LONDON - 16 February 2007 - 400 words
Catholic
Student Forum is 'Living Simply'
Nearly 40 Catholic students representing 16 different university
chaplaincies and Cathsocs from all over England and Wales arrived
in North London last weekend to take part in the annual Catholic
Student Forum.
This year's weekend focused on "Simply Living". All
were invited to "shake up their lifestyle and to choose to
live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with people living
in poverty." Pax Christi's Hilary Topp facilitated the main
workshop looking at 'Peace at what Cost?' Students were
invited to reflect on how peace could be encouraged, fostered
and sustained through fair trade and the support of the world's
poor. At the close of the weekend, each student was encouraged
to make a simple promise to the wider community to "live
simply".
"The Catholic Student Forum offers an opportunity for Catholic
students to come together and share ideas at a national and international
level. These meetings offer a "safe space" to build
friendships, to question, to challenge and to grow in relationship
with God. This year, students reflected on how they could live
more simply in keeping with Gospel values and how they could then
take this message back to their campuses to encourage others to
get involved." says Adam Berry, Catholic Youth Services Development
Officer.
This is the fourth meeting of the Catholic Student Forum (CSF)
- an annual event aimed at bringing Catholic students together,
organised in collaboration with chaplaincies and Cathsocs up and
down the country. CSF started as an initiative by the Catholic
Youth Services (CYS), the Conference of Catholic Chaplains in
Higher Education (CCCHE) and a representative student consultative
body. Weekends are designed to both deepen relationships between
chaplaincies and Cathsocs from different Higher Education Institutes
and to challenge student to get involved in social action.
The theme for this year's Catholic Student Forum was chosen to
mark the 40 years since the publication of Pope Paul VI's Populorum
Progressio (On the Development of Peoples) and links in to the
LiveSimply challenge.
Jessica Moorhouse, President of King's
College Cathsoc, adds: "I would recommend any chaplaincy
and Cathsoc to join the Catholic Student Forum, so that we can
unite our efforts and promote true solidarity throughout England
and Wales."
Next year's CSF will be taking place at Southwell House, London
on 22nd 24th February 2008. For more information please
visit the new Catholic Student Forum website at www.catholicstudentforum.org.uk.
© Independent Catholic
News 2007
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