I'm not long back into my room from the Downes Oratory Prize. Each year, a prize is offered to one person in each year group on the basis of public speaking on a topic of spiritual and moral interest. Last year, the format was a preaching competition - ten minutes to prepare a sermon from a text chosen from a selection suggested by the panel, then eight minutes to preach the message.
This year, the Downes Prize took the form of a Debate. Or rather, three debates. Our year was the least represented, with just Stephen and myself volunteering. And so it came to pass that I was debating for, and Stephen against: 'This house believes that the McDonaldisation of the world is destroying God's creation.'
Interestingly, I carried the motion, but Stephen carried the prize! But he was indeed masterful, with an angle on the debate that I could not have anticipated, and was unable to attack! So well done Stephen on your Downes triumph - it'll be something to put in your entry in the Church of Ireland Directory in years to come!
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