise. The procedures now in place in our countries highlight what should

have been done straightaway in the past. Full co-operation with statutory bodies is

essential.

Now, we believe, is a time for deep prayer of reparation and atonement. We invite

Catholics in England and Wales to make the four Fridays in May 2010 special days of

prayer. Even when we are lost for words, we can place ourselves in silent prayer. We

invite Catholics on these days to come before the Blessed Sacrament in our parishes to

pray to God for healing, forgiveness and a renewed dedication. We pray for all who have

suffered abuse; for those who mishandled these matters and added to the suffering of

those affected. From this prayer we do not exclude those who have committed these

sins of abuse. They have a journey of repentance and atonement to make.

We pray also for Pope Benedict, whose wise and courageous leadership is so important

for the Church at this time.

In our dioceses we will continue to make every effort, working with our safeguarding

commissions, to identify any further steps we can take, especially concerning the care of

those who have suffered abuse, including anyone yet to come forward with their account

of their painful and wounded past. We are committed to continuing the work of

safeguarding, and are determined to maintain openness and transparency, in close cooperation

with the statutory authorities in our countries. We thank the thousands who give

generously of their time and effort to the Church’s safeguarding work in our parishes and

dioceses.

We commit ourselves afresh to the service of children, young people and the vulnerable

in our communities. We have faith and hope in the future. The Catholic Church abounds

in people, both laity, religious and clergy, of great dedication, energy and generosity who

serve in parishes, schools, youth ventures and the care of elderly people. We also thank

them. The Holy Spirit guides us to sorrow and repentance, to a firm determination to

better ways, and to a renewal of love and generosity towards all in need.

22 APRIL 2010

Search for the Light – 2010

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:14:57 +0000

This year Search for the Light is taking place from Thursday 1^st to Sunday 4^th April.

It cost’s just £80 and is open to anybody year 11 and over.

“Search” is the perfect opportunity to look at the real meaning of Easter with young people from all over the country.

Places as always are strictly limited so download the booking form here and get your deposit in!

If you want to help publicise the event then you can download the poster too!

Team 2010/2011 – Applications now being taken

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:53:29 +0000

The Briars and Reach4 are seeking applicants for next years residential and outreach team.

If you are 18 and over and interested in applying for the residential team at The Briars then you can find out more by looking at The Briars pages or by contacting Hannah by email hannah@ndcys.com

If you have experience in youth ministry already and are maybe looking for a something a bit different – then reach4, the outreach team may be for you. For more information click on the reach4 pages to see what we do or contact Tom by email tom@ndcys.com

Advent retreat 2009 – The Photos

admin — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:39:40 +0000

Well were back for 2010! We’ve just got back and realised that we havn’t put the photos for Advent 2009 online! so here they are!

A big thankyou to everyone who made this retreat so special, hope you had a great Christmas!

Happy New Year!!

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

Wave goodbye to climate change

reach4 — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:08:24 +0000

We all had a great day at St Barnabas Cathedral in Nottingham today. It was great to see you all from different schools in the diocese and we had a lot of fun working alongside you to combat climate change. The artwork that you created was very impressive and we’re looking forward to seeing the video messages that you created. The water game brought us a lot of laughs and there were some good efforts to break the records of the day! We hope you all enjoy the goodie bags and that St Benedicts, Ratcliffe College, St Peter and Paul, St John Houghton, De Lisle and All Saints are all proud of the difference you made today.

Reach4

The Relics of St Therese

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:52:15 +0000

As part of the visit of St Therese’s relics to our cathedral in Nottingham, the Youth Service led an All Night Vigil. Starting at 11.00 on Monday 5^th October and finishing the next morning with Mass at 6.30, it was split into three parts, each focussing on a different aspect of St Therese’s spirituality.

11 – 1.30 – Vigil Opening Liturgy and Service of Reconciliation

1.30 – 3.30 – Prayers for Justice and Peace (led by Cafod)

3.30 – 5.30 – Exploring and affirming faith.

As you can see by the photo’s it was a truly memorable and moving event. The opening mass was attended by appropriately 3000 people with well over 4000 people making a visit to Cathedral at some point over the 24 hours.

The All Night Vigil, was also led by some brave, and now very tired, students from Becket 6th form, Many thanks to them for all their help and hard work.

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

Click here for more information

New year, new team, new website!

admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:44:26 +0000

It’s the start of another busy year for the youth service and as always there are a few changes. Not only have we welcomed 7 new volunteers and expanded the outreach team, but we have also welcomed new staff at The Briars in both the kitchen and the office! You can find out more about them on the “Who are we?” page.

You may also notice we have a new website. Following feedback from the very successful Youth Leaders training weekend, we have made a few changes to help you find information more quickly. Have a look around and let us know what you think. The search bar on the right can now search for anything youth service related so if you’re after something specific that’s a good place to start. You can still get access to information about The Briars and reach4 on thier pages, and you can still find a wealth of resources and links by using the menu above.

We hope you enjoy you’re visit and we look forward to hearing from you soon.