One of the highlights of the church calendar is our weekend away, where we’re usually able to have lots of unhurried time in beautiful country surroundings enjoying God, his creation and one another.
For obvious reasons this will not be possible in 2020. However, we want to do all we can to make our alternative weekend away (cleverly named by Leanne as a Weekend Stay-Cay) as fun as possible, and a time where we can still encounter God together, have fun, connect with different people in the church and be refreshed.
Sign ups are now closed.
A Caring Church… A Fun Weekend
The two big ideas for the Weekend Stay-Cay are that we want to be a caring church and we want to have a fun weekend.
Firstly we want to learn together what it means to be a ‘caring church’ during this strange days. We have to be physically separated but we can still be socially connected and we can still care for, love and pray for one another. We’re delighted that Joan Singleton will be helping us think through what it means for us to be called to care for one another; for that to be part of our DNA, as we reflect our compassionate and caring God.
Secondly we want the weekend to be fun. A time to be refreshed; not to be ‘zoomed out’ but refreshed and re-energised. We are planning some entertaining online activities. All the sessions are ‘opt in’ and you can pick and choose what to engage with and what not to engage with so that the weekend works for you.
The Main Sessions
Joan Singleton is a lecturer at the Irish Bible Institute and teaches a course on pastoral care (Vanessa is currently on this course!). She will be leading us in our 3 main sessions thinking through why we care, how we can care for one another and learning to be wise in what it means to be a caring church. The Friday and Saturday sessions will be interactive, with chance for Q&A and breakout rooms.
Additionally we’re going to have 1-2 personal stories from church people in each session. Usually on the weekend we get to know one another better and at the end there is a time for sharing. So we want to facilitate that by hearing from different people.
Buddying Up & Blessing each other
Whilst we can not participate indoors together, we are suggesting that every household buddies up with another. Our suggestion is that the two households consider one or more of these (or something else as restrictions allow):
- Meeting up outdoors for part of the weekend
- Have a meal together (outdoors)
- Be creative in blessing the other household – cooking food, buying a present, writing a card etc
- Prayer Support (message each other throughout the weekend)
- Arrange a quick online chat and a chance to pray together, off the back of the weekend and for different things going on in each others lives.
This buddying up is not mandatory, but a suggestion, and if you want to participate please indicate that when you sign up. In the first instance the households will be paired within City Groups, but we will also facilitate and organise centrally so everyone who wants is connected.
The Rough Timetable
As guidelines continue to change we will remain flexible with this, but here is the initial plan for the Weekend Stay-Cay so you can start planning. Remember all these sessions are ‘opt in’, so you can discern the best way for you to engage.
Friday
- 7.30 – 8.30pm: Session 1 (Why we care)
Saturday
- 9.30 – 10.30am: Prayer & Worship
- 10.30 – 11.30am: Session 2 (Careful caring)
- 1 – 3pm: Link up with a buddy (get lunch outdoors together or go for a walk, cycle, sea swimming. We will also leave the main Zoom running if you’d link to have lunch online with others.)
- 4 – 6pm: Online fun with Tim Gaston + Co (Painting with Pat and Mystery Fun! These are kid friendly
- 6 – 8pm: Movie Party (kid friendly, the movie will be on Disney+ and do bring snacks!)
- 9 – 10pm: Lip-Sync battle (in place of our usual karaoke)
Sunday
- 11.30am – 12pm: Treehouse
- 3 – 4pm: The Den
- 4.30 – 5.30pm: Session 3, as part of our usual Sunday Gathering (Being a caring church)
Signing Up, Costs, Care Packs & Financial Gift Together
If you would like to participate in the Weekend Stay-Cay please sign up using the following link.
Sign ups are now closed.
Aside from Session 3 (which will be the normal Sunday Service Zoom) we will be using another Zoom ID for the whole weekend.
We will also be sending out care packs (care pack deadline is Monday 2nd November) for everyone on the weekend, so if you’d like to receive one please do give us your physical address as you sign up.
There is a flat-fee of €15 for adults (Kids are free) for the weekend – €5 will be put towards covering some of the administration costs, and the other €10 will go to a charitable cause in Dublin that is currently challenged due to Covid-19. We will decide on one together during the weekend.
A Final Caveat, Questions & Suggestions
Given the uncertainty around government restrictions at this time everything above is open to change, so we will have remain flexible over the coming weeks and even on the weekend itself.
If you have any questions or suggestions please don’t hesitate to get in contact with Vanessa or Steve.