By Caoibhe Mulhall

Preparation for our Festival of Faith in February 2010 is gathering pace. A number of events have already been planned and scheduled.

In order to maintain the link with all our young parishioners who are entering secondary school for the first time, a prayer service, entitled 'Stepping out to Secondary School,' will be held in Clonard Church on Tuesday, September 1 at 7.30 p.m.

An invitation is extended to all the young people who made their Confirmation this year and to their families. We hope you will all be able to join us.

We are excited at the arrival of three young people, Carolyn, Martha, and Chris, from the Folk Choir of Notre Dame University, Indiana, U.S.A.

They will reside and minister in our Parish in liturgy, music, and catechetics in the coming year.

They will be commissioned by Bishop Denis Brennan at a celebration in our Parish Church on Saturday, October 24 at 7 p.m.

We will also mark on this occasion the 30th anniversary of our own Folk Group here in Clonard. All are welcome to join us.

The evening of All Souls' Day, November 2, will see a Memorial Service for the deceased of the Parish with particular emphasis on the families of those who have died in the period of November 1 2008 to October 31 2009.

This is another outreach to families in the Parish.

As you can see from these events we are already in preparation for Mission 2010.

Families and youth are important to us. It is our hope that these celebrations and events will lead to us deepening our sense of belonging to each other and to building community.

Further events are at the planning stage. We will keep you posted.