Youth in our Community
Pilgrimage to Rome to celebrate the Jubilee of Youth
As part of the Jubilee 2025, the Diocese will be leading a pilgrimage to Rome, joining with thousands of young people from all over the world. If you will be age 16 – 30 next summer 2025, come and join us!
Find out more at our Launch Meeting on October 20th at Newmarket Parish Centre, 14 Exeter Road, CB8 8LT, starting at 12:30pm (please bring a packed lunch) and will end by 3pm.
See www.rcdea.org.uk/youth for more details.
Interested in joining the Ignite Team?
Are you leaving school or university soon, in between jobs or would like to do something 'different'? The Diocesan Youth Service is looking for people age 18-30 to join the Ignite Team, sharing the Gospel Message with young people in a way they can relate to. These are full-time positions, with food, accommodation and a monthly allowance provided. Ideal as a ‘gap year’. For more information see www.rcdea.org.uk/youth .
Children are not the future of the Church – they are, with us, the Church of Today!
Fr Luke writes:
“One of the many joyful and inspiring things I experience as a parish priest is seeing young families come to Mass together. There are so many pressures these days on family life and countless things that compete for the Sunday morning slot that I think it is both a heroic and beautiful thing when I see parents with their children at Mass….No member of the Body of Christ, (the Church) is more valuable or more special than any other. The eldest member, the youngest member, the fittest member, the sickest member are all equal before God and all have their place in the Church. Children and young people are not “the future of the Church” as many people enthusiastically say. Children and young people, along with every other member of the Church, are the present of the Church, the Church of today! As such they must have a rightful place in the public worship of the Body of Christ….
As a Church, as a Christian community, we must always be compassionate. Being a parent is hard, and being a Christian parent is a real challenge in today’s world. Parents must feel welcome to attend Mass with their children, not least because they need to be nourished by the Mass as much as anyone does. Older members of our parish have so much to offer and can be a real support to younger families by acting as spiritual grandparents in the community. All of us, old and young, are members of the one family of Christ and it behooves us to have compassion on each other, especially those who are more vulnerable members of the flock and that can include young families.”
Brief excerpt from: “Please stop saying children are the future of the Church! - Some thoughts on young families in Church.” by Fr Luke Goymour
https://www.frlukegoymour.com/search?updated-max=2019-10-31T21:53:00Z&max-results=7&start=7&by-date=falseHaving a big sale, on-site celebrity, or other event? Be sure to announce it so everybody knows and gets excited about it.
“Pope to young people: Be restless, take risks
“Stay restless, take risks, and never lose your sense of wonder.
“…Pope Francis began … by warning against ‘what some call “short thought”…
[which], he said, is ‘made up of a few characters, and burns quickly; a thought that does not look upwards and ahead, but at the here and now … a thought that does not look back at history.’…”
The Catholic Church, Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales, 12 Jan 2024. Full article at https://www.cbcew.org.uk/pope-to-young-people-be-restless-take-risks/
“Bishop Peter outlines his vision for Catholic education
“… Our Catholic schools are critical to the mission of the Church, providing an arena where Christ is proclaimed and encountered. Parents are the primary educators of their children and the Church recognises how essential it is to support families with Catholic schools which offer excellence in all aspects of provision.
“With Christ at the Centre, the vision for Catholic education will always prioritise the wellbeing and fulfilment of the human person. Whilst seeking the best possible outcomes in every subject, it is the spiritual formation of our children and young people in Christ that inspires and moulds our entire educative enterprise….”
Diocese of East Anglia, Keith Morris, 19 September 2023. See the full article at https://www.rcdea.org.uk/bishop-peter-outlines-his-vision-for-catholic-education/
“Catholic schools offer something special to their pupils
“…Our Catholic schools have Christ at their centre and always aim for excellence in every aspect of their being. This is because their mission demands real human flourishing in order for our society and future society to flourish too. In other words, children and young people in Catholic schools are formed to contribute to the common good of society….
