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The Diocese of Portsmouth covers Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, the Channel Isles and parts of Berkshire, Dorset and Oxfordshire

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Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth

 

 Youth News Archive

Walk the World!

 

Receive the Gift - Day for Confirmation Catechists 

 

 		  

Latest Youth News - June 2010 

National Congress for Youth Leaders

YCW—Get Fair Campaign

 World Youth Day logo revealed

  

News Sites

Walk the World! - Saturday 28th August

An opportunity for young people (and not so young!) to walk (approx 8 miles) and raise funds for World Youth Day and CAFOD around Stubbington and Lee-on-the-Solent along the South Coast.

The walk should be suitable for all and is approximately 8 miles along flat terrain and follows a circular route.

The day will start with a short liturgy and there will be checkpoints along the route to reflect on the work of CAFOD and the message for World Youth Day.

  • Start:   Immaculate Conception, Bells Lane, Stubbington. PO14 2PL
  • Lunch: St John the Evangelist Church, South Parade, Lee-on-the-Solent
  • Finish: Immaculate Conception, Bells Lane, Stubbington. PO14 2PL

You can choose to raise money for World Youth Day or for CAFOD.

Please register by August 16th.

For further details and to register your group of young people contact Dave dhill@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk

Receive the Gift - Day for Confirmation Catechists 

An opportunity to look at how we help our young people prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

We will focus on prayer, the use of scripture and music and liturgy, as well as what to do post-confirmation. The day will be an opportunity to meet with other confirmation catechists and to share good practice.

Saturday 16th October

St Swithun Wells Primary School, Hillcrest Ave, Chandlers Ford,

SO53 2JP

10.00 am - 4.00 pm

Refreshments provided—Bring a Packed Lunch

To book a place contact Eileen Stephenson on or email estephenson@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk

 CAFOD World Cup Resources

CAFOD have produced ten easy-to-use activities for young people in youth groups and schools exploring global justice aspects of the World Cup and how football is used in CAFOD's work around the world.

 There is an interactive quiz and images to use in an act of worship. For further details go to www.cafod.org.uk/youth-leaders/sports

 

Around the Diocese

We are in the middle of the Confirmation season and Bishop Crispian is travelling around the Diocese celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation. Please remember all the candidates and their families at this time. A number of youth groups have started up in the last year and are flourishing, these include Park Gate, St James’ Reading, St Edmund Campion Maidenhead.
Peter McGeady has taken up his post of Youth Development Leader for Young Catholics SouTH (covering the Three Rivers, Hampshire Downs and the two Southampton Pastoral Areas). He has gathered youth leaders together to share what is happening in the various parishes as well as starting to plan for the future. He has set up a blog http://youngcatholicssouth.blogspot.com  
 
The Portsmouth Youth Justice and Peace group have been working hard in preparing for the Summer Fayre at the Cathedral.
 
Let me know what is happening in your parish/pastoral area and I will share it in Youth News.

 National Congress for Catholics working with young people

More than 1000 youth leaders, chaplains, teachers, priests and religious gathered in London this weekend for the first national Congress for youth leaders spearheaded by CYMFed - the new Catholic Youth Ministry Federation for England and Wales.

Speakers included Fr Timothy Radcliffe, Abbot Christopher Jamison and Bob and Maggie McCarty (the husband and wife team working in Youth Ministry in America for many years at a senior level).  Archbishop Vincent Nichols gave the closing exhortation within the final liturgy.

The McCartys called upon the packed Congress to be Jesus to the young Church and asked the youth leaders to think on: 'Are we more compassionate? Are we more loving? Are we more peaceful? Are we more courageous?  Be not afraid - I am with you'.  'Connect young people to the faith community. Help the young Church encounter Jesus'.

Fr Timothy Radcliffe addressed the theme of hope: "The older people need to give hope to the young, by believing in their future. And the young give hope to older people, because they are the future."

"My hope is that you will be bearers of hope. The future may look bleak. We may wonder where on earth we are headed. Each of us will live through moments of crisis when the future seems unsure. But every Eucharist we remember the moment when there seemed to be no future except the cross, when it all seemed over, and then Jesus made this extraordinary act of generosity and hope. And so we need never be afraid. We can share our hope with each other."

