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The Big Free Rally is taking place on Saturday 1^st October at Smithton Free Church in Inverness.

The event, which is open to everyone in P5 up to S6, is a chance for young people to reunite with friends made at camp, although you don’t need to have been to camp to come to the Rally.

The title for the rally is Being Real. Rev. Ben Fiddian will be speaking on the theme of integrity. The hosts will be Sheona Forbes and Euan MacDonald.

Games, talks, a quiz, prayer and praise will take place throughout the day.

(Booking form now closed.)

Allocation is now well under way! Everyone who registered before the 31^st January should have received an email confirming whether or not they got a space at FCYC 2022. Please do check your junk mail if you haven’t received anything and get in touch with us.

We are delighted to announce that after receiving almost double the registrations as there were spaces at Oswestry Seniors we will be running an additional Oswestry Seniors camp this summer – as well as the Renfrew Seniors Camp. Oswestry Seniors 2 will be led by Carina Maciver and Ally Macleod and will be from Friday 15^th – Saturday 23^rd July. Places were allocated between these two Oswestry camps based on random ballot, as per FCYC protocol. Everyone should have heard back by now as to which camp they are being offered a space at.  If the allocation doesn’t suit you, there are spaces still available at Renfrew Seniors, 23^rd – 30^th July.

This decision was taken alongside the difficult decision to cancel our EQUIP camp for 18-21 year olds. Due to a very low number of registrations we felt it best to cancel Equip in order to accommodate the second Oswestry Seniors camp.

If you haven’t yet applied for FCYC 2022 don’t worry – there’s still time! We’ve still got some spaces available at the following camps and would love to see you there:

• Renfrew Kids, 9^th – 16^th July
• Junior Football, 2^nd – 9^th July
• Oswestry Juniors, 15^th – 23^rd July
• Renfrew Juniors, 16^th – 23^rd July
• Scaladale Outdoor Adventure, 30^th July – 6^th August
• Renfrew Seniors, 23^rd – 30^th July

All spaces will now be allocated on a first come first served basis so register ASAP for your best chance!

Allocation day is fast approaching! On Monday 31st January we will start allocating spaces to campers for FCYC 2022. Please be patient as this can take a couple of weeks to finalise all the details. You should hear back with confirmation of whether or not you’ve got a space by the middle of February.

To make the allocation process as fair as possible, everyone who registers before the 31st January will have an equal chance of getting onto their first choice of camp. If a camp is oversubscribed then there will be a draw of the registration forms which have been submitted by the allocation date, and places are allocated according to this draw. Any remaining registration forms are transferred to a waiting list for that camp. Anyone that doesn’t get a place on their first choice of camp will be offered, where possible, a spot on their second choice of camp.

Any registrations received on/after allocation day (Mon 31st Jan) will be treated on a first come first served basis. This means that if spaces are available at your choice of camp you will be allocated one. However, if a camp is full you will be added to a waiting list or offered, where possible, a place on your second choice of camp.

So, for your best shot at getting a space on your first choice of camp register before Monday 31st January!

There’s a new face on team FCYC – Mairi Beaton!

“We are delighted and thankful to have Mairi in post and already moving forward as the camps programme and registration forms for next year go live. Please pray for FCYC and Mairi as we work through these complex times in planning next years camps.”

Donald A Macleod, FCYC Supervisor.

Here’s a little about Mairi and what she’s looking forward to:

“Born and brought up in Oban, I’m a west coast girl at heart and have spent the last few years living in Glasgow working on kids TV shows but now I’m taking on the challenge of coordinating the Free Church Youth Camps. We’ve got a phenomenal programme planned for 2022 with action packed weeks happening in Scaladale, Renfrew, Kincraig and Oswestry. It’s going to be a summer to remember – I hope you’re all as excited as I am!”

If you’ve got any camp related questions or queries please do get in touch with Mairi on camps@freechurch.org

The Big Free Rally took place on Saturday 25th September in churches and homes across the country.

This year, rather than all gather together in Inverness, young people, parents and youth leaders were invited to organise local get-togethers where young people could watch the videos which had been prepared by the BFR Committee. Some got together beforehand for pizza, some for games, and a group in Edinburgh even ventured to Ninja Warrior before heading back to St. Columba’s Free Church hall to watch the Big Free Rally.

The two videos, one for those in P5-P7 and one for those in S1-S6, each lasted around an hour, and featured a collection of short videos. The BFR Committee would like to thank everyone who contributed to the videos, which included talks from Andy Robertson and Ciarán Kelleher, testimonies from Kirsty Macleod, Euan Macdonald and Eilidh Talbot, information from missionaries Marsali Campbell and Suraj Kasula, and some videos made by some of our FCYC Leaders. There was also a video explaining what happened during the week of Connect this summer, and a video about next year’s camps!

