As we reach the end of 2021, here is our review of the year, including a message from Daisy (CEO) and Danny (Founder), a summary of our key achievements over the past 12 months, and a look forward to plans for 2022.
A Message from Daisy (CEO) and Danny (Founder)
Dear Friends,
What a 12 months it has been! Despite the news of growing Omicron cases, it feels important to remember how far we have come since December 2020. Just 12 months ago we were yet to receive vaccinations, and we were facing a Christmas where we knew for sure we wouldn't be able to see our loved ones. And young people were in the thick of a very difficult time: virtual studies leading to an exposure of both digital and food poverty. This Christmas, while still uncertain, feels a great deal more hopeful than this time last year.
Young people face a difficult future, now more than ever. They remain the age group most likely to be adversely affected by job cuts as a result of the pandemic, and psychological difficulty as a result of the tremendous upheaval they have faced. The economic outlook for young people remains uncertain.
For Million Minutes' part, we are so very grateful to every person who has supported our work. Whether through a donation, or by volunteering your time in our Beacon Parish Scheme; whether by nominating young people for an award in recognition of social action in your community, or engaging in our trainings and webinars; whether you joined us in our 10 year anniversary celebrations; or engaged with SiLENT 2021, raising money for our social action grants; whether encouraging young people to apply for one of our social action grants, volunteering your time as part of our nation-wide accompaniment research or sharing news of our work on social media; you have all, in one way or another, supported the cause of getting young people noticed and appreciated, both in our Church and in society.
We know now more than ever that our work is needed. As schools seek to make sense of the difficult world young people are facing, sharing the universal principles of Catholic Social Teaching and recognition of young people's efforts has never felt more relevant. At a time when parishes wonder who will return in a 'Covid-normal' world, and how best to serve a society facing significant upheaval, youth-centered parish renewal efforts which actively place young people at the heart of communities is crucial. And, as our Church enters into synodal conversations, our questions asking who feels welcome in Catholic communities and who does not feels more important than ever, as we seek a future for the Church that is hopeful, optimistic and full of all of the diverse gifts our community has. We are very proud of the work Million Minutes has achieved in the last 12 months, which is summarised below.
We conclude with the words of the Holy Father in his encyclical Christus Vivit:
Dear young people, my joyful hope is to see you keep running the race before you, outstripping all those who are slow or fearful. Keep running ... May the Holy Spirit urge you on as you run this race. The Church needs your momentum, your intuitions, your faith. We need them! And when you arrive where we have not yet reached, have the patience to wait for us.
May our young people keep supporting us with all their momentum, intuitions and faith, and may we continue to trust all the wonderful gifts they bring.
We hope you enjoy our short summary of our work - and if you like what you see, and feel able to do so, perhaps you might consider a small donation to keep our work on track.
With every blessing for a peaceful Christmas and a hopeful New Year,
Daisy Srblin, CEO, & Danny Curtin, Founder
Million Minutes’ Key Achievements in 2021
Celebrating Ten Years!
We kicked off the year celebrating our ten year anniversary on the Feast of St John Bosco. To celebrate our launch ten years ago, our founders gathered online to host a lockdown-special celebration.
Launch of the 'Beacon Parish Scheme'
We have designed, recruited for, and have started delivering a model of what we believe will be the 'gold standard' of Catholic youth ministry in parish settings in England and Wales - a programme that puts the people of the parish and the community of youth at the forefront of its growth, and keeps in mind the community outside the restrictions of parish walls.
Six parishes have signed up in 2021 across Liverpool, East Anglia, Clifton, Leeds and Shrewsbury Dioceses, and at least two more have signed up for 2022!
The Difference Grant-Giving Makes
During SiLENT 2021, our supporters, including schools and retreat centres raised almost £5000 to go directly back into the youth social action grant-giving arm of our work, funding genuine youth-led projects. Those sponsored silence fundraisers also helped create space for us all to reflect on silenced young people around the country.
