The Archdiocese of Melbourne is home to many youth groups and organisations. Each month we profile a group to find out what makes them tick! You might learn a few things for your own youth group to use...
+ On Sunday 5th June, a World Youth Day 2008 (WYD08) reunion was held at St Anthony's Church in Glen Huntly. It was a momentous occasion as past pilgrims, host families and all those who helped in the Days in the Diocese in Melbourne came together once again. On Sunday 5th June, a World Youth Day 2008 (WYD08) reunion was held at St Anthony's Church in Glen Huntly. It was a momentous occasion as past pilgrims, host families and all those who helped in the Days in the Diocese in Melbourne came together once again.
Mass began at 5pm, celebrated by Fr Gerard Diamond and the church choir provided the music. At the beginning of Mass, the WYD08 candle was lit by Vincent Stefano (past and future pilgrim) and two banners were hung on each side of the church. One banner was given to us by the Diocese of Ferns (Wexford) who sent us 100 Irish pilgrims during the Days in the Diocese and the other had handprints of all the Irish and Melbourne pilgrims. During Mass, we remembered all our International pilgrims that came and prayed for those who are going to Madrid.
Although it wasn't planned as such to coincide with the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord, we were pleasantly surprised when the first reading was read, as it reminded us about the theme of WYD08, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:8). When Raphael Wong sang the WYD08 song and I believe that many of us were taken back in time and had a few tears in our eyes. At the end of Mass, Tanya Madhusudan (past and future pilgrim) lit the WYD11 candle and we prayed the WYD11 Prayer. All throughout Mass we had past and future pilgrims involved in the Liturgy. It was definitely great to see everyone again.
After Mass, we adjourned to The Glen (our Youth centre) and a slideshow of photos was played and bringing back many memories. A short quiz and a few prizes made up of tuna cans, baked beans and fruit cups were a hit as I don't think that any of us have had any tinned food since the overload at WYD08. Fr Gerard Diamond was invited to say grace and we had homemade soup, quiche and loads of fruit and dessert. The night was filled with recollections of two minute showers, sleeping on hard wooden floors, walking across the harbour bridge and the overnight sleepout at Randwick.
Looking back at the three years that have passed since WYD08 in Sydney, was that the end? Were there fruits?
If we look around our parish, some are easily seen, such as the involvement of those same young pilgrims in the life of the parish: active involvement in Sunday Mass, Youth Group, Tony's Café and Christmas Dinner. Some have also attended Archdiocesan events and one has participated as a youth member in the National Evangelisation Team (NET). These are visible signs of a deeper spirituality. So let us thank God for these developments and ask his blessing on Cindy Tan, Tanya Madhusudan, Roger Pereira and Vincent Stefano, the four young people who will be going to WYD Madrid this year.
Written by: Charmaine Loke and Veronica Blair
OLCK Youth (a mix of youth from the parishes of Our Lady's Maidstone and Christ the King Braybrook) formed in late 2007 when a young seminarian had the idea of starting something for young people in the parish. Since then (through the work of some very committed leaders) OLCK Youth has become a place of friendship, fun and faith!
Now in their fourth year as a group, youth leader William Chu shares how they went through some ups and downs trying to find the right balance of things when running a fruitful youth group. It hasn't been an easy task. Through trial and error, the leaders of OLCK Youth recognised the need for a balance of: exploring and nurturing faith, socialising and forming community, learning about all elements of Christian life and incorporating all of these into our day to day lives.
William shared what drives him and other leaders to keep the youth group going. ‘Young people go to church for some reason. There is something keeping them there. So, our youth group works on that, helping young people discover the reason why they are there and developing it and bringing them closer to their faith.’
Just recently, OLCK Youth ran the Prepare the Way Lenten resource that was released by the AOY. We asked how it went and they reported it ran with flying colours, saying it was a great way to get more from their Lenten experience. The leaders were full of initiative when they adapted the program to their group by adding two great new components to the existing program, adding a priest’s reflections on the Gospel in a homily/Q&A style forum and during the personal reflection time, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed so that group members could reflect with Jesus there with them!
We keep the OLCK Youth in our prayers as they continue to strengthen their Christian community and we especially pray for their four members who are venturing to Madrid for World Youth Day this August!
-------- If you are a youth group leader that ran Prepare the Way we would be super grateful if you gave some us feedback -- what did you think? Did it work in your group? Did you mix it up like the OLCK crew did? Share your feedback at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5RKK5H6
-------- If you live around the Braybrook/Maidstone area and want to get involved with the youth activities simply shoot William an email at olckyouth@yahoo.com.au to get yourself connected!
Walk into the Melbourne Uni Chaplaincy on a Friday night and prepare to be greeted with a warm, friendly atmosphere of young people. Catholic Overseas Students Down Under, or "Cosdu", is a mix of past and present Melbourne Uni students, who get together on a regular basis to share and explore their faith.
