Summer Madness 2009
Report by Hilary Ferguson

Summer madness has been and gone for another year, but what did SM 09 bring to the leaders and young people of FLPC.

Just in case you have happened to stumble across this youth page and have never heard of Summer Madness here is a quick back packers guide to what Summer Madness is about.

Summer Madness took place this year from 3rd-7th July and is Ireland's largest Christian youth festival, and takes place in the Kings Hall Belfast. It is five days of camping at the Kings Hall, which is always lots of fun.

This year we had a group of 25 go from FLPC. It was a great time for team building with all the camping, and the long lazy afternoons. It was also an opportunity for leaders and young people to build on relationships with each other. On the whole I believe that everyone who went to SM 09 came away having been strengthened, with attitudes being challenged and transformed and having lives that God was continuing to mould, chip away at and reshape, so that each person there was (and still is) being shaped more into the likeness of His Son.  

Each day, as a group we attended the morning and evening worship times. This year’s theme was on “getting connected”. At each of the celebrations [worship sessions] we were being challenged as to how we can connect with God. We looked at how we can connect with God through our relationships, through looking after the world we live in, and how and why God wants to connect with us... Gods power was undoubtedly at work throughout the five days, and it was beautiful to see Gods hand on the lives of the young people and leaders, amidst the smiling faces during times worship, times of contemplation and reflection and even in the midst of tears. Thank you to everyone who prayed for our leaders and young people during these five days, God, unsurprisingly answered your prayers in ways which outweigh our mere human imagination, but then again, we do have an awesome God whose plans our not our plans and whose ways are not our ways, but who is able to do more than we could ever dare to ask for or to hope... Thanks be to God!  

There were also opportunities for the everyone to attend seminars each day, which then provided interesting conversations around our little FLPC campsite at the end of a day.

Thank you to everyone who helped with the planning of SM 09, and for those who helped set up and take down camp FLPC this year, it would not have been possible without your help. Again, thank you to those who prayed, and a huge thank you to all those who provided food for all of us throughout the week, it was all gratefully appreciated!