At the Brothers' school in St. Malo.

The weekend centred around the theme “God is Love” and was led by the team of Brothers and lay people who organised the Brothers' group that went to World Youth Day. Music was provided by four of us in the Liverpool group and Brother Patrick, one of the French organisers. The French youths joined in wholeheartedly with the choruses of “The Happy Song” (Yee-ha!!), “So Good To Me” and “Lord I Lift Your Name”, amongst others.

(l to r - Luke Whalley, Patrick Cornelius, James Blackburn, Peter Kidd + Joseph Stewart Doyle)

This was meant to be a photo call!! We'd had 3 days of thick snow.

Ooo, look, an icicle!

Most of the group used the time in the minibus and car on the way back to catch up on sleep, though they were all rudely awakened by an irrationally irate driver at Keele service station at about midnight, who left us stunned by the way he abused the side of his own vehicle with the cappuccino he had just purchased.

I have to congratulate our pupils on their general attitude and enthusiasm during the trip which made taking them a real pleasure.

In Ploërmel, the statue of the Brothers' founder, Fr. Jean-Marie De La Mennais.

Other Chaplaincy Activities

In October, we began a series of Day Retreats for groups of up to 15 pupils at a time from Yrs. 9 to 7, starting with Yr.9. These days are led by the newly-formed Archdiocesan Youth Ministry Team, “Animate!” at Lowe House, St. Helens, under the leadership of Archdiocesan Youth Chaplain, Fr. Stephen Pritchard (see http://www.animateyouth.org). The days are centred around themes that relate to the work covered by the pupils in their R.E. course (eg. conflict, leadership, vocation...). These are approached through role-play, art, discussion, prayer, etc... in a fun-filled, relaxed way. These retreat days will hopefully give the participants a chance to investigate questions of faith and social responsibility in a way that will help them grow as Christian individuals. Further retreats will be taking place into the summer term.

Yr. 9 pupils on retreat at Lowe House, St. Helens

Our Yr. 9 Amnesty International group has continued this year with a faithful group of participants meeting once a week to learn about individual cases of human rights violations around the world and to campaign for justice. Activities have included writing letters to governments and military leaders in countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Mexico, Israel and here in Great Britain, and sending Christmas cards to victims of injustice around the world. We also participated in the Make Poverty History campaign in conjunction with R.E. classes in Yrs. 7-9, sending “buddy” posters to No. 10, Downing Street. We did in fact receive a letter from No. 10, signed by you-know-who, thanking us for our efforts, and two of the group also received replies from Maria Eagle MP on official House of Commons paper (!) in relation to a different campaign.

Future events:

Trip to Senegal, Africa – summer, 2007

As well as future De La Mennais Brothers youth gatherings and World Youth Day 2008, there is another possible international adventure on the horizon: to join up with a French-led group on a 2-3 week trip to Senegal in west Africa to work on educational projects with under-privileged children in some of our schools there. This will probably be open to current and former pupils from the ages of 16 upwards. We will probably start looking for volunteers during the summer term before students begin their exams, so that they can have 12 months to pay the cost which is as yet unknown. The trip will require preparation of resources and activities to take with us in conjunction with the French group (perhaps involving a short trip to France also), eg. games, music, drama workshops, etc... It will certainly be a trip of a lifetime and any participants will surely learn at least as much from their African hosts as they will be able teach them. Some French volunteers from past trips of this kind have gone on to take part in further volunteer work with our Brothers in Africa for longer periods of time (eg. 6 months).

Anyone who is interested can give me their name and I will pass on further information to them when it becomes available.

Chaplaincy News - 26/10/2005

Summer is over, Christmas is fast approaching and it's three months since the last site update. 'Bout time I pulled my finger out, hey? To be honest, I've spent much of my spare time since the end of August editing down over 3 hours of digital video taken duirng the 10-day World Youth Day festival in Germany, putting on captions, adding a soundtrack, creating dvd menus, etc... so that the 7 young participants who came with me could have a souvenir dvd to keep. This proved more time consuming than I had expected, due in particular to the size of video files I was dealing with (nearly 70 gigabytes in total!).