The group is widely represented, with young people from countries across Asia - (Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines), and South America (Venezuela, Colombia). For its members, COSDU has become "home away from home" - a place to come share their faith with peers.
After speaking to some of the group leaders, you get the feeling that COSDU is really something more than just your regular 'youth group'. One of the members, Jessica Tan, has said that "Come to think of it, ever since I came to Melbourne, COSDU has become 'my Melbourne'".
Just one of their activities is a Friday night session at the Melbourne Uni Chaplaincy office (just off Lygon St), where the group gets together to enjoy a lively time of praise and worship and listen to a guest speaker. Students also attend monthly masses together and with so many talented musicians in the group, they also help organise music a monthly Youth Mass at All Saints Parish in Fitzroy.
One of their major events for COSDU is the annual Easter camp, which this year will be hosted at Wesley Camp Point. The camp includes a Stations of the Cross, Easter Vigil, games, reflections and more.
For more information about COSDU or to attend their events, visit their blog: www.cosdu.blogspot.com or email cosdu.melbuni@gmail.com.
As part of the Archdiocese’s commitment to youth ministry, Melbourne hosts a National Evangelisation Team (NET), a group of young people from Australia and overseas who have chosen to take a gap year to go on mission. This year's team includes three young people from Queensland (Dominic, Adrian and Catherine) and one from Canada (Emily). The NET team members are a fantastic witness to young people in Melbourne. They are young, vibrant, full of enthusiasm and vitality. The team receive training by NET Ministries, learning how to develop talks, testimonies and presentations for youth audiences. The NET team is a wonderful opportunity for youth to hear from and be inspired by their peers talking about their faith and its impact on their lives.
A typical day for us involves being up and ready by 6am, have breakfast then head off to a retreat at a school (or parish). The retreat usually starts at 9am, and then it's go-go-go, as we lead games, talks, dramas, skits, prayer time, and a closing session with our retreat participants. Once a week we do a bible study in the afternoon, then head home to prepare dinner and enjoy a meal together. At 8pm, we have what's called 'sisterhood and brotherhood time', then we end the day with team prayer, then it's lights out after 10pm. Sometimes our retreats last 2-3 days so we do it all again the next day! - Dominic, team leader
The team predominantly works with schools and parishes around Melbourne, but can also travel to regional Victoria if and when invited!
In 2010 the team has run retreats for Catholic primary and secondary schools, assisted in running parish youth groups, visited university groups, and helped out with events run by the Archdiocesan Office for Youth. In between these times they have been involved in the local community by visiting and helping out different ministries.
The team is available throughout the year to help run retreats, talks and testimonies and/or activity sessions for young people in your parish or school. If you are interested in knowing more about the team or booking them for a visit, please contact our office on aoy@cam.org.au or call 03 9412 3300.
The inaugural Diamond Valley Deanery Youth event took place on Sunday 1 August 2010 at La Trobe University in the Western lecture theatre complex. The morning consisted of a praise and worship session at 10am, followed by Mass, and then a sausage sizzle lunch afterwards. It was a resoundingly successful event, for which we can only give thanks and praise to God.
The inter-parish deanery collaboration first started with a meeting in April 2010, initiated the local Pastorelle sisters (Sisters Rita and Mary), who made contact with several local parish youth leaders and the Catholic chaplain to La Trobe University. The aim was to discuss youth ministry activities, and to see how we could support each other, and potentially get more youth connected with Church. We found that music ministry was a strong component of all our groups.
We were all very enthusiastic about the opportunities and the challenges of reaching out to more youth in the area and encouraging them to get involved in the Church, and reaching out to parishes that lacked a youth presence. We recognised that inter-parish collaboration and sharing of resources would avoid duplication of efforts.
Hence, the idea of a “Deanery-wide youth event” was born, and the motto “Reach Out” was unanimous. The group continued to meet regularly in the coming months, agreeing on Sunday 1 August as the date of the inaugural Youth mass. More youth leaders got involved in the planning, along with students from La Trobe Uni and Jesus Youth, who offered to lead the praise and worship component of the event.
The music ministry was the highlight of the Youth Mass. With a combination of traditional and contemporary music, the band and choir filled the space with beautiful songs of joyful praise, thanksgiving and worship, enhancing the prayerfulness of the day. We were all very pleasantly surprised by the excellent turnout of over 100 youth from around the area.
All in all, it has been much hard work, but so worth it. We recognised this only came about as an incredible group effort, by members sharing of their unique talents, and giving of their time and efforts. We pray that this is the start of even greater things to come for the youth in this region - a reaching out to all to grow in faith and love for Jesus.
We have started a page on Facebook of the Diamond Valley Deanery Youth, and have set up an email account where we have been posting out details of regular youth group meetings and events. We were also lucky enough to be approached by the Sisters of St Joseph after the Youth Mass and they asked our choir to sing at the Melbourne celebrations for Mary MacKillop’s canonisation at the Royal Exhibition Building on Sunday 17 October. The next Deanery Youth Mass is planned for November for the Feast of Christ the King. We’ll be sure to post it on the AOY calendar once we have more details!
