• on 5th May, 2017

Fortify 2017, Sat, June 10, 2017: Featuring Matt Maher

Fortify 2017 is a Catholic Parish Youth Ministry Conference designed to showcase youth ministry options available to parishes in Ireland. Young people in Ireland deserve an opportunity to receive the faith. There are approaches in Ireland that are effective. Let’s see what they are and start to use them!!! Matt Maher will be workshopping with budding local musicians in the afternoon.

Conference will also be of interest to those involved in youth ministry in second and third level institutions.

The Matt Maher Concert is in the evening. Matt will bring his brand of contemporary Christian music to Dublin and show us that the Gospel can be transmited beautifully through song. Jesus is alive!

The Conference and Concert take place in SAINT PAUL’S, Arran Quay, Dublin. Full details here.

Fortify will take place over the course of one day, beginning at 9:00am and ending at 5:00pm.  The morning will begin with a panel consisting of Bishop Donal Mc Keown, Gerard Gallagher (Dublin Diocese), Tony Foy (Net Ministries). They will be interviewed primarily on youth ministry in the Catholic Church in Ireland. Question topics will primarily revolve around the topic of the history of youth ministry here in Ireland. This is bound to be an interesting conversation between some of the foremost advocates of youth ministry in Ireland.

Following that there will be a keynote presentation by the Very Rev. Brendan Canon Kilcoyne. Fr. Brendan is a parish priest in Athenry, Co. Galway, who has been very involved in youth ministry. After hiring a team of youth ministry professionals to kickstart youth ministry in his parish, he hired a full-time youth minister to continue the work. An invigorating speaker who won’t pull any punches in his presentation, Fr. Brendan will be discussing how to move from a state of maintenance to having a missionary mentality, whether in a family, parish, or diocesan situation.

The middle of the day will focus on analyzing different models of effective youth ministry. Attendees will be given the opportunity to attend presentations done by multiple ministries. Each presentation will be a description of that ministry’s growth and struggles, as well as imparting some wisdom for strategies that work/worked in their particular situation. Attendees will be given the opportunity to select between multiple presentations, in order to find a ministry whose situation reflects their own.

The afternoon will begin with another interview panel, formed up of all the attending bishops. The bishops will inform us of any decisions or announcements they’d like to present to the youth ministry community in Ireland. Attendees will also be given a chance to ask questions of the bishops, in relation to youth ministry.

The later afternoon will consist of some final presentations to wrap up the day, and a Mass. The session prior to the Mass will be a discussion on the future of youth ministry in Ireland, and the hopes for fortify to become an annual occurrence. Mass will be celebrated at 3:30 pm, and will be offered up as intercession for the intention of youth ministry in Ireland. The final session of the day will be a presentation of some of the resources and support available to youth ministers across Ireland.

Throughout the day, following most sessions, there will be an opportunity for round table discussions. These will be opportunities for attendees to break open the things they are learning, ask questions of more experienced youth ministers, and discuss the presentations in a more in-depth setting.

The Fortify Conference will officially end at 5:00pm, to allow ample time for preparing the evening Matt Maher Concert.

Since his 2008 major label debut, Matt Maher has become a staple in the artistic and songwriting community. An eight time-GRAMMY nominee, he has garnered multiple radio successes writing and recording songs like “Lord, I Need You,” “Hold Us Together,” “Christ Is Risen,” “Because He Lives (Amen)” and “Your Grace Is Enough.” Maher has penned songs recorded by Chris Tomlin, Crowder, Third Day, Matt Redman, Hillsong, Casting Crowns, Jesus Culture and Bethel among others. Matt has written or co-written five No. 1 radio singles. In 2013, Maher had a career highlight performing in Rio in front of Pope Francis and a crowd of 3 million people, as well as performing in 2015 in downtown Philadelphia as part of the World Meeting of Families with The Fray, Aretha Franklin, Juanes, Jim Gaffigan, among others. In 2015, Maher was awarded his first RIAA Gold certification for his popular single “Lord, I Need You.”

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