From Silence to Action: Young People Act Loud for Change this Lent

This year Million Minutes ran SiLENT 2025, our Lent fundraising campaign. However, we wanted to introduce something new. We wanted to really empower participants to turn those moments of silent reflection and prayer into action: so we introduced ActLoud.

The enthusiastic response to this new element of the campaign has been amazing to see, so we wanted to use this post to highlight some of the impressive stories we have heard about what young people have been up to and how they have gotten involved in their communities - embracing silence and acting loud. 

Action Impact Youth Group of St Bede's Catholic High School, Lytham St Annes

St Bede’s Catholic High School committed themselves to ActLoud, where they worked with the Salvation Army in Blackpool, providing them with a donation of £300 for the Bridge Project, which feeds vulnerable people at lunchtime; they also donated a further £100 towards providing Easter eggs for disadvantaged children.

This fundraising was carried out by a group of Year 8 students, as part of an youth-led inter-faith project from St Bede's working with support from the Sisters of St Joseph of the Peace based in Nottingham.

Romero Impact Youth Group of Our Lady's Catholic High School, Preston

Year 8 students of the Romero Impact Youth Group, with the help of School Chaplain Sarah Lee, were inspired to organise a cake sale in school to raise funds for the Salvation Army Foodbank in Preston to support vulnerable families, and provide Easter eggs for disadvantaged children.

The youth group alongside Year 9 students also visit a Community Care Home project every two weeks, talking and playing games with the care home's residents.

Students of McAuley Catholic High School, Doncaster

Students in the upper school have taken part in SiLENT in various ways, including: having silent form prayer on Friday mornings, handing their phones to the Chaplain for the day, and some have even pledged their own personal silence.

Meanwhile, for Act Loud, both the lower and upper school have: gotten involved in litter-picking on the school's grounds, building a "kindness wall" with messages of hope, as well as raising awareness of social justice issues during assembly time.

The SiLENT 2025 campaign has truly been a beacon of inspiration, showcasing the power of silence and action in creating meaningful change. The creativity and dedication of young people from across these schools have been nothing short of remarkable. 

A heartfelt thank you goes out to all who have donated, participated, and supported SiLENT 2025. Your contributions have not only helped amplify the voices of young people but have also created ripples of hope and justice in communities far and wide. Together, you've made this campaign extraordinary.

Here's to continuing the journey of silence, reflection, and action in the years to come!

Beth shares her experience of Silence

“My experience of SiLENT goes so much further than these 24 hours – this reflection can be carried through the rest of Lent and beyond. Taking time in conversation to hold my own tongue, and instead, consciously take the time and effort to listen to the voices of those who are not heard loudly enough, or frequently enough.”

At the beginning of March, I spent 24 hours without my voice to be in solidarity with young people around the world whose voices are not heard, raising sponsorship for the work of Million Minutes. 

Those 24 hours have given me space to reflect and be an active listener to those around me. It has been a very real challenge for me, and a challenge that I haven’t battled easily. With only one or two minor slip-ups, each interaction with other people presented me with a choice. A choice of whether I would put the energy and effort into playing charades to communicate with them, or if I would just pass up the opportunity to communicate entirely. 

Those who know me, especially my family, were fairly skeptical if I would ‘survive’ the full 24 hours – they thought that I wouldn’t be able to last without sharing my opinion with at least one other person at some point in the day. This was my first point of reflection – do I speak more than I listen? Am I always quick to share my own thoughts before waiting and listening to the voice of others? 
I made a conscious effort that my silence wouldn’t silence others – rather I would listen to them speak – but this was difficult when I couldn’t begin a conversation with them. But my experience of SiLENT goes so much further than these 24 hours – this reflection can be carried through the rest of Lent and beyond. Taking time in conversation to hold my own tongue, and instead, consciously take the time and effort to listen to the voices of those who are not heard loudly enough, or frequently enough.  

While having dinner with my fiancé on Monday evening, he essentially had a one-sided conversation, sharing with me about his day. He asked about mine, and I went to some great effort playing charades for him to guess how my day had been spent – which was nothing exciting or out of the ordinary – but it turned into this huge game. Through the means of waving my arms around and pointing at things, I only focused on the physical actions I had taken, rather than how I was feeling – if I had focused on that, my actions would not have been as funny or wild. A mere twelve hours into my silence, I was feeling quite alone and isolated. While I know that my silence will end soon, this was the first time that I wasn’t able to share how I feel with the person that I am closest to. In these days where the world is terrifying and heart-breaking, leaning on someone that you love makes the weight of anxiety easier to bear. I feel for the people in the world, especially those in Ukraine, who are terrified, anxious, and alone.  

Increasingly, we are becoming aware of the severity of our own mental wellbeing and the effect that a lack of self-care can have on our personal welfare. It can be difficult to reach out for support when we need it, as sometimes being vulnerable affects us in a much greater way. My time in silence this week brought back memories of a time when I couldn’t bring myself to share my thoughts and feelings. It was a stark reminder of how far I had come, and those who had helped me reach this point in my growth. Having this gentle reminder has brought to the forefront how crucial it is to check in with those around me who may be struggling, reaching out that hand of support, to let them know that there is a safe support system around them whenever they may need it.  

This Lent, in fact, this year, I urge each person that reads this reflection takes a moment to consider how important your role is within this world. Understand the impact that your voice has; on yourself, on the people around you, in the Church, and in the world.  

How to run siLENT in your parish

This year Lent looks a little different, but that doesn’t stop us connecting with our parishioners online. Here are four things you can do to share Million Minutes siLENT in your parish today.

1. Place a notice in the parish newsletter

Place a notice about siLENT in the parish newsletter for two or three weeks in a row, to make sure that parishioners who miss looking at the newsletter one week might see it the next week.

Download our Parish Appeal pack

2. Mention siLENT during Online Mass

Ask your priest to mention siLENT during Masses on the weekends of 27/28 February and 6/7 March, so that more people might hear about it and to remind parishioners that they can give online.

3. Post our stories of change story on social media

Ask your parish Facebook administrator to place posts on your Facebook page to let people know about Shanea’s story, and invite parishioners to give to the Lent appeal, using these special parish resources on our website.

Explore our siLENT resources for Lent

4. Share the siLENT video

Ask if Million Minutes 10 years of deafening silence video could be placed on your parish website and on the Facebook page. If your parish livestreams Mass you could also ask if the Million Minutes video can be played at the end of Mass or a donation link placed on the stream platform.

 To find out how you as a Parish can get involved in siLENT today visit: https://millionminutes.org/silent
Contact our Engagement Officer Kate if you have any questions.