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Weekly Connect From: Dermot Cowhey dermot.cowhey@limerickdiocese.org 28th March, 2022: Dear Chaplains/RE Teachers, We begin this week with a message from Aoife Walsh, Youth Ministry. Dear Teachers, I just wanted to let you know that I will be leaving my post in youth ministry after 18 wonderful years. This has not been an easy decision to reach but I feel that the time is right for me to move on. I have been so blessed to work with the most wonderful people here in the Diocesan Centre and with teachers like yourselves in schools. I have learned so much from the young people I have encountered and I hope to be able to continue to support them in my new role with Jigsaw the Youth Mental Health Organisation. I will be so sad to say goodbye but I will be taking so many happy memories with me, many of them involving young people from your schools and communities who have enriched my life in so many ways over my time here. I also want to say thank you most sincerely for the work that you do. I know it feels at times as if it goes unnoticed, but I know from the young people I encounter that no kind word or smile, or effort that you make on their behalf is wasted. We have been so blessed in Limerick to have had such a strong tradition of Youth Ministry and I am sure that this will be continued into the future, especially with teachers like you supporting it from schools. I will be finishing in the Diocese before Easter so I want to take this opportunity to wish you all the joy and peace of the Easter Season and to say thank you most sincerely for your kindness to me and your support of youth ministry during my time in the Diocese. Le gach dea ghuí Aoife Lent 2022: The diocese continues its opportunities which you might like to avail of to nourish and inspire you as you journey through Lent. ‘Live, Love, Lent’ Campaign We continue to invite you to our ongoing journey with us this Lent. The pastoral outreach team (Fr Chris, Aoife, Rose, Dermot, Michael along with Sr Betty, Sr Phyllis and Sharon) have put together a programme to support you throughout Lent, this includes daily thoughts, images, reflections and prayers with a different theme each week. These are posted daily on our Diocesan Facebook page; I want to reassure you that you do not need to have a Facebook account to access these resources. Our Facebook page is set up so that it is accessible to people who are not on Facebook; you can access our Facebook page on this link: https://www.facebook.com/dioceseoflimerick. Be sure to check in every day. We will have an introductory video at the start of each week explaining the theme, each day at 7am we will post an image with prayers, food for thought and/or ideas for action. Fr Chris will then host a review of the week each Sunday evening at 8:30pm live on Facebook where we can chat and share our experiences and learning. Again, to remind you, you do not need to subscribe to Facebook to be able to access these resources and events. Fr Chris explains everything in this video if you would like to know more: https://fb.watch/bwt2KoKwbU/ The Pope's Monthly Intentions for April, 2022: For health care workers … We pray for health care workers who serve the sick and the elderly, especially in the poorest countries; may they be adequately supported by governments and local communities.
To watch the Pope Video - https://youtu.be/aJpxgGQywX8 Lenten Thought for the Day: We publish a Lenten ‘thought for the day’ every morning at 7am on the Diocesan Facebook page. This week’s Lenten theme is Gratitude. ‘Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates vision for tomorrow.’ (Melody Beattie) https://www.facebook.com/dioceseoflimerick Liturgical Calendar 2nd April: St Frances of Paola 7th April: John Baptist de la Salle 10th April: Psalm Sunday 13th April: Spy Wednesday 14th April: Holy Thursday 15th April: Good Friday 16th April: Holy Saturday 17th April: Easter Sunday
A separate email for the March liturgical calendar with resources was sent at the beginning of the month. If you did not receive this, please contact me. As always, we are deeply grateful to Colette O’Doherty, DA Diocese of Ferns, for her generosity in sharing these resources.
Webinar Series for RE Teachers: Please see link below for the next talk in the webinar series aimed at RE teachers. The next webinar on 30th March will be given by Siobhan O'Donoghue on Catechesis in the Realm of Young People - A Religion Teacher’s Perspective. https://www.religiouseducation.ie/webinars/ Diploma in Youth Ministry and Spirituality: This programme in Youth Ministry and Spirituality is designed to be a pathway for someone with sufficient working experience in youth ministry but who does not have a previous degree in theology or youth ministry. Such a candidate may desire to develop their conceptual, theoretical, and practical skills, and to receive a professional qualification in youth ministry. See Attachment 1. Emerging Leaders: A one-year professional formation experience designed explicitly for early career school principals and aspiring school leaders. See Attachment 4. Attachments –
If you are accessing this from the diocese website and would like to have these resources, please email dermot.cowhey@limerickdiocese.org To conclude … ‘This is the recipe of life,’ said my mother as she held me in her arms as I wept ‘Think of those flowers you plant In the garden each year They will teach you That people too Must wilt Fall Root Rise In order to bloom
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