Some concern was expressed at the number of young people who came along. All were from St Brendan’s. We need more publicity and perhaps a name for the days? There was no agreement as to the name for the days.

Fr Cosmas asked for better notice of the next meeting as Mark only rang him on the Friday before and if St Nick’s had had their youth group meeting then there would have been no prospect of Cosmas being available. Cosmas was given the dates of the next retreat: 5th and 6th April with mass probably being on the evening of the 5th.

Are the 5th & 6th April the best days to run retreats? Should we concentrate on just having one day or should both the 5th & the 6th be of equal importance? It was decided to run both days as independent days.

Could personal invitations be handed out? Perhaps some of the students from St Brendan’s could go along to the secondary schools to speak to the Year 10 & 11?

It was felt the workshops weren’t long enough to complete an activity. Should we tailor the workshops to the time or perhaps not have workshops during the shorter retreats?

The young people themselves are very keen and are engaged in peer ministry. They will make good youth leaders in the future. The meditation led by Fiona in particular but also the beautiful morning prayer were superb.

The faith journey sharing was very valuable and made the retreat seem like a small group. It was felt that this is the basis of community. The breadth of spiritual experience was amazing. The young people coped with it despite it being an activity that was easier for the older community.

It was a balanced day although some felt tired at the end of the day particularly with mass. The hospitality of 1B was especially valued and if it wasn’t for 1B’s hospitality the days would be impossible.

Finally, but definitely not last, the day was held together really well by Fran. He enabled the day to flow and run smoothly and coped with the problems of group numbers really well. A big thank you to Fran.