Who are the Tullamore JPPC?
The Tullamore Junior Parish Pastoral Council was founded in September 2006 by members of the Tullamore parish team who believed that young people should have more of a say in the running of their parish and their church. From just an idea at a boardroom meeting, Tullamore Junior Parish Pastoral Council grew from a small group of around 18 members to the council that it is today with over 27 members and many huge achievements under it's belt. It's members hail from all of the local secondary schools in Tullamore with members aged from 12 to 18. The councils main aim is to give young people a voice on parish and church affairs and try to involve them more in church life.
The Junior Parish Pastoral Council is a democratically run organisation, holding elections every year to elect officers to lead the council. The council has also passed its 15 paged constitution which outlines the rules and regulations of the council. The council commits to helping senior members of the community by running regular bingo sessions for them. The group also has several other plans for the future to assist senior citizens. The council has also decorated the church noticeboards and regularly decorates the church at advent and lent. The council ran two sessions of Taize Prayer since it was formed and often runs evening prayer. The council conducted a survey on young peoples religious attitudes on first year students in all the local secondary schools in Tullamore. The results were released in a press conference and proved to be very positive. The council now plans to conduct the same survey on the same students again three years later to find out how their attitudes have changed.
The Junior Parish Pastoral Council was the founder and first ever host of the National Parish Youth Conference. The conference was well attended by other youths councils and groups as well as guests including An Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Fr.Liam Lawton. The groups shared ideas on how to improve their local areas, explore the reality of young peoples lives and learn from each others experiences and ideas. The conference was so successful that it is to be made an annual event. The Junior PPC is set to host the National Parish Youth Conference again next year.
The council now meets on a regular basis in Tullamore's new state of the art Parish Centre, however meetings used to take place in Tullamore Parochial House, Day Chapel and Youth Centre. It has many achievements completed to date and many more aims and goals. The council can be followed on its Facebook and Bebo pages.
The Junior Parish Pastoral Council will continue to work for young people in Tullamore and indeed in Ireland for as long as it is active.
The Junior Parish Pastoral Council is a democratically run organisation, holding elections every year to elect officers to lead the council. The council has also passed its 15 paged constitution which outlines the rules and regulations of the council. The council commits to helping senior members of the community by running regular bingo sessions for them. The group also has several other plans for the future to assist senior citizens. The council has also decorated the church noticeboards and regularly decorates the church at advent and lent. The council ran two sessions of Taize Prayer since it was formed and often runs evening prayer. The council conducted a survey on young peoples religious attitudes on first year students in all the local secondary schools in Tullamore. The results were released in a press conference and proved to be very positive. The council now plans to conduct the same survey on the same students again three years later to find out how their attitudes have changed.
The Junior Parish Pastoral Council was the founder and first ever host of the National Parish Youth Conference. The conference was well attended by other youths councils and groups as well as guests including An Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Fr.Liam Lawton. The groups shared ideas on how to improve their local areas, explore the reality of young peoples lives and learn from each others experiences and ideas. The conference was so successful that it is to be made an annual event. The Junior PPC is set to host the National Parish Youth Conference again next year.
The council now meets on a regular basis in Tullamore's new state of the art Parish Centre, however meetings used to take place in Tullamore Parochial House, Day Chapel and Youth Centre. It has many achievements completed to date and many more aims and goals. The council can be followed on its Facebook and Bebo pages.
The Junior Parish Pastoral Council will continue to work for young people in Tullamore and indeed in Ireland for as long as it is active.