January/February 2018Northern Ireland District

NI DISTRICT NEWS

INFORM TO TRANSFORM

“The advancement of Christ’s Kingdom among Boys and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-respect and all that tends towards a true Christian manliness.”

Forty-five Officers attended the Annual Junior Section Conference held on Saturday 11 November 2017 in Killead Presbyterian Church Hall.

Seventy-five Boys’ Brigade members from across the Brigade UK took

part in the Remembrance Ceremony and Parade on Sunday 12 November

2017 including boys from 1st Kil-bride, 1st Cookstown, 1st Glastry, 7th Newtownabbey, 1st Greenisland, 1st

Banagher, 1st Fintona. (Pictures to left submitted by 1st Banagher)

JUNIOR SECTION QUIZ: Seventy-four teams took part in the First Round at Battal-ion level. A very close final was held at Finvoy Presbyterian Church, Ballymoney at the end of October. Winners: 4th PortadownRunners-Up: 2nd Comber3rd Place: 1st BallylinneyA new 100th Anniversary Trophy was presented to the winning team. The names of all the previous winners of the Quiz have been engraved on the back of the new trophy.

CODE ACADEMY CELEBRATION: Ulster University hosted a Celebration for the 2016/17 Code Academy cohort on Monday 20th November 2017 at the Jordanstown campus. This was a night of celebration for those who completed the course joined by friends and family to cheer them on. Seventy young people from various BB companies in NI successfully completed the course. You can read more on this story on our website in the news section at www.bbni.org.uk

Practical activities, workshops and discussion groups made up a very busy, beneficial day. Sessions included: Fitness First; Puzzles & Quizzes for Christmas; Games for All Occasions and Practical Activities and Games linked to Bible Stories. Information was also provided about Junior Section events and resources suitable for Junior Section Boys. To celebrate the 100th Anniversary we had a special birthday cake to enjoy during the afternoon tea-break. Thanks are due to those who led the programme sessions, the BB staff from 1st Killead and the church catering team.

Seven NID Companies attend Whitehall Remembrance Service and Parade...

Training & Programme News

The next residential Youth Leader Training course will be at Humphrey’s at Rathmore, Larne from 12 to 14 January 2018. Application forms are available from the Downloads section of the NID website under Training.

Queen’s Badge CoursesCompanies who wish to enrol candidates for Queen’s Badge courses should register in the first instance using the Skills For Queen’s Badge form.

Those registering for the completion course should use the Queen’s Badge Residential registration form. Both of these are available to download from the BBNI website - please follow the arrow symbol. 2017/18 Skills courses coming up soon: 26 - 28 Jan | 6 - 8 April 18 2018 Residential courses coming up soon (completion)9 - 11 Feb | 23 - 25 Feb | 9 - 11 Mar | 20 - 22 Apr

Please check on our website for the full list of dates: www.bbni.org.uk/niqueensbadge.htm

Card Payments: We can take card payments in NIHQ in person or over the telephone. You do not need to have a PayPal account to use this service. We accept all major debit and credit cards. Please note all entries/bookings/registra-tions will only be confirmed on receipt of both payment and the completed entry form. Cheque/Cash Payments: When sending cheque or cash payments for anything to NIHQ please include a note to indicate what the payment relates to. Thank you.

12 - 14 Jan 2018

SAVE THE DATE! QUEEN’S BADGE CELEBRATION

FRIDAY 18 MAY 2018

Roy Beggs MLA Visits November Skills for Queen’s Badge Residential

To mark UK Parliament Week Roy Beggs MLA visited our Skills for Queen’s Badge Course on Saturday 18th November. He shared his faith, his involvement in The Boys’ Brigade and the day and daily life of an MLA.

Roy sat in the hot seat and took questions from the boys; many big and topical questions were asked! The theme of leadership and what quali-ties make good Christian leaders was continued throughout the weekend. During the weekend the boys also had fun, debates, discussions and time to learn more about God and develop their faith.

Payments to NIHQ

Inter-Battalion Junior & Senior Football £15 per Battalion team Entry closing date: Tuesday 16 January 2018

Squad DrillSaturday 10 February 2018 @ 2pmFirst Antrim Presbyterian £10 per Squad | Commands can be found on the websiteEntry closing date: Tuesday 30 January 2018

GolfThursday 5 April 2018 @ 12:00 noon onwardsBallymena Golf Club | £7 per BoyClosing date: Fri 23 March 2018

Minibus Licensing and DrivingThe Department for Infrastructure has clarified the requirements for minibus drivers and oper-ators under existing legislation and has written

to service providers, saying the majority of community and voluntary organisations will be unaffected. Please check the news section of our website at www.bbni.org.uk for more on this story.

For 17 - 21 yr olds to train as leaders in BB. This course covers all the modules in Youth Leader Training combined with time for faith exploration, team building activities and games. Booking Forms available on our website.

Junior Section News

SPRING COMPETITION JUNIOR CHALLENGEBattalion Heats for the Junior Challenge will be held towards the end of February/beginning of March as arranged by individual Battalions (Battalion entries for the final are due by Monday 12 March 2018). Four boys are needed for a team and they will compete in a variety of challenges with the winning team going forward to the NID Final on Saturday 24 March 2018 at 2.00pm (venue to be confirmed). NID JS Committee members will receive all the information at their meeting in January. For the com-petition, boys should wear their BB blue polo shirts, shorts and gym shoes. Officers should wear BB sweatshirt/polo shirt. Officers will be asked to assist with an activity.

