Young Catholic Volunteers conference

Volunteers in Flame rehearsal

More than 100 young people working in Youth Ministry Teams from Catholic Retreat Centres and on Outreach Projects in England and Wales gathered on New Year's Day with their Directors and other staff for the annual three day Volunteers Conference in Derbyshire.

The theme of 'Finish the Race', based on St Paul's Second Letter to Timothy, connected with the forthcoming FLAME Congress, which takes place at Wembley Arena on 24 March. During the Conference the young volunteers who will also be attending FLAME took the opportunity to familiarise themselves with a specially commissioned Congress Hymn also based on 2 Timothy. They rehearsed other material that will be used at this inspiring event exploring how faith and sport are related, notably through the Olympic values of Respect, Friendship and Excellence.

The Volunteers Conference was facilitated by Mr David Wells. David is Director of Formation for the RC Diocese of Plymouth where he is responsible for adult education and training. On leaving school, before going to university, David spent a year as a volunteer in a Residential Youth Retreat Centre and over the course of the Conference shared stories of that time and of his teaching career. He helped the volunteers to identify the key issues that Timothy faced in his ministry as a young bishop and how they relate to young peer ministers today, encouraging them to aspire to a greater sense of their own vocation and, like Paul, urging them to keep the faith and finish the race.

The young Youth Ministers, who work with thousands of young people every year, through the celebration of the Eucharist and a variety of Workshops, Prayers, Liturgies and a Ceilidh, were given a fresh energy to their faith just like the young Timothy.

The witness of these young volunteers and the FLAME Congress are sure to present to other young people a vivid and vibrant picture of the national Church.

Source: Youth Ministries