Day retreats at Lowe House for Years 7-9

Anyway, that's now done and dusted so I can get on with various other jobs, one of which is to organise some one-day retreats for pupils in Years 7-9 at Lowe House, St. Helens, led by Animate!, the Achrdiocesan Youth Ministry Team. These days will give groups of about 14 pupils the chance to explore some of the themes and questions that occur in their school R.E. work through group work, games, reflexion, preparation for Mass, etc... The Mass will be celebrated by Fr. Stephen Pritchard, the Archdiocesan Youth Chaplain. Letters will be going out to pupils soon inviting them to sign up. The dates are (provisionally) as follows:

Weds. Nov. 30th

Tues. Dec. 6th

Thurs. Jan. 12th

Tues. Jan. 31st

Weds. Feb. 15th

Fri. Mar. 3rd

Thurs. Mar. 16th

Tues. Apr. 4th

Youth Masses in OLA, Gateacre + Blessed Sacrament, Aintree

Last July, I began leading the music for once-a-month youth masses in these two parishes on Saturday nights. The next masses are as follows:

Blessed Sacrament - Sat. Nov. 19th, 6.00pm

Our Lady Of The Assumption - Sat. Dec. 3rd, 6.30pm

Chaplaincy News - 24/07/05

We're all goin' on a.. summer holiday! :-)

Well, we've come to the end of another school year in one piece... well, nearly. I managed to dislocate my left thumb on the last day during a slightly drunken game of football between about 8 teachers and some Yr.9 pupils who were meant to be having a cricket training session... I can assure you that we, the teachers, were the only ones slightly drunk :-). Last day festivities and all that... The actual game was great fun. I was fortunate that having had a few pints I didn't really feel much pain when I instinctively just popped the thumb back into place. It was in the hours that followed that it ballooned up and caused quite some discomfort. What a plonker! as they would say in my part of the world (ie. Southampton). It made guitar playing during Mass at St. Austin's quite an ordeal yesterday. Fortunately Ben was back from university to "lend a hand" :-) on guitar (sorry!). With it being our last Mass of the summer term I thought I'd better play through the pain (aahh, bless!)

Make Poverty History campaign

Many thanks to all the pupils from Yrs. 7-9 who produced “buddy” posters to send to the G8 world leaders on behalf of all those children around the world who do not get the chance to have a proper education due to poverty and corruption. I received a letter back from 10 Downing Street (Tony Blair himself!) thanking us for them. I will scan this and put it on this site sometime soon.

Retreats at Lowe House

From Oct. '05 day retreats will take place on a fortnightly basis at Lowe House, St. Helens for groups of pupils from Years 7-9 who want to spend some time reflecting on issues in their lives and also have fun. They will be run by the Animate! Youth Ministry team from Liverpool Archdiocese. Further details will be given out in September.

May God grant you all a peaceful, refreshing summer break.

World Youth Day 2005 (Aug. 11th-21st)

The day is nearing when we will be setting off for Germany and the international youth gathering, World Youth Day, founded by Pope John-Paul II over 20 years ago. This will be Pope Benedict's first foreign engagement as Pope, and in his home country as well. 800,000 young people from around the world are expected. Should be quite special! I'll be taking 7 young people (2 6th Formers form SFX + 5 young people from St. Austin's) between the ages of 15 and 24. We'll be meeting up in Germany with a French group led by Brothers from my order. In total we will be about 70 in this Mennaisian group. Many of the French group attended a youth gathering in Brittany in April which I went to with a group of 11 from SFX + St. Austin's. See the Articles page for photos from this gathering.

What is World Youth Day?

It is a gathering of about 1 million young people from over 120 countries who come together to share their faith, their youthful energy and their cultures. From 10th - 15th August all the pilgrims from outside Germany will spend time in different dioceses across Germany. We will be joining up with a group of young people from France (many of whom are pupils of Brothers' schools in France) as guests of a town in the Bamberg diocese of Bavaria where will be visits to local sites of interest, times of prayer, catechesis, discussion and sharing with the local German youth, music, games and fun.

From 15th-21st Aug. all the pilgrims come together in Cologne to participate in various activities including a national "Day Of Social Service: Underconstruction" when there will be opportunities to serve the local community eg. taking out disabled people, repairing bikes to be sold for charity, giving a concert in an old people's home, craft workshops with the homeless, etc... There will also be a multi-cultural festival of music, dance, drama, art, etc... prayer groups, liturgies and discussion groups.

The climax of the whole event is a gathering of close to 1 million young people for an overnight, open air vigil with music, dance and prayer, with a mass the following morning celebrated by the Pope and about 600 Cardinals and Bishops.

SFX Chaplaincy News - 12/02/05

Blogs and blogging

Isn't it frightening how time flies as you get older! It's over six months since my last update. I've got to do something about this!

