East Antrim Battalion - Joint Council Meeting 12th November 2008 in 1st Ballyclare Church Halls

1. Opening The Battalion President, Mr Brian Smyth, occupied the chair. He welcomed everyone to the meeting especially Mr Jonny Farrell, who would talk to us on sharing our faith. and then conducted our opening devotions.

2. Sharing Our Faith Mr Jonny Farrell, Greater Ballyclare Youth For Christ, spoke to us on sharing our faith with our boys. He got us to first reflect on why we are in the Boys' Brigade and then to appreciate all the voices that are competing for our boys' attention. We looked at how we can make our voice, the message of the Gospel, stand out from all the noise. The message of the Gospel has not changed in over 2000 years but we need to be able to present that message today in a fresh and relevant way. We need to know our Boys and how they respond. To be well prepared, to know their issues, communicate at their level and to keep it simple (preferably one point). We need to be creative, using all the senses reinforces the message. It is always better to leave boys asking for more rather than exhausting them with too much information. Create a positive picture and avoid the 'don'ts'. Allow young people the space to work out what they believe and invite them to share in something that is exciting, relevant for today, that gives hope and purpose and reason to live for Jesus.

3. Battalion Trophies The President asked the Secretary to announce the results of the two Battalion trophies the Rot McCune Cup and the Fitzell Cup.

Roy McCune Cup

3rd place with 28 pts 3rd Carrickfergus 2nd place with 33 pts 1st Carrickfergus 1st place with 43 pts 8th Carrickfergus The President presented the trophy to Mrs Gillian Armstrong.

Fitzell Cup

3rd place with 32 pts 1st Raloo 2nd place with 48 pts 1st Kilbride 1st place with 49 pts 8th Carrickfergus The President presented the trophy to Mrs Gillian Armstrong.

4. Section Councils The meeting then broke up into the 3 Councils.

Company Section Council 12th November 2008 in 1st Ballyclare Church Halls

1. Opening. Mr. Colin Bell, Battalion Vice President, occupied the chair and opened with prayer

2. Attendance and Apologies. 12 Officers representing 10 Companies were present. Attendance and apologies were recorded in the attendance book.

3. Minute of previous meeting. The Minute of the previous meeting was read, confirmed and signed. Following discussion it was agreed that a draft Minute be put on the website (www.boysbrigadeni.org.uk/eastantrimbattalion) and that the Minute then taken as read at the Council meeting.

4. Drill Competition The secretary asked if their was any Company present who wished to take part in the Battalion Drill competition. There wasn't but there was some interest in a Novice Drill competition ( 3rd Larne, 1st Raloo, 1st Ballyclare, 1st Kilbride) and the secretary undertook to get a short programme of 4 movements circulated to Companies before Christmas with a view to having a Novice competition early in 2010 (February). These movements would also allow a company to have a drill item in their display.

5. Training Committee The two Grade 3 courses were running in Larne and Ballyclare. Only 24 out of 32 enrolled turned up for the October/November course and as the course are usually filled officers were encouraged to remind their boys of the need to be present for both nights once they had enrolled. There is a Holiday Leadership Course in Ballyclare on 26th November and officers would need to enrol. There is a statutory requirement for each company going away for a weekend/holiday/camp to have 1 officer with a current holiday leadership certificate. These are only valid for 3 years. Convenor reported that he had a very poor response from the questionnaire he had emailed to Captains.

6. Recreation Committee. All companies, except one, were now organised by email. The competitions were running well. A new competitio4-a-side football had been commenced with 7 teams competing. The Newtownabbey group had been approached with regard to having a 5-a-side floodlight competition and a reply is still awaited. The age debate regarding the 7-a-side rugby had been resolved by a letter from the Regional Director, Jonathan Gracey, who stated that the age regulations were part of the rugby code and therefore this took precedence over the B.B. regulation. (Junior competition years 1-4 and Senior years 5-7)

7. Battalion Dinner Following the poor response for the 40th Anniversary celebration dinner the Executive wished to know if there was any interest in having a Battalion Dinner at the end of the session. There was no real enthusiasm as some companies had a meal of their own and others felt that they wanted a rest when the activities slackened.

8. C.E.Course/Exam It was reported that some companies were finding the course difficult. Others felt they could have a more productive Bible Class using other material and there had to be better ways of challenging boys than through a course which was not perceived as appropriate. The Secretary The Secretary reported that the C.E. exam entry form was included with the dues account. Several company Captains said they would probably not be taking part in the Battalion Scripture exam.

9. Team India 2009 Susan Featherstone spoke briefly regarding a team of officers and senior boys(16+) who would be going to India in August 2009 to build homes for families in the Maduri District in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. There is a meeting in 1st Antrim Presbyterian Church on Tuesday 25th November at 8pm. The Team Leader, Mr Glen Miller, can be contacted at 07824 378855 or glen.a.miller@hotmail.com for further information.

The council returned to the main meeting where the PRO Mr Drew Buchanan spoke on the updated website and encouraged people to sign up for ezine.

The President brought the meeting to a close with grace for the supper provided by 1st Ballyclare officers and the Benediction.

Signed _____________________________________ date ___________________