SEPTEMBER 2013

Dear Muckno Parish Team,

The participants in the Muckno Pope John Paul II Awards have reached the end of their programme and will be handing over their completed presentations to the awarding body next week.

In my previous report I outlined their progress in the first few months of the award, when they trained as Ministers of The Word and The Eucharist, helped to tidy the Church after Sunday Masses, prepared Art Work for the Church in Advent, provided assistance to the Parish Secretary with preparing Parish Calenders for distribution, and sang in the church in the choir or as a cantor.

The group continued to grow and flourish in Parish and Community. They were privileged to hear Archbishop Charles Brown, The Papal Nuncio for Ireland address a local group at a Lenten service in Iontas, and Sr. Celine kindly invited them to help with the readings which they delivered beautifully. They got to meet with and have photographs taken with The Papal Nuncio also. They continued their parish work by providing Art Work for Lent and assisted in Holy Week and Easter Services. They also helped with distributing leaflets regarding Parish Fundraising after masses and over the Cemetery Sunday weekend.

They signed up as volunteers on the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes and fundraised extensively to raise the cost of this trip by running a coffee morning, by busking, and by selling raffle tickets. They attended regular Group meetings and fundraising meetings with interest and enthusiasm. They attended training days in Clones to prepare for their time in Lourdes and they worked hard during the pilgrimage looking after the assisted pilgrims. All enjoyed the trip to Lourdes immensely and some are planning to return next year.

During the year they learned a lot about community and were amazed at the support offered to them locally. The Knights of St. Columbanus sponsored YouCat books for the group, and McKenna and Cairns Ltd sponsored Muckno JPII Award hoodies also. The whole community generously supported them in their fundraising endeavour, and showed a great interest in the programme. Whilst fundraising in the Shopping Centre they were always polite and well-behaved. When people asked about the Award the group were able to communicate information in a friendly way, and always thanked everyone for their donation.

They visited the elderly residents in St. Mary’s hospital and despite initial nerves they came to enjoy hearing their stories and tales each week. On the social awareness aspect of the award they also learned a lot about how community groups work through their involvement in Football Clubs, The Scouts, Fusion, and Muckno Mania. Having witnessed the hard work of volunteers involved with Tidy Towns, Parish Teams, and various Clubs, I feel that the group value the contribution of voluntary groups in Community in a more positive way as a result of their participation in this Awards Programme.

To conclude, I would like to thank you again for the opportunity to lead the Awards Group. All seven have attained a well deserved Gold Award. As the first group to participate in the awards in Muckno Parish they have set excellent standards for those who enrol this year, and in future years. They were an absolute pleasure to work with, and I am delighted to report that all of them have chosen to continue in their Ministries and will be included on the Parish Rota for next year.

I will be preparing for the launch of this years programme in late October and I hope that you will continue to encourage and support the new group as enthusiastically and you did this year. Your attendance at the launch would also   be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely

Irene Cairns

Pope John Paul II -Muckno

If you are interested in taking part in the Pope John Paul II Awards,

Contact the Parish Office: 042 97 40027