Adapted from the Youth Report to the Diamond Valley Deanery
St Peter Chanel's Youth Group, or SPC as it's affectionately called by locals, has been established for over 10 years and has a very strong and committed leadership team.
The AOY team visited the parish a few weeks ago and were warmly welcomed by the group to one of its weekly meetings. The group meets every Monday from 7.00pm-9.00pm in the St Peter Chanel (SPC) Hall for prayer, sports, games and discussions led by a dynamic leadership team that has a passion for ensuring all youth feel welcome, spiritually nourished and have lots of fun.
The night started off with an enthusiastic game of poison ball which helped warm everyone up on a cold winter’s night. The formalities started with an introduction to the night along with an update on the various events happening in the parish and around the Melbourne Archdiocese.
There was a peaceful time of prayer with members of the youth group leading a decade each of the Holy Rosary. There was also reflective acoustic music played by a youth member and everyone sung along. The big group then broke up into smaller groups of guys and girls to talk more about life and things closer to their hearts. It was a fantastic night filled with passion, warmth and prayer.
Feel free to visit the group and share in the love of Deer Park! For more info contact Rosina on 0438940228.
The fun has started out in North Dandenong, with the St Gerard’s youth group hosting a special Latino Fiesta last April. Youth leaders donned their best Latino outfits – there were splashes of red, black, yellow all over the room! – along with some guests who got right into the theme and wore their native South American costumes. Held in the local school hall, there were over 300 people present on the night. There was a great show of support with families from the parish and youth leaders from the surrounding parishes booking tables well in advance.
Festivities included a live Latino band, dancing, games for the kids, and a piñata raffle! It was all hands on deck for the youth leaders, who graciously welcomed guests, led them to their tables (where a lovely plate of tapas awaited them!), and chatted with the locals. Some youth even got cooking in the kitchen, offering a menu of nachos, pizza, pasta and more. At night’s end, the group raised close to $5,000 in funds to go towards their pilgrimage to World Youth Day Madrid.
But wait, there’s more! The group meets on a weekly basis and they’ve already planned several more fundraising activities throughout the year, including a sausage sizzle at Bunnings (always a good idea!!), a trivia night, and a parish raffle and a cake stall. To learn more about the group or if you’re interested in joining them, contact youth leader Magda Aliva at magda_aliva@yahoo.com.
Congratulations to the St Gerard’s Youth Group on a thoroughly enjoyable fiesta and keep up the great work!
The AOY team was recently invited to attend the first youth Mass held by the Seekers Youth Group based at St Damian’s Parish in Bundoora. The group had invited Bishop Tim Costelloe to celebrate Mass while they provided an amazing group of musicians to enhance the worship. The ‘band’ included keyboard, 3 female vocalists, drums, trumpets and bass. The music was upbeat, youthful but above all celebrating the beauty of the Mass. Just to add that extra touch of welcome, several members of the youth group welcomed other young people as they came in to the church. All the readings, prayers of the faithful, and offertory were carried out by members of the group too.
After Mass, the evening continued with Catechesis by Bishop Tim on the topic of vocation, his talk based around the quote “vocation is the place where the world’s greatest need and your greatest joy meets”. There was time for questions and then everyone enjoyed pizza before concluding the evening with some fun games.
Youth leader Adriana Favrin and the rest of the leadership group of Seekers put in amazing amount of planning and hard work to ensure the night was well organised, spiritual and great fun!
If you live in the Bundoora area then Seekers would love to have you join them for one of their evenings. It’s free, fun and open to all. They meet on the second and fourth Sunday of every month. For more information e-mail Adriana on agefavrin@hotmail.com.
While the group is still in its planning stages, it was encouraging to meet and spend time with young people from St Peter's who have taken up the call of leadership.
The day started with a prayer session, where the youth leaders were asked to think about their gifts and talents and how they could bring that into the parish. This was followed by a presentation by the AOY team on developing a mission-vision for the group and the five strands of an effective youth ministry (sacraments, study, service, spirituality, and social). The leaders were also given tips on how to promote the group to other young people and the wider parish community.
The gathering was organised by Marita Mulquiney, who works part-time at the parish on establishing youth initiatives. Being a former youth leader herself, Marita knows the importance of formation and encouragement when inviting young people to become leaders amongst their peers.
“St Peter’s is blessed with a supportive team of priests and parishioners who are really keen on youth participation in the parish. More so it’s great to see the young people we have step up and take on a leadership role. Our aim is to create a group that’s inviting and fun – something unique that young people can come to not only for friendship, but more importantly as a place where they can explore their faith together.”
Let's all keep the group in our prayers as they continue in their minstry!