The YCW recently attended a local youth ministry training day as part of Salford Diocese’s “Hope in the Future” programme. The day was aimed at providing the skills and knowledge to assist parishioners to take on roles in their parishes around the formation of young people.
It began by looking at the current work being undertaken throughout the Diocese, both at a local Parish and wider Diocesan level. Some examples of this included the new Confirmation programme being developed, the Faith In Action Awards and plans for a youth pilgrimage along the Camino.
This was followed by a fantastic presentation on the recent Youth Synod and some of its outcome by Chris Knowles, who heads up a new group called Synod Fruits. One important outcome was the release of Christus Vivit, in which Pope Francis calls on the Church to make young people the “now” of God and support them to become leaders in both the Church and the World.
Following these presentations, there were a series of workshops on different aspects of youth ministry. One of the workshops was led by our very own Ramsbottom IMPACT Group. The young people explained how they came about, how they functioned and what sort of impact they are making - including lots of great examples of actions they have taken.
In the Q&A they outlined how they had connected more as a Group by working through the YCW Method, Friendship Circle and Review of Life, and how they felt more confidence to become leaders. By growing in awareness of the world around them and the message of the Gospel, they had achieved a huge amount.
There was also the opportunity for the YCW National President, Marc Besford, to speak to those in attendance at our YCW stall. He said: “There was a lot of interest in what we do and in our new Leadership Programme, so we hope to build on this in the coming weeks and months. It was also nice to see so many past members come up and share their fond memories of the YCW.”
