Achievements!
As well as the work the group carries out within the church, The Junior Parish Pastoral Council also tries to be actively involved in the community. From bingo to volunteering, the group are involved in lots of activites in the community. Below is a list of some of the major achievements completed since the group was founded.
Constitution
The Junior PPC drafted its final version of its constitution in late summer 2010. The 15 paged constitution outlines the positions of all those on the council, their duties and responsibilities.
Fundraising with Sisters of Charity
The Junior Parish Pastoral has recently started working with the Sisters of Charity Tullamore. The group is finished its fundraising after a week long fundraising event involving all members of the Junior PPC.
National Parish Youth Conference 2010
In May 2010, the Junior Parish Pastoral Council proudly hosted the first ever National Parish Youth Conference in the Bridge House Hotel in Tullamore.The conference brought together youth groups who were involved in parish work from all over the country. The aim of the conference was to share ideas on how to improve each groups local area, explore the reality of young peoples lives and learn from each others experiences and ideas. Every council presented their achievements to date and discussed their hopes for the future. Guest speakers such as Fr.Liam Lawton and An Taoiseach Brian Cowen also attended the event and both gave truly inspirational speeches which everyone praised.The conference was so successful that it is to be made an annual event. The Junior PPC is set to host the National Parish Youth Conference again next year.
Survey on Young Peoples Religious Attitude
In 2007 the Junior Parish Pastoral Council conducted a survey on young peoples religious attitudes. The survey was conducted on first year students from all the local secondary schools, Tullamore College, Colaiste Choilm, Killina and Sacred Heart School. The survey consisted of ten questions relating to religion and its meaning to young people. The results of the survey were very positive and were released at a press conference in 2009. The group hopes to conduct the survey on the same group again to see how their views have change in three years.
Senior Citizen Bingo
The Junior Parish Pastoral Council regularly organises a bingo morning for senior citizens in the community after 10am mass during school holidays. The Tullamore Parish Centre kindly allows the group to use the premises to host the event. The winners of each round of Bingo can choose from an array of prizes from candles to scrathcards to vouchers.The council members call out the numbers while the senior citizens are provided with free tea, coffee and biscuits. There is no cost to participate in bingo however donations at the door are appreciated.
Godspell
The Junior Parish Pastoral Council tried to appeal more to young people by hosting two productions of the Musical Godspell in the Church for locals to see. The production was held over two days with the cast of the production of the Godspell from Tullamore Youth Centre performing. The performances included a wide variety of singing, dancing, drama and preaching the scripture in modern day language as well as funky clothes and hairstyles.
Taize Prayer
The Junior Parish Pastoral Council held evening prayer in the church on two ocassions. The first Taize Prayer was held every Friday during Easter in the church day chapel. The group invited locals from the community to attend Taize to chant, listen to scripture and meditate and the services were all well attended. The council used the opportunity to raise money for Trocaire. The second Taize Prayer was held almost a year later in the main part of the church in aid of charity. This one day prayer service was well received by all in the parish.
Advent Evening Prayer
The Junior Parish Pastoral regularly holds advent and lent evening prayer in the church. The groups reads, sings and dances at the prayer ceremonies as well as sometimes collecting money for charity. The masses are always well attended and receive a great response. The group aims to focus evening prayers more on young people in the future to try involve them more in church life.
Switching on Christmas lights
The Junior Parish Pastoral Councils first official act was to turn on the Parochial Houses Christmas lights. From this first act the group went on to decorate the church noticeboards, the church itself during advent and lent as well as come up with ideas on how to include young people more in church life.