Reflections on a 'countercultural' youth weekend
Canon Jono Pierce, rector of St Finnian's Cregagh, reflects on our recent BIG Diocesan Youth Weekend in Castlewellan Castle.
He writes...
Last weekend, my son and some of his friends from our youth group went to Castlewellan Castle for a weekend of Bible teaching, sports, worship and fun alongside 140 other young people and their leaders from churches right across the diocese.
As I dropped a couple of them down on Friday evening, I was struck by all the volunteers and youth leaders who were giving their weekend up to facilitate such a special experience for these young people. The welcome team and diocesan staff were busy welcoming the young people, showing them to their rooms and making them aware of the very engaging programme that was about to unfold.
Sometimes, when your path crosses over with an event like that, it prompts you to ask some questions. When I saw all the organisation involved in sorting the different groups into dormitories and small groups, when I saw all the lists and permission slips being processed at the welcome desk, when I saw all the young people streaming in with, probably, different dietary requirements and, perhaps, allergies and medical conditions that needed to be managed, it takes a lot of organisation to put something like this on.
It’s actually quite a countercultural event.
So many young people don’t have too many opportunities to engage with in-person activities. With so many things happening online and social media, it was quite refreshing to be somewhere where there was very poor internet coverage and connection.
Instead of burying their faces in screens, you saw people speaking and joking with one another. Sports and activities and small groups were set up in such a way that people could make new friends from other places.
It was beautiful to hear when my son came home that he had enjoyed the weekend. He had made new friends. They had enjoyed lots of fun together. There had been talks about the Bible, about Jesus and prayer and opportunities to talk about these things with older leaders and with one another and it was a safe space to share your thoughts and questions. There had been times of worship together and, perhaps, it made you aware of being part of something much bigger than yourself on this journey of faith.
I’m very grateful to Andrew and the diocesan team, to Ryan, my colleague, who accompanied our group, and to all those other leaders from other parishes who made such a special weekend possible.
Excerpted with permission from Jono's Church Without Walls blog, 24 February 2026
Diocesan youth residentials
The BIG Diocesan Youth Weekend is aimed at young people aged 11-18 with a focus on faith building through teaching, worship and small group discussion. There are lots of other activities built into the programme such as a glow-stick walk, games, archery, climbing, laser combat, crafts, maze, ‘Saturday Night Live’, campfire and even a ‘silent disco’! This year's speaker, Lorcan Speier, took the group through 3 sessions on ‘Jesus, the Bible and prayer.
The weekend is a good opportunity for parish groups that would not generally have the numbers to do their own residential. In all 14 churches across the diocese attended.
Residential opportunities are a key component to faith development for young people and in addition to Castlewellan, the diocese helps to support these throughout the year. The main opportunities are the discipleship weekend in October, our Down and Dromore Summer Madness venue and the summer Kilbroney Adventure Camps.
For more information on youth residentials please see the Down and Dromore EVENTBRITE page.