On the 28th of February 2019, six Year-10 students and two teachers, (students) Demi Spiteri, Tiffany Smith, Gabriella Papallo, Brooklyn Clinch, Lia Ison and Clara Naseim, (teachers) Miss Shaw and Mrs Madigan went to Canberra to partake in the Youth Ministry Equipping School.
We had the opportunity to spend 4 days engaging with young people from different states and countries!
The Youth Ministry Equipping School is an intensive formation conference that inspires and resources youth, young adults and ministry leaders for the mission of the Catholic Church. During the day we had the opportunity to attend workshops and seminars about either Youth Ministry itself or ways you can read Scripture! However, at night we were allowed to join a prayer group, where we were able to praise God in song and prayer with a wonderful band!
On our way to Canberra all six of us did not know what to expect, as we were not familiar with Youth Ministry, we walked in with open minds and hearts, ready for any challenge thrown towards us.
Thursday 28th : Arrival + Day One
Once we had arrived at the venue, we started to get an idea of what it will be like. We were given the chance to meet everyone and familiarise ourselves with the people that were going to be with us over the weekend.
Friday 1st : Day Two
This day included an early wake up, were we had breakfast and were lucky enough to attend the Opening Mass with a number of priests from overseas and Australia! During the day we participated in a number of presentations and workshops, we then had an hour to settle down before attending a formation at night. The theme for this night was around Reconciliation and Forgiveness. A number of priests gave up their time to offer the sacrament of confession.
Saturday 2nd : Day Three
On this day our two teachers alongside a school from Central Coast had a surprise for us, we were taken to a Mountain Lookout where we prayed as one family. After this we went and joined the rest of the Equipping school. On this night after a lot of presentations, you can tell we were exhausted, but we managed to push through the tiredness, and went to the formation. The night’s theme was, Baptism of The Holy Spirit! We had a large group of adults, volunteer take us through prayer in our “Prayer Teams.” Lucky enough we all had the chance to experience this and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Sunday 3rd : Leave + Day Four
This day was filled with two main emotions, happiness and sadness! Everyone was overloaded with joy that we had an amazing experience, but upset at the fact that we were leaving. We had another surprise planned this day too, where we were taken to a beautiful lake for reflection about the last few days. We then joined the Equipping school for group discussions and talks with the Bishop of Canberra.
Speaking on behalf of all, I can confidently say this trip opened our eyes. We were all so emotional yet filled with excitement, we knew what we wanted to do after and had planned ways we can proclaim the Good News through our Youth Ministry!
Stay tuned to see more of St John Paul 2 Youth Ministry Team!
Clara Naseim