Alone together #1: Our role and our ministry to young people at this time
This first session opened up our online conversations, exploring our current realities including our concerns, challenges, opportunities and ideas. Teachers, youth ministers, chaplains and clergy joined our discussions. Some highlights from the breakout groups and plenary sharing:
We were inspired by our young people who are showing leadership skills, especially in our online spaces during this time. The questions that arose saw us reflecting on how we support their energy and enthusiasm going forward.
We asked ‘How do we support the transition back to face to face youth work? What support might people need to do this?
What will we keep from this time when things go back to “normal”? How do we prepare our young people for the transition?
We also discussed the challenges we are currently facing. Participants commented on the fact that much of their current initiatives (e.g. providing online resources) doesn’t provide them with any immediate feedback, and as such they don’t know how things are landing. This being said, the feedback they are receiving is positive. Most people are noted the value of using this as a time for planning, reflecting, and building one to one relationships with priests and key volunteers. We ended the conversation looking to future sessions and discussed offering short content to inspire and aide our conversations and reflections.
Resources shared during this conversation:
Note: we collate all the resources shared on our resource page
Prayer/reflections:
Conversation #1 - opening reflection:(230 Christus Vivit A ‘Popular’ Youth Ministry)
In addition to the ordinary, well planned pastoral ministry that parishes and movements carry out….it is also important to allow room for a ‘popular’ youth ministry, with a different style, schedule, pace, and method. Broader and more flexible, it goes out to those places where young people are active, and fosters natural leadership qualities and charisms sown by the Holy Spirit’, it tries to avoid imposing obstacles, rules, controls, and obligatory structures on those young believers who are natural leaders in their settings and neighbourhoods. We need only to accompany and encourage them, trusting a little more in the genius of The Holy Spirit, who acts as he wills…Lord we pray you will give us courage, as St Therese of Lisieux, to have Holy Daring at this time of needing to find new ways of serving young people. May we seek simplicity in our life as disciples at this time.
Give us courage to explore new ways to reach out to our young people.
May we seek the genius of The Holy Spirit and we find new ways forward.
In the name of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
Alone Together: https://www.alonetogether.org.uk/
Pope Francis’ Meditation - Urbi-et-Orbi: https://rcadc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Urbi-et-Orbi-March-2020.pdf
Stations of the cross reflection: https://bcys.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Stations-of-the-Cross-with-reflections-on-the-CoronaVirus-pandemic.pdf
For young people:
CAFOD - Home Learning: https://bit.ly/39UqKdf
Children’s liturgy: https://bit.ly/39UqKdf
Mission Together : https://bit.ly/2Vf2LAf
Reflections and Lives from StudentCross: https://www.facebook.com/studentcross
Jesuit Missions - One in the risen Lord- Sunday Liturgies for young adults (18 – 35 Years): Register via email: yam@jesuit.org.uk
Youth for Christ: https://yfc.co.uk/together/
Nottingham Diocesan Catholic Youth Service YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP-_eQ-lNxAhDYRhy8KdP8Q
Explore ways to experience faith in at home (Archdiocese of Liverpool): https://thegodwhospeaks2020.org.uk/index.php/family-resources-2-2/
To support your work:
Million Minutes response to COVID-19: https://millionminutes.org/accompaniment
Forming Missionary Disciples - Mass streaming guide https://www.formingmissionarydisciples.org.uk/covid19
Brentwood Catholic youth services live streams: https://bcys.net/
Catholic Bishops Conference - Prayer and worship at home: https://www.cbcew.org.uk
Palm Sunday prayer walk (Diocese of Birmingham): https://www.birminghamdiocese.org.uk/news/take-a-palm-sunday-prayer-walk
Stations of the cross: https://www.birminghamdiocese.org.uk/Event/stations-of-the-cross-on-premier-christian-radio
Archbishop Johns meditation series (Southwark diocese): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr5pOWykDRh4v042c7n_vYA /
Sunday Worship - Walking alongside Jesus: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000h28l
Faith leaders on prayer and worship during the pandemic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoVD2pegDJA
Bishops Richards Holy Week podcast series (Diocese of Arundel and Brighton): https://www.dabnet.org/News/View/316 #
Christ is Alive Chapter 6 Audiobook: https://soundcloud.com/catholicchurch/christ-is-alive-chapter-6?in=catholicchurch%2Fsets%2Fchristus-vivit&fbclid=IwAR2JsFR0B6BSVxpLcdSxv5cElu54qJTZ3uJTCmtDg27K3-vJ36n7LVg4500
Safeguarding: Example of Staying safe online with young people: https://bit.ly/2Xiy9R1
Other ideas: Create a prayer wall through the app Padlet
Create a virtual chapel (Diocese of East Anglia): https://www.rcdea.org.uk/family-in-bungay-creates-virtual-chapel-to-attend-mass/
Create a mini Holy Week retreat (Diocese of Middlesborough): https://middlesbrough-diocese.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/MiniHolyWeekRetreat2020-1.pdf
For more details on our next conversations and to register please visit: millionminutes.org/conversations