One of my New Year's resolutions is to make more effort to keep this page up-to-date. I think if I start a "blog" it will encourage me to update it more frequently. Blogs, or web logs (to give them their full name) are a type of web site that someone with little or no knowledge of web design can create using templates that are offered by the blog provider (such as www.blogger.com which is part of the Google empire). According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary a blog is

"A website that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments and often hyperlinked."

The site can be updated simply by sending an e-mail containing text and/or photos, audio... to the blog service provider which then automatically formats the message and puts it on your blog site. During the Iraq conflict Iraqi bloggers' sites became a popular alternative source of information, showing the conflict from the point of vue of the ordinary Iraqi people.

The following sites look at the blog phenomenon:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4145191.stm

http://randomreality.blogware.com/ (an example of a popular blog)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/4092611.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4116395.stm

Life in the Chaplaincy - 10/02/05

It is now about 18 months since I started my new dual role as Chaplain and part-time teacher. Pupils in Yrs. 7 to 9 (11yrs. - 14yrs.) seem to have no problem in accepting me in my dual role. I feel that the older ones still see me primarily as a teacher (see Chaplain + Teacher on the Articles page for my thoughts on this tension). I'm hoping that by the time the younger ones get into Yr.11 and the 6th Form we'll have far more volunteers for things such as a prayer group, a 6th Form retreat and a trip to World Youth Day. The lack of response from these older years to such propositions has been rather disheartening, the one exception being a loyal bunch of (mainly) Yr. 11 guitarists who come in on a Thurs. lunchtime. I got to know many of them when running a music workshop when they were in Yr. 9. The enthusiasm of the Yrs. 7-9 more than makes up for it.

The Chaplaincy room itself has been visited by a large number of pupils as a place to hang out in during break-time or lunch-time. Many have become regulars (especially in Yrs.7-9) . We chat and listen to the radio, cds, etc... There are drinks facilities, games, a few magazines. Some pupils come for a more serious chat and the welcoming atmosphere helps to put them at ease. A rota system was established to allow different year groups priority on different days as there were sometimes too many people to fit in. In September 2003 I set up altar server groups in Yrs.7-9 to help with the different school liturgies. I thought I would reward the commitment they show in their parishes by giving them preferential treatment three lunch-times a week if they wish to visit my room. They have repaid this through their willingness to help with school masses and other liturgies.

Many of them came with me last November to Liverpool Anglican Cathedral for the recording of an ecumenical Lenten Youth Service for the Sunday morning religious programme on ITV, "My Favourite Hymns". There were over 1000 people present, over half of whom were teenagers and young adults. The recording is being broadcast on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 13th at 11.15am.

In the summer I signed the College up for membership of Amnesty International, with the first group meetings (just Yr.9 pupils for now) taking place in Sep. 2004. We meet on Friday lunchtimes.

Pupils in the Chaplaincy

Tsunami Appeal Concert, Fri. Jan. 28th

Congratulations to those musicians (pupils + staff) who took part in our fund-raising concert for the Tsunami appeal at St. Paschal Baylon's Church on Fri. Jan. 29th. Big thanks also to the staff who supported either through exercising their extensive culinary talents (cakes, etc...) and/or by helping on the night. Over £670 was raised through a raffle, refreshments and donations.

It was great to be able to give the orchestra prime billing (no disrespect to the choir - they deserve all the credit they get). They are a tremendous bunch and play with such enthusiasm, commitment and togetherness. Much like our school football teams, in fact. Must just say a big congratulations to the Yr.10 team for their hard-fought, but thoroughly deserved 1-0 victory in the Liverpool Cup against arch-rivals Cardinal Heenan. Well done to you all, musicians and footballers alike.

6th Form Retreat

We have unfortunately had to cancel the 6th Form retreat planned for Feb. 11th-13th due to a lack of response. I belatedly realised than many students would be unable to go because of work commitments. Enough students showed interest in the general idea of a retreat to make me think that we could perhaps organise one at a different time (Mon. – Weds. for example) either later this school year or in September.

SFX Chaplaincy News 25/05/04

I am doing a solo Sponsored Cycle that from Liverpool to Lourdes (750 miles, 6 days) from Sun. 30th May to Fri. 4th June, to raise funds for the handicapped children?s Lourdes fund of St. Ambrose Parish, Speke, Liverpool, and for two teenagers from the Life Teen youth group in St. Austin?s Parish, Grassendale, Liverpool to go to a Youth Leadership conference in the U.S.A. this summer.