JUNIOR SECTION MUSICIAN OF THE YEARSaturday 13 January 2018Templepatrick Presbyterian Church. Results will be available on the Junior Section page of www.bbni.org.uk following the competition.

SWIMMING GALA 2018Saturday 24 February 2018 Orchard Leisure Centre, Armagh at 2.00pm(check-in from 1.30pm). An Entry Form is enclosed with the JS Officer in Charge’s mailing which must be returned by Monday 5 February 2018 to NI Headquarters at Newport.

FIVE-A-SIDE FOOTBALL Closing date for Battalion Finalists will be: Monday 26 March 2017. Battalion reps to the NID JS Committee will have the Entry Forms and details. Please note that entries will not be accepted without payment. The Final will be held on Saturday 28 April 2018 at Meadowbank Sports Arena, Magherafelt.

JAN/FEB 2018 DIARY DATES: Tuesday 9 January 2018 NID JS Committee Meeting 8.00pm at NewportSaturday 13 January 2018Musician of the Year - Templepatrick PresbyterianMonday 5 February 2018Closing date for Swimming Gala EntriesSaturday 24 February 2018Swimming Gala, Orchard Leisure Centre, Armagh

Fun and Games

Final: Saturday 27 January 2018, 10.30am First Antrim Presbyterian Church Hall

Each Battalion must return the name sheet alongwith the score sheet to NIHQ Newport on or before 19 January 2018 with £5 to cover expenses.Note to Battalion Reps: Battalion Name Sheet and Score sheet can be downloaded from the BBNIwebsite from the Downloads page under theAnchor Boy heading.

Exploring Conflict: Breaking Down Prejudice

Boys from 3rd Larne who are taking part in the 17/18 CRED Weekends pictured in November at Greenhill on the second of three residential weekends. This cross commu-nity project is a joint initiative with the main uniformed youth organisations in NI.

Three young BB Leaders including Cabrini Brown from NID 1st Ballygowan represented The Boys’ Brigade at the British Youth Council’s Annual Council Meeting in London at the beginning of September 2017.

L-R: Cabrini Brown, 1st Ballygowan; BB Northern Ireland District.

James Hollyhead, 2nd Wednesbury; BB Eng&Wales

Callum Laing, 3rd Perth BB Scotland

British Youth Council Meeting

PRAYER POINTS: Give thanks…

• For a new year and new beginnings. For blessings received in 2017 in our families, Churches and Compa-nies.

• For the hope that the birth of Jesus Christ brings us.

Please pray for…• A growing faith in our Lord Jesus Christ to follow

where He leads us in 2018. • The many competitions and events taking place in Jan

and Feb - pray that all we do will bring Glory to God. • For our Youth Leader Training in January - that God

will be in the midst of that course changing lives and equipping leaders to advance Christ’s Kingdom.

• Ongoing work at Newport to equip the centre. • For those known to us who have lost loved ones and

are facing a new year with bereavement - that they will constantly know and feel God’s love and comfort.

Northern Ireland District of The Boys’ Brigade, Newport, 117 Culcavy Road, Hillsborough, Co Down, BT26 6HH Charity no: NIC100013 | T: 028 9268 8444 | e: nihq@boys-brigade.org.uk W: www.bbni.co.uk | Newport Fundraising: www.bbnewportfundraising.org

Please e mail alison.irvine@boys-brigade.org.uk to subscribe to our e news mailing list. Please update OBM immediately if you or any of

your Leaders change contact information. Also ensure you have identified in OBM who the Leaders in Charge of each section are.

If you have anything you would like considered for inclusion in the January/February 2018 NID News please e mail

alison.irvine@boys-brigade.org.uk by Thurs 1 February 2018

Buy a Brick Church Appeal

We were delighted to welcome Sir Jeffrey Donaldson to Newport on Friday 1 December 2017 to view our new-ly finished phase 3. Sir Jeffrey had lunch with staff and senior volunteers before viewing our new training and residential facilities.

Pictured L-R: Drew Buchanan Northern Ireland District Trustee, Cllr Uel Mackin, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP, Rev Dr Trevor McCormick NID Vice-President, and Jonathan Gracey Director for Northern Ireland.

PROGRESS AT NEWPORT

Left L-R: Drew Buchanan District Trustee and Trevor McCormick, District Vice-President.

We recently appealed to all Churches, that have Boys’ Brigade Companies, to consider supporting our Opening New Doors Appeal at Newport, by buying a

brick. We thank those that have responded so far to this appeal, whether as individuals, Companies, Battalions or Churches. It is now planned to make progress early in 2018 to install the bricks in Newport. Therefore the dead-line for Churches, Battalions, Companies and individuals to purchase a brick will be: 31 January 2018.

If you would like to Buy a Brick for Newport please down-load the order from our website in the downlaods section under the Fundraising heading.

Completion of Phase Three at NewportWe are delighted to report that the Phase Three renova-tion work at Newport has been completed; this includes three open plan bedrooms sleeping up to 12 persons each, 2 wheelchair accessible bedrooms, a training room, resources room and reception foyer. We are now working on further funding streams to furnish the centre with beds and other items including chairs for the training room etc. We are aiming to run the first courses here at Newport early April 2018. To God be the Glory!

Rev Dr Noble McNeely, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland visited 4th Newtownabbey, Carnmoney Presbyterian recently to present them with the Charity Shield for raising the most money (£1751) for the Junior Section Presbyterian Appeal. in the 17/17 session.

Charity Shield Presentation