Weekend fires up hope and worship in Adelaide
Events
A crowd of 270 young people, families and participants of all ages gathered for two days of deepening in faith at the recent Adelaide Fire Weekend.
Now in its fifth year, the event was held at Blackfriars Priory School during the July school holidays and featured a program of interstate and local speakers, praise and worship and the sacraments.
The Fire Weekend includes prayer experiences, inspiring workshops, keynote speakers and gathering as a vibrant Catholic community.
Hosted by the Disciples of Jesus Covenant Community, this years’ event drew interstate speakers including Tim and Lara Kirk from Canberra, as well as Fr Cameron Smith, Kathryn Kingsley and Stephanie Sullivan from the Missionaries of God’s Love.
Local Adelaide speakers included Allan and Bec Smailes, Fernando Farrugia and Barb Conlon as well as Jess Sasche, who led a team hosting sessions for teens. A live praise and worship band led by Rhea Thomas, which drew musicians from around Adelaide as well as from southern-based worship ministry Kingdom Now, was a feature of the event. The availability of reconciliation and opportunity for individual prayer ministry form an important part of the program.
The opportunity to gather as a community of faith and pray together with people of all ages was the key highlight for many participants. First-time attendee Mark Jaksa said it was a “wonderful experience to be around young families on fire for God”.
For others the weekend gave them confidence for evangelising in local parish settings, with Holy Family parishioner Sue Lawless reflecting that this had been her experience.
“Having received the peace and love of the Holy Spirit I was set on fire to be more courageous in inviting people to our upcoming Alpha program and to let the Holy Spirit do the work,” she said.
For the event organiser, Missionaries of God’s Love Sr Bernadette Toohey, the Fire Weekend helped to “fill a longing within people for deep connection with God and one another” and was a sign of great hope for people in challenging times.
“I noticed that people arrived at the weekend very enthusiastic and hungry for everything on offer: for good teaching, for community, for more of God’s presence in their life and I think they went home having received all of these,” she said.
“Many people received healing, encouragement and hope for the future through the weekend, which I think is really needed amidst the difficulties many people are currently facing.”
Sr Bernadette said after seeing the success of the weekend at drawing people from all over Adelaide and beyond, and having such a positive impact, the team was looking forward to bringing the weekend back in 2025.
If you’d like to be notified of future events like this email adelaidefireweekend@gmail.com or facebook.com/Fireweekendadelaide
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