All 31 Days of March

This post is the fourth in a string of posts that I will be writing to make up for my delinquent curation of this blog. That's why I'm talking about March in May.

The guys from Youth Fellowship on Youth Sunday
LtoR: Robert, Sam, Michael, James, me, and Jason

By the time March rolled around all the programs I am involved with were in full swing. It seemed like there was something planned for all 31 days of March. At least one day in March was a little bittersweet for me this year. This is the first time in 6 years that I wouldn't spend Mardi Gras with all of my Mobile friends and the first Ash Wednesday I would spend away from my Overlook Presbyterian Church family in 4 years. However, there was much else to keep me focused and there were many things here of which I was excited to take part. The second week in March my Dad came to visit and he was able to worship with us on Youth Sunday. In case the name hasn't given it away, Youth Sunday is the Sunday we set aside to focus on Youth ministries at Fortwilliam and Macrory and the youth of the church have a large hand in preparing and presenting the sermon, playing all the music for the service, and coordinating all the other tenants of a normal service like collecting the offering, handing out bulletins, and taking charge of all the prayers. They did a wonderful job and the service went off without a hitch. Truthfully, every Sunday at FMPCI sees a great deal of involvement from the youth in the church as many seem to be eager to play a role in the workings of the congregation. The focus of the message of Youth Sunday was the work of the Holy Spirit. 

The tallest man in Belfast

There were a lot of fun things going on in March. I attended my first proper Northern Irish Stag Do. I had never really heard the phrase "Stag Do" but apparently it's the same as a bachelor party. My good friend David was getting in married in April so in March we went out into the country for skeet shooting and archery. I was embarrassed by my lack of skill as I am from the great state of Alabama and everyone expected me to be an ace at the shooting. 

 The next week was St. Patrick's day which, much to my surprise, is actually a bigger deal in the United States than it is here in Northern Ireland. They do throw one heck of a parade for it though. We headed down to city center, which was packed with European tourists, and watched as the parade rolled out from city hall and meandered it's way through the central part of Belfast. It reminded me of Mardi Gras parades in Mobile as it was a very family friendly atmosphere. Many organizations had representatives marching in the parade in various costumes including our very own Miriam Foltz who was marching with the kids from East Belfast Mission. 

The WAVE Ladies Group on residential in Inishowen

March also saw the yearly residential of the ladies group of WAVE Trauma Centre. March is a fitting month for this retreat because it's also Women's History Month and the focus of the retreat was coming to terms with your own history and taking charge in writing your future. We took the ladies to the very lovely Inishowen Gateway Hotel, which is just across the border in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland. If you're ever in this part of the world then I highly suggest visiting Donegal and the Inishowen peninsula. It was a great setting for this wonderful time of sharing and healing.