Diocesan News
Annual ‘Meet the Bishop’ morning for confirmation candidates in Cork, Cloyne and Ross
Each year the Bishop of Cork, Dr Paul Colton, hosts a morning of activities and fun for the confirmation candidates from all the parishes across the Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross.
‘I know lots of them already,’ he says ‘ but this gives me an opportunity to meet with them and to speak about this special occasion in their lives.’ Bishop Colton added: ‘For people who come from small parishes, they realise that they are part of a bigger picture. Those from bigger parishes meet others and realise they are not the sum total of the picture either. It is a lot of fun, but it requires a lot of support from the clergy, youth workers, parents and guardians, so I am very grateful for that.’
This year’s event was due to be held earlier in the year but was postponed due to the snow. It was held instead on Saturday 21st April in Douglas. The photos of the day, with the Reverend Anne Skuse wielding a camera, tell the story better than anything else.
There were games to start and, with everyone in four groups, there were four main activities: thinking about Confirmation; learning a hymn to sing at the Confirmation Service; the Pearls of Christ; and the Tree of Life.
The fourth activity this year was inspired by a visit to the Church of Finland led by the Bishop, when, in some churches, Baptism trees were spotted. The idea was brought home and Kevin Carey of the woodwork department in Ashton School, Cork, made a tree for use in the Diocese. Jacqui Wilkinson and Adrian Wilkinson spoke about different trees in the Bible, actual and figurative, as well as our connections with each other in the Church. Young people added their own leaf to the tree to recall their baptism, and also put their individual fingerprint on a tree as a sign of their belonging.
Diocesan Media & Information Technology Officer
087 7055 989
Ms Denise Stobart
media@corkchurchofireland.com