Christian Aid annually puts together helpful resources for the period of Lent, both for Sunday services and for individual devotions. The latter, Count Your Blessings, is available for both adults and children and provides "daily opportunities to give, act and pray for communities in need". See christianaid.iefor more details.
There will be a Methodist celebration of God, titled Must Be Love, to be held in Trinity College Chapel tomorrow, Sunday February 14th, at 7pm. The president of the Methodist Church, the Rev Brian Anderson, will preach, the chapel choir will provide the music, and the service will be led by the College Methodist chaplain, the Rev Dr Julian Hamilton. The event is open to all.
The third in the Agape series of free public discussions will take place on Monday, February 15th at 7.30pm in the Agape Centre, Belfast. Dr Eamon Phoenix, the prominent social and political historian who specialises in Irish history, will speak on Ireland on the Brink 1912-1922: Some Thoughts on the Decade of Centenaries. After Dr Phoenix's talk there will be opportunity for discussion and refreshments are provided.
VOX, the Irish Christian magazine, will hold the third of its one-day conferences around Ireland, aimed at informing and equipping churches and Christians (of all denominations and backgrounds) as they seek to respond to suicide and engage in suicide prevention.
The latest event is on Saturday February 20th in Calry Church of Ireland, Sligo. The keynote speakers are consultant psychiatrist Steve Critchlow and counsellor/ psychotherapist Joanie Reilly. Other speakers will include Stephen Bradley, lecturer in mental health nursing, and Christian counsellor Linda Rowett.
The programme will provide workshops and opportunities for discussion, questions and practical examples of how churches around Ireland are involved in suicide prevention. The cost is €20, including lunch, with concessions available. Further details at vox.ie.
The Irish Methodist Youth and Children's Department (IMYC) is running a residential youth and children's leader retreat, called Abide, in the Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise, Co Laois. The two-day event, aimed at anyone volunteering or employed as a youth leader with youth and children in any capacity, will begin on Tuesday, February 23rd, at 9.30am and end on Wednesday at 5pm.
The theme, Choosing Faithfulness, will focus on what it means to be "people of warm hearts, tough hands and wet feet as we walk with young people and children". It will be facilitated by IMYC and the Irish Methodist Church's Home Mission Department and will provide opportunities to worship, learn, pray, chat and share with others from across the island. For more details, see irishmethodist.org/imycd.
A further event, called Youth & Children's Work: A Whole Church Perspective Seminar, will be held in Edgehill College, Belfast, on Thursday, February 25th from 10am-4pm. This seminar, a collaboration between Edgehill College and IMYC, is open to ordained ministers, probationers, and lay workers employed in any capacity in the life of the church.
There is a nominal charge of £5 (€6.40) to cover morning coffee and lunch.