Inspire 2018

My name is Liana Forsyth and I recently
started work at the Scripture Union office in
Bray. I’m married to Mark, a part-time
Methodist minister/ part-time actuary.
We have three lovely children, Hannah (10),
John (6) and Rebekah (4) and are currently
living in Bray, Co.Wicklow.
My background is in secondary school
teaching, but I took a few years out of the
workplace to be at home with the kids. When
my youngest child began playschool, I prayed
that God would lead me to a flexible part-time
job in the locality, and the rest is history!
I’ve been warmly welcomed into the SU family
and am kept busy day to day with the Garda
vetting of our many volunteers, reference checking,
organising prayer letters for camps and
general camp administration.
Scripture Union has always had a special place
in my heart. I loved attending camps at Ovoca
Manor throughout my teens and these camps
really helped me grow as a Christian.
Serving as a leader at SU Adventure Club
weekends, Family Week and on the CSSM
team also provided me with amazing
opportunities to live out my faith. My own
children are now benefiting from the ministry
of Scripture Union, with CSSM in Greystones
being one of the highlights of the summer!
It is a privilege to be a part of the ministry here
at Scripture Union and to see God at work in
the lives of so many children,
teenagers and families.
Meet
Liana
Hi everyone, My name is Darren and I am the
new Retreat Coordinator at Ovoca Manor.
I’m a man from the West, son of a Dairy Farmer
so no stranger to the fresh air in Ovoca. I have
been involved in youth work for 5 years in both
a paid and voluntary capacity, working with
young people from all walks of life. I love
getting to share Jesus with young people and
communicate that God is real and cares about
each aspect of our lives however small. I was
introduced to SU Ireland by my fiancé Debs
and I was immediately intrigued by SU’s work.
When the position of Retreat Coordinator came
up I couldn’t believe this was a real job it sounded
so exciting.
I believe God wants me here and I can’t wait to
see what he has planned. I am looking forward
to developing relationships with schools and
seeing how this will grow over time. We have
students come in with various grasps on faith
and contrasting views on it. From testimonies
to prayer spaces, talks to high ropes, from
debates to building fires and from small group
scenarios to team challenges, we are looking
forward to working alongside schools to tackle
issues that are ongoing in their lives and
communities.
We also want the retreats to be fun, engaging
and a place they feel accepted and safe.
I have the pleasure of working with various
volunteers who give up evenings and whole
days to share their stories with students. This
humbles me that SU has so many young
people open and willing to share what their
faith means to them. We hope to be able to
support them too in developing their faith.
God has placed the scripture ‘Be still and
know that I am God’ on my heart and I think
this is something we would love students to
take from our retreats.
Meet
Darren
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