Back in December, a group of people from across the parish met to work out what more we could be doing for our young people. There were loads of ideas and enthusiasm, and we decided that before doing anything else we start with prayer.
So on Friday night we turned up at Our Lady Star of the Sea for an all-night prayer vigil to pray for the youth of the parish and about what we can do.
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- Judy blowing up her air bed.
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- Candlelit prayer, in the warmth of our sleeping bags!
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- Not everyone stayed awake!
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- Emily cooked bacon sandwiches for everyone in the morning, which were very much appreciated.
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- Chatting over breakfast.
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- Mmmm, bacon - thanks Emily!
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- PJ and Mary
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- Angela, Christine & Judy.
We started by watching the youth section of the Alive in Christ CaFE DVD on the big screen in the church, then, after a hot drink and a good chat, started our prayer vigil with candlelit night prayer with Taizé chants, readings and lots of silence. Fr. PJ led a meditation, Christine led us in prayer for specific intentions, and there was some modelling clay for anyone who wanted to try a different way of praying.
By the morning not everyone was still awake, so after rousing the sleepy ones we finished our vigil with some songs before Emily cooked us all bacon sandwiches for breakfast.