In the Q&A Abbot Christopher Jamison spoke about the need for 'evangelisation by contemplation, not evangelisation by amplification'. 'Spend time in silence yourself.  Eventually you will really want to go there.  You can offer the integrity of your own silence to other people.'

In his closing exhortation, Archbishop Vincent Nichols said: "This is a day to make us proud - to restore flagging spirits."

The conference also saw the launch of 'Mapping the Terrain - Discovering the reality of Young Catholics' a new CYMFed publication which 'maps the terrain the world that young Catholics inhabit.' See:
www.cymfed.org/CYMFEDresearchMAPPINGTHETERRAIN.pdf

The key message of the Congress was that we will find most hope in Youth Ministry when we work together - the best Youth Ministry is where young people are offered a variety of approaches to live the Gospel message and to deepen faith, including social action and service, time to be together, and time to contemplate through meditation and Eucharistic Adoration. CYMFed has achieved the bringing together of many different voices within Youth Ministry and offers real hope for the future.
 
Anne Ishikawa shares her thoughts on the day here.
To see the  McCartys' full powerpoint presentation click on: bit.ly/bOLFim
To read Fr Timothy Radcliffe's talk see: www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=15737
For photos of the day, click here.

 

 YCW—Get Fair Campaign

 Young Christian Workers (YCW) are part of a campaign to highlight Youth Poverty in the UK.

The YCW’s main concern is that, by the government’s own measure, 28% of 16-24 year olds live in poverty in the UK. Furthermore, the campaign claims, over a third of young full time workers do not earn a living wage, and 1-in-5 cannot afford the leisure activities that most people would take for granted. As such, the leisure industry is pricing the poorest in society out of the market.  Worse still, housing costs are forcing people into overcrowded accommodation, now numbering 300,000 young people, 60,000 becoming ‘sofa-surfers’, travelling from one sofa to another.  

The YCW is now extending the campaign to seek support from young people to lobby their own MPs directly, local leaders, church leaders and their friends and colleagues, establishing a broad-based support to seek to eradicate all UK poverty by 2020. Postcards and information are available from YCW (getfair@ycwimpact.com).  They have produced resources for three sessions: Looking at seeing the reality of UK poverty; What do we think about UK poverty and Acting together against poverty, as well as a sets of 5 postcards. These are available by contacting YCW by email or by phone  020 8203 6290  020 8203 6290 .
You can read an article from Danny Curtin, YCW President on the problems facing Young people, ‘Nobody wants to give me a chance' here: 
 
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World Youth Day logo revealed 

 Madrid 2011

The logo for World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid was presented today: The image reflects youth of the world beneath the cross, united to form the crown of Our Lady, patron of Madrid.

The upcoming World Youth Day is scheduled for Aug. 16-21, 2011.

The logo designer, José Gil-Nogués, explained that the image symbolizes “youth of the whole world united to celebrate their faith together with the Pope, at the foot of the cross, and they form the crown of Our Lady of Almudena, patron of Madrid.”

The crown, Gil-Nogués added, forms the “M” of Mary and of Madrid. And the cross, symbol of Christianity, presides over the event.

The message of the logo, the designer continued, is “a catechesis, an opportunity for evangelization: The quick and sure path to reach Christ is the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of mankind. In Mary’s faith, youth have the example and model for reaching Christ and fulfilling the primary goal of World Youth Day: to bring their message to the world.”

“The logo has a firm and spontaneous stroke,” Gil-Nogués suggested, “like youth of the 21st century. It is close, friendly, open. Joyful, carefree and positive.”

“The use of a palette of warm colors — red, orange and yellow — transmits unmistakable warmth and friendliness, symbols of the identity of a city like Madrid, a nation like Spain. These colors also reflect the ‘divine warmth’ of Trinitarian Love.”

The logo was selected after a competition among professional graphic designers.

MADRID, Spain, JULY 30, 2009 (Zenit.org)

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