“Catholic schools are inclusive and welcoming of everyone, so one of the strongest and most tangible aspects universally experienced in our Catholic schools is the innate dignity of the human person, regardless of background or religious belief….”
Diocese of East Anglia, Keith Morris, 6 September 2023. See the full article at https://www.rcdea.org.uk/catholic-schools-offer-something-special-to-their-pupils/
“A Transform weekend for young adults in the Diocese of East Anglia is set to run at Clare Priory .
“Transform is an initiative from the Diocesan Youth Service for young adults (age 16+) wanting to go deeper in their faith and held at the beautiful Clare Priory.
“Transform for Holy Week is on March 31 – April 2, although people can come for just a day. There will be contemporary music, times of prayer and reflection, and talks, with Bishop Peter Collins giving the main talk.
“Come and take some time out from the busyness of life, as we ponder the journey of Holy Week,” says Youth Services Director Hamish MacQueen.
“Full details at www.transform4.co.uk.”
Diocese of East Anglia, Keith Morris, 24 Mar 2023. See the full article at https://www.rcdea.org.uk/transform-weekend-for-young-adults-at-clare-priory/
Young East Anglia pilgrims complete joyous Camino
“…Around 30 mostly young pilgrims, led impressively by Bishop Peter Collins, walked 120km from the Portuguese border at Valenca, following the Portuguese Way route north into Spain over six days….
“’It has been a privilege talking and listening to our young people who have been very open, engaged and engaging. They have opened their hearts to possibilities, they are truly searching and they have gained much from the sharing one with another along the way, as have I,’ said Bishop Peter. ‘We also talked to many international pilgrims along the way in wonderful joyful encounters….’”
(Diocese of East Anglia, Keith Morris, 2 August 2024. For the full article, see. https://www.rcdea.org.uk/young-east-anglia-pilgrims-complete-joyous-camino/
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Young East Anglia pilgrims heading for Spanish Camino
“A group of mostly young pilgrims from the Diocese of East Anglia will be walking 120kms over six days in northern Spain next week following the Way of St James Camino to Santiago de Compostela, led by Bishop Peter Collins….”
(Diocese of East Anglia, Keith Morris, 19 July 2024. For the full article, see. https://www.rcdea.org.uk/young-east-anglia-pilgrims-heading-for-spanish-camino/
“Pope Francis announces first World Day of Children
“A World Day of Children, in the wake of World Youth Day, will be held in Rome on 25-26 May 2024. Pope Francis made the announcement, “with joy”, at the Angelus on the feast of the Immaculate Conception….”
The Catholic Church, Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales, 8 Dec 2023. See the full article at
https://www.cbcew.org.uk/pope-francis-announces-first-world-day-of-children/
Open invitation to join children’s Walsingham pilgrimage
“The annual Diocese of East Anglia Children’s Pilgrimage to Walsingham will take place on Tuesday May 28. This is during the school half term week and an invitation to join it goes out to all. There is no upper or lower age limit!...’The theme this year is “Our Prayer for Peace in Our World”’ …
"The day begins at 10.45am in the Friday Market in the village…. Mass will be the Pilgrim Mass at 12 noon at the Chapel of Reconciliation….A picnic in the meadow follows with a chance to visit the Slipper Chapel shrine….”
(Diocese of East Anglia, Keith Morris, 21 May 2024.). https://www.rcdea.org.uk/open-invitation-to-join-childrens-walsingham-pilgrimage/
“Let’s Go To Mass” A Booklet for Children and Their Parents
An anonymous donor has given the parish 10 copies of this Redemptorist booklet, which can be used by children (with or without their parents, depending on age) to follow and learn about the Mass. Users can colour in and wipe off again and again.
Five of the copies will be available in each church. You may use it, but please clean and return it after Mass. If you want to take it home for study between masses, please do so, but return it the following week. Thank you.