Above: Bro. Finbar and Agnes Hayes receiving their presentation from the County Commissioner, Jody Phelan.

The annual Group Christmas mass was held on Saturday 18th December at 6.30pm in the De La Salle College Chapel. There was a number of presentations made during the ceremony including  to Bro. Finbar O’Keeffe and Agnes Hayes from the Scout County for their work with the Scout Shop in Waterford City.  Service medals were also presented to Agnes, Stacia Coughlan (10yrs) and David Guilfoyle (20yrs).

Above: On the left David Guilfoyle receives his service award and on the right Stacia Coughlan receives hers from Jody Phelan and David Rogers.

 
A Peace Light which had began its journey in Bethlehem was also present at the ceremony.  On the 1st of December last, an ecumenical service was held in Palestine, at the Grotto of Christ’s Birth in the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem. At the end of the service a light from the flame at the grotto was brought away in an oil lamp to start its journey through that troubled land to Israel and on to Tel Aviv airport. A young Palestinian Scout carried the lamp from the grotto in Bethlehem and handed it to a young Israeli Scout at their border, she then passed it to representatives of Austrian Airlines who brought it to Vienna to be received by Jana, a member of Austrian Scout and Guide Association who was chosen to receive this years Peace Light from Bethlehem.
During the Peace Light Service in Vienna on Saturday 4th of December, Jana carried the lamp to the front of the church and lit the Viennese Peace Candle from it. Delegates from each country in Europe were invited to come and light their lamps from this candle and to return to their home countries with this symbol of  peace.

Above: The Peace Light being received at the De La Salle College Chapel.

The light with us had travelled by railway through middle Europe to Paris then on to Calais, over the English Channel to Dover, up through England to Scotland, where it was collected by Scouts from Derry and carried by Ferry to Larne, then taken by road to Dublin and on to us here in Waterford.  This went from our Mass down to the Sacred Heart Church, where Jody Phelan and Bernie Rogers presented Fr.Melody with the light.