Supporting Young People to Grow as Local Catholic Leaders
We have a group of 13 young adult 'alumni' (previous CYPA winners) who met eight times over 2020 and 2021, to discuss contemporary issues of importance such as racial inequality and child food poverty.
Since December 2020, we have issued eight youth-led grants, and and 10 'Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati' Local Awards, recognising the incredible work of young people during the pandemic. We look forward to re-establishing the Celebrating Young People Award sin Spring / Summer 2022.
Exploring the Perceived 'Peripheries' of the Church
We have made a mark on some important perceived 'peripheries' for the Church, including pastoral accompaniment to LGBT+ young adults in Catholic settings.
In December 2021, we organised a webinar exploring the experiences of young women in the Catholic Church, and the way in which the Church can better minister to them and the challenges in their lives. Dr Sr Gemma Simmonds CJ led a keynote on the topic, with further discussion from four more guest speakers, including young women themselves.
Sharing our Vision
We continue to promote and expand awareness of the Christus Vivit mission across England and Wales, and at all levels of Catholic hierarchies, and even beyond Catholic communities. We have developed concrete means of Catholic communities developing youth ministry, including through self-directing resources, multimedia outputs, and training.
This has included:
Over 70 attendees from over 30 parishes across England and Wales attending our 'Beacon Parish' open day in January 2021
Over 70 participants signing up to our Spring 2021 training
40 participants signing up for our Autumn conversations
Over 150 members joining the Million Minutes / Catholic Youth Ministry Federation Facebook group for Catholic Youth Ministers in England and Wales
A number of invitations to Catechists Days, Diocesan presentations, Caritas meetings, Justice & Peace fora, and other external events (if you'd like Million Minutes to visit your community, drop us a line!)
Speaking Up for Youth Ministry & Young People
We have been working to strengthen Million Minutes so that our work may continue for years to come. To this end, Million Minutes has joined both the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation in England and Wales (CYMFed) and the Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN), which has helped to widen the remit of our work at a national scale.
In Summer 2021, we welcomed Beth Warren as our new Senior Parish Engagement Officer, and over the course of 2021 we have welcomed four Trustees on to our Board.
Our social media profile continues to grow. Over 2021, we have had over 200 new Twitter followers, 100+ new Facebook likes, 150+ Instagram followers, and 200+ LinkedIn followers. Our website has received almost 10,000 unique visitors this year alone, and over 26,000 page views.
Proximity: A Research Project on Accompaniment
Accompaniment is the central pastoral strategy offered by Pope Francis. It has also been at the heart of Million Minutes' approach for the last decade. So we were delighted to launch Proximity, a process of learning and development into the art of accompaniment. This project enjoys support from the Benedictines, the Jesuits, and dioceses and organisations.
2022 and Beyond!
Applications Open for a New Team Member!
We are very excited to be welcoming applications for a new post Project Worker (Catholic Social Teaching) - more info here. Deadline is the first week of January, and the role may suit young adults who are at the start of their professional journeys!
This new team member will be able to work directly with schools, partly to promote our Awards, but also to promote awareness of and engagement with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. We are very much looking forward to being able to accompany schools more closely next year.
Continuing to Grow our Work
Our Beacon Parish Scheme will enter another year, with an additional five parishes (at least) will be selected to join the programme, free of charge.
We hope to continue our suite of external events, exploring racial justice and the important role that people of colour play in the Catholic Church.
We hope to raise a significant amount in SiLENT 2022, to further develop our grant-giving arm. We will also finally be hosting an in person Celebrating Young People Awards for the first time in three years.
Our work promoting the vision of an open youth ministry at every level throughout the Church will continue apace: including through our submission to the synodal process, which will be compiled by gathering a group of young people with whom we work, and exploring the key synod questions with them in January 2022. If you'd like to join this young adults synod group, do email us on info@millionminutes.org
Donate to our Work, if you're able
This is just a flavour of the work we've done this year - get in touch with us on info@millionminutes.org if you'd like some more detail.
And if you're able and willing, perhaps you might consider donating to our work to allow us to continue reaching communities that need it in 2022