The videos are available on our FCYC YouTube Channel, and time codes are given underneath to make it easier to view a particular video.

The committee would also like to give a huge thank you to Calum Macdonald and to Kirsten Speirs for all their technical help in putting these videos together. It is our prayer that God would use them in the lives of many young people for His glory.

This year’s Big Free Rally theme is “running with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1) and, in the style of a classic relay race, we’re passing on the baton of getting young people together…

On the evening of Saturday 25th September we’ll be releasing a video for P5-P7 at 6pm, and another video for S1-S6 at 7pm. Each video will last around an hour, and will contain a mixture of talks, testimonies, messages from missionaries and a look at next year’s camps, along with a few surprises!

We’re asking parents, youth leaders and local churches whether they can organise a get-together for the young people in their area (within restrictions!), possibly including games or activities, and probably including food! Perhaps a picnic in the park? A pizza night? Games afternoon? BBQ? It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but we know how much young people love getting together and we hope that the BFR videos will give them a reason to do just that!

Even though we’re not able to have everyone together at Smithton this year, we hope that young people across the country will benefit from being able to meet up with other young people in their local area to spend time together and to watch the BFR video. Of course our videos will be available for young people to watch on their own, too! Head over to our Big Free Rally page to find out more.

We’re encouraging everyone to set aside some time this Sunday (13th June) to pray for the planning and preparation of FCYC Connect, which runs from the 12th – 16th July. 

Our three Connect events planned for this summer (Connect Kids for young people in P5-P7, Connect Juniors for young people in S1-S3 and Connect Seniors for young people in S4-S6) will allow young people from all over the country to meet up with each other and with some of the leaders from camp. 

Our Camps Coordinator, Kirsten Macdonald, explains: “We have a FCYC Prayer Day in June each year to encourage focused prayer across the denomination, and further afield, for the work we do each summer. This year, although things are a little different, we would really value prayer for our planned week of Zoom meetings – FCYC Connect.”

As is usual with FCYC, campers can expect crazy challenges, entertaining activities, and the opportunity to learn more about God and how He wants His followers to live their lives to the full.

Prayer Points:

• pray for inspiration and energy for the Connect leaders as they plan for the Kids, Juniors and Seniors events
• pray wisdom and insight for those giving talks and leading discussions
• pray that God would prepare the hearts of the young people who will be attending
• pray that the young people would be greatly blessed through meeting old friends, making new ones, and spending time with older Christians
• pray that the technology would work well with no glitches – everything is possible with God!

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we were unable to celebrate our 60th Anniversary as we’d have liked. As a result, we have a number of limited edition FCYC60 water bottles to give away!

The bottles hold 500ml, and the double-walled metal helps to keep drinks warmer or cooler for longer. The bottles have a screw-top lid to help stop spills, making them ideal for garden visits and walks!

To obtain one of our much-sought-after FCYC60 water bottles, all you need to do is complete this form by Saturday 12th June.

Bottles can be collected throughout July from one of our five designated pick-up points. Alternatively, you can choose to pay £4 per bottle to have them posted out.

There are a limited number of bottles in eight different colours. Bottles will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

If you require any further information just contact us.

This year it’s all about connecting!

FCYC Connect will be hitting screens all across the country this summer, bringing together young people and leaders for a week of crazy challenges, entertaining activities and the opportunity to learn more about God and how He wants us to live our lives to the full!

Taking place on Zoom each evening from Monday 12^th to Friday 16^th July, there will be three Connect events on offer:

• Connect Kids for those in P5-P7
• Connect Juniors for those in S1-S3
• Connect Seniors for those in S4-S6

For more information and to sign up, visit our FCYC Connect page!

It is with a ​great sense of sadness that we inform you that the Free Church has taken the decision to cancel this summer’s FCYC camps due to coronavirus.

We have been monitoring the situation very closely, seeking Government advice and consulting with partners. Over the past few weeks, the national and local picture has changed immensely. It is also now clear that whatever the situation is this summer there will still be significant restrictions in place which make it impossible for FCYC to plan and make arrangements for the usual summer camps programme.

FCYC would like to express a personal note of gratitude to all the leaders and cooks of the camps for their continued support and dedication to the young people of our church. FCYC have already begun the process of working with the ​team leaders to put together alternative plans for activities this summer​, where young people will be able to connect with others. Details of these exciting opportunities will be shared in the coming weeks.

These are unprecedented times. We are praying for the many who are affected in different ways during this crisis, and especially the youth of our church for whom we run the camps each summer. We would encourage you to join with us in praying that God would be at work in their lives. Please ​also pray for ​the other individuals and organisations who are adversely affected by this decision.

Once again, I would like to express our sadness in making this decision but we do believe this is the only appropriate course of action at this time.

Donald Macleod, FCYC Supervisor