Courtney McGrailMaria Kane explains how she developed a youth ministry programme for Armagh archdiocese
Ministry with and to young people takes place in many forms throughout the Archdiocese of Armagh – in homes, schools, parishes, youth clubs, pilgrimages – anywhere that people of faith recognise the gift and the beauty of the Gospel and the gift of young people. The Archdiocese of Armagh supports this ministry and develops opportunities for young people within and beyond the diocese through the Armagh Diocesan Youth Commission (ADYC).
The idea for the youth ministry programme ‘Answering the Call’ was born from a university assignment. I am currently studying a master’s degree in communications and for one of the modules we were asked to seek out a project that we could develop for the duration of the semester to build project management skills whilst applying communication theory. As I have been a volunteer for ADYC for some time now and have been offered many rewarding opportunities through it, I approached the Diocesan Youth Director, Dermot Kelly to see if there was anything within ADYC that I could be of assistance with.
Plan
We discussed ADYC’s 2015 operational plan and one aspect of this was the development of catechesis training for young people and leaders particularly during ADYC pilgrimages. This is keeping in line with Archbishop Eamon Martin’s desire for the development of catechesis, outreach and worship within Armagh archdiocese.
We agreed that I would research, design and develop a programme of faith development sessions aimed at young people. YouCat, the Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, was an invaluable resource used throughout its development as it is written in a language guided specifically towards young people. It was used as a basis to discuss some of the more difficult to understand or misinterpreted aspects of our Faith.
It was also an important reference to ensure that the content of the programme accurately reflected Church teachings and it attempts to incorporate the four so-called ‘pillars’ of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 1) What we believe (the creed); 2) how we celebrate (liturgy and the sacraments); 3) how we live (Christian morality); 4) how we pray (Christian prayer).
The final result is a programme that can be used in parishes and diocesan schools which comprises of 10 sessions, each lasting approximately one hour on a range of different faith topics including the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Mass and being active Christians. The programme is designed to be user-friendly for the leaders directing the sessions, but informative and engaging for the young people participating thus allowing them to learn about their faith in a fun way and relaxed atmosphere.
Icebreaker and energiser activities, small and large group discussions, prayers, drama skits and reflections are all included as a means to involve participants as they learn. Popular songs and videos with a faith centred twist are used to begin some of the discussions and a variety of supplementary short videos are also included as they can be an extremely useful visual means of delivering a message.
In order to highlight the importance of Scripture, each session begins with a related short scriptural quote and is also titled with the name of a popular song which reflects the theme of the session. Livin’ on a Prayer, for example, is the title of the second session in which the role of and different types of Christian prayer are discussed. The sessions are intended to be delivered by youth leaders, reflecting ADYC’s belief that enabling young people to lead other young people in their faith is the most effective means of spreading the joy of the Gospel and this also answers Pope Francis’ call for the young to lead the young in faith development.
We were pleased to have the programme completed in time for ADYC’s recent pilgrimage to the Taizé community in France with 35 young pilgrims from all over the diocese for seven nights. The structure of Taizé allowed us to come together three times a day for prayer and the singing of Taizé chants with the brothers of the community and thousands of young people from all over the world with whom we were also able to meet with and discuss our faith through international small groups.
Free time
During our free time, ADYC pilgrims then came together and took part in the faith development sessions from the programme.
This was a fun, interactive but Christ-centred time which was followed by the daily celebration of the Eucharist by the Spiritual Director who accompanied us on pilgrimage, Fr Thomas McHugh. It was a particularly special time to visit as it coincided with the communities’ international week for religious vocation whereby those living under a monastic or religious life were invited to the community and reflect on the relevance of religious vocation and it was a wonderful experience for all involved.
*Maria has been a volunteer for ADYC for over three years. The group’s next project is the ASSUME summer camp, a four-night residential adventure and faith development camp for 12-14 year olds in Newcastle, Co. Down. ADYC is also organising a pilgrimage to Fatima and the Camino Portugues for young adults from August 19-29. For more information on ADYC’s work, contact the Youth Director, Dermot Kelly on: 028/048 37523084.