This is a route I first did in 1994; one of 5 sponsored cycles I've completed since 1992. Cycling has given me so much in my life (including an end to knee and back problems that plagued me in my mid-teenage years). I've wanted to try and use my love of cycling to help others as a way of saying "Thank you" to God for what he has done for me through cycling (see my Cycling page).

I have various people helping me with the fund-raising (eg. pupils and staff colleagues in school, friends from St. Austin's Parish, Liverpool, a local prayer group, family members...) and we are aiming to raise over £4000. It will cost about £500 per child to send them to Lourdes and about £600 for the teenagers whom we are sending to the conference in the U.S. The Speke children will be going to Lourdes next Easter in a H.C.P.T. group led by Fr. Ed Cain of St. Ambrose Parish, Speke. I myself went to Lourdes for the first time as a 6th Form young adult helper. The children we helped to look after suffered from various conditions, some purely physical, some mental and some a combination of the two. The trip had a profound effect on me. Such experiences are a marvelous opportunity for these children and their helpers to come closer to God, to feel his love for them and to receive the graces they need to cope with their various situations.

Bro. Gregory ("Grogs") Casey (De La Mennais Brother and Stoke City supporter, one of my heroes !! :-) with members of the Portsmouth diocese H.C.P.T. group at Lourdes in 1986. Bro. Gregory looked after English-speaking pilgrims in Lourdes for over 21 years in his own inimitable, down-to-earth, wonderfully warm-hearted way. I'll never forget to see him in his office for a chat just next to the Basilica and having the then Bishop of Wrexham come in, put his feet up, light a ciggy and pour himself a generous measure of whisky!!

We have sent a handful of older teens (16-18 yrs.) over to Life Teen events in the U.S. these last few years, including former pupils of SFX. They have all come back saying how wonderful it was, how it has helped their faith to grow and how they feel encouraged to get more involved in the Parish, helping the younger teens in the context of our Life Teen youth group.

Update 13/06/04

Well, I made it to Lourdes as planned in six days though I had a few adventures along the way. See the Cycling page for photos, feedback, etc....

De La Mennais Week Art Competition (Feb. 2004)

There was a great response to this competition and the standard was high. Over 200 entries came in from pupils across Years 7, 8 and 9 (11 - 14 years). In the end the Brothers in the SFX community whittled down the entries to a short list of 21 candidates and then had a vote to find the winner and runners-up. Here they are in all their glory. Apologies to James Hynes and John Wright as the scanned images of their pictures do not do justice to the originals.

Winner: Luke Scott-Harkins (7Ri)

Runners-up:

George Draper-Garcia (7Ow)                                    Paul Kenwright (8Wa)

Adam Wing (8Wa)                                              James Hynes (9Le)

Ben Farrell (9Ca)

Honourable mention:

Alistair Frederick (9Br)                                        Daniel Jones (8Le)

Scott Stamper (7Ke)                                Michael Jackson (7Le)

Peter Kidd (9Ma)                                        Josh Sweeney (7Ca)

Oliver Blakemore (8Le)                                        Christian Ryan (8Ma)

James Meacock (9Ke)                                        Sean Harrington (8Br)

Wesley Healy (8Wa)                                            John Kelly (8Ow)

Jordan Musker (8Wa)                                        John Wright (7Le)

John Ward (9Ke)

In 2003 I was appointed as College Chaplain at St. Francis Xavier's College, Liverpool, where I began teaching in 1992. I am continuing to teach part-time and to conduct the College Orchestra.

But why have a Chaplain and a Chaplaincy? What do the words actually mean?

Well, "chaplain" comes from the Latin word "capella" (via Old French) which means chapel or church. A chaplain is indeed generally someone who conducts church services for a particular group or establishment such as an army battalion, a hospital or a school. But beyond that, a chaplain is someone who helps develop the spiritual life of that group, making themselves available for individuals to come and talk to them about things that may be on their mind, spiritual or not. That's where the Chaplaincy comes in handy, as it serves as a place for pupils to meet the chaplain and can also double as an office.

In my case, I'll be trying to help develop the spiritual life of the College through liturgies (leading the staff rock band, (The Manic Street teachers), altar server groups, prayer groups, individual counselling, and various other activities, whilst also helping to provide support and resources for R.E. teachers, form teachers and Year Heads.

The Chaplaincy room (Newman Building, Ground Floor) is furnished and decorated in an informal way to help make pupils coming there feel relaxed and comfortable (armchairs, bean bag seats, stereo, kettle, prayer corner, etc...). Anyone who wants a chat can drop in at break-time or during those lunch breaks and after-school times when there are no other activities going on there.