St. Ignatius. Newsletter Pastoral Area 14. Dear Members of Pastoral Area 14

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1 St. Ignatius Newsletter Pastoral Area 14 Holy Rosary, Most Holy Redeemer & St Kentigern, Our Lady, St Anne, St Elizabeth, St George, St Gregory the Great St John the Evangelist, St Mary Advent 2014 Issue No. 11 Dear Members of Pastoral Area 14 The first weekend of Advent marks the beginning of the Year of Consecrated Life which will continue until 2 February Perhaps it is not surprising that being a Jesuit himself Pope Francis announced a year ago that 2015 will be a year dedicated to the promotion of consecrated life, and is asking the church's religious sisters, brothers and priests to "wake up the world" with their testimony of faith, holiness and hope. This special year is set against the background of the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, which, as one of the cardinals recently said about the Council, It was the breath of the Spirit not only for the whole Church but, perhaps especially, for the consecrated life In these 50 years consecrated life has undertaken a fruitful journey of renewal - not free, certainly, of difficulties and hardships in the commitment to follow what the Council asked of the consecrated: fidelity to the Lord, to the Church, to their own charism and to the people of today. In celebrating this year we not only remember the enormous contribution of vowed men and women to the life and well-being of our archdiocese over centuries, but we take the opportunity to recognize that Religious embrace the future with hope. Vowed Religious commit themselves to living the present with passion so they can help others to realize the beauty of following Christ. (Cardinal Braz de Aviz). The vocation to Religious Life is not just a personal calling but a commitment to mission in the Church and in the world. During this year, various events and celebrations will be taking place around the archdiocese, in the Cathedral and in religious houses and parishes. Time was when most Catholics were familiar with Religious men and women; the scene has changed markedly over recent years. Needs in the world and in the Church change over the centuries. Jobs undertaken in the past by Religious in the fields of medical and social care, teaching and theological study, are now shared more widely, but Religious Life is still central to the life of the Church. What this year will do is to give everyone throughout the world a greater opportunity to discover anew the wonderful gift of Consecrated Life which God has given to his Church. I encourage you to visit some of the Religious men and women in your parish and discover the vitality and joy and sense of fulfilment which you will find in those who have committed themselves to God. Let us also pray that if the Lord calls others to commit themselves to His service in Consecrated Life they will listen attentively to God s voice. Dean of PA 14 Dean Advent - a call to reality Two years ago I was in Las Vegas. While I enjoyed the buzz and the experience it struck me how unreal it all was and how all of it was built to serve the great god Mammon and to exploit our perceived need for wealth and material goods. I was reminded of the story of the velveteen rabbit and the question asked of the old skin horse in the nursery: what is real? The answer given by the old nursery toy is that real is when you have been loved, really loved, so much so that your joints grow slack and your ears get ripped and your eyes fall out but you don t really mind because love has made you real. There is a profound wisdom in the story, that love is the only authentic way to discover our own reality and everything else that we think might help pales into insignificance as we discover a life that is vibrant and fulfilling because of the power of love. In just a few weeks time we will celebrate Christmas which really is the feast of love. God became flesh to shatter our illusions about what reality is and to show us the only true reality, Love. It is love that makes us real. In the end to quote St Therese of Lisieux it s all about love. So the Advent journey is about preparing our minds and our hearts to see that love is at the core of what it means to be both human and divine and because of love we can discover who we really are, beloved children of God with a value and a dignity that no-one can take away from us. The challenge of Advent is to open ourselves up to the power of love. How do we do that? By taking the time and space to pray and reflect and allow God to work within us so that we can discover love. The deep discovery of love that knows no end is what makes us real. It s what turns our drab, futile, grey existence into vital pulsating life. God became flesh to show us what love is. Dare we this Advent open our hearts and minds to love that transforms and make us real? Take time each day to open yourself to God. Meet love and become love whatever the cost and know the truth that Jesus came that we might have life and have it to the full. Fr. Chris Thomas

2 Advent & Christmas 2014 Holy Rosary - Aintree Sunday December 7th: 4.00pm - Advent Holy Hour Monday December 22nd: 7.30pm - Service of Reconciliation. Wednesday 24th December: St George s Maghull Toy Mass: Sunday 7th December, 11.30am Third World coffee morning Sunday 14th December in Social Centre after Mass Penance Service Wednesday 17th December, 7.30 pm Healing Mass Thursday 18th December, 7.30pm 6.00pm - Crib Service for children and families. 8.30pm - Carol Service in church. 9.00pm - First Mass of Christmas. Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturdays, Thursday 25th December: Advent Devotions and Benedictions Sundays, 3.30pm am - Family Mass. For further details : please go to St Mary s Aughton Service of Reconciliation Wednesday 17th December, 7.30pm 5.00pm carols followed by vigil Mass at 5.30pm 9.00am Family Mass St. Gregory s Lydiate Carol service 9.30 pm followed by vigil Mass Masses at 8.00 am and am Mass at am Please let us know your thoughts on your Pastoral Area Newsletter. What you liked, and what you didn t. What would you change, and what would you like to see in future editions? This is your Pastoral Area, and it s your newsletter, so please help us to keep it fresh and relevant by letting your parish contact know your feelings, or peter.mawtus@hotmail.co.uk The Editor Holy Hour Wednesdays, noon 1.00pm (except 24th December) to pray for the people of Iraq and Syria. 9.10am Mass 9.00pm Vigil of carols and readings 9.30pm 1st Mass of Christmas Masses: 9.30am and 11.30am Mass: 10.00am Weekday Masses: 10.00am: Friday 26th December Saturday 3rd January Most Holy Redeemer & St. Kentigern - Melling Service of Reconciliation Monday 15th December 7.30pm Carols 9.30pm Christmas Night Mass 10.00pm Family Mass 10.30am Our Lady s - Lydiate CHRISTMAS EVE Carols followed by first Mass of Christmas at 7.30pm. CHRISTMAS DAY Mass 9.30.am

3 Advent & Christmas 2014 St Anne s Ormskirk Tuesday 16 December Penitential Service 7.30pm 9.15am Mass followed by open house at the Priory till 12.30pm. All parishioners welcome to visit the crib and have mince pies and coffee 6pm Vigil Mass for Christmas 11pm Midnight Mass Masses 9.00 & 10.30am (No evening Mass) St John the Evangelist Reconciliation Service Wednesday 17th December at 7.30pm Vigil Mass 6.30pm, Service of Readings and Carols at 9.30pm followed by Night Mass 10.00pm Mass 9.30am No evening Mass Mass 10.00am Feast of St Stephen Christmas week Mass at 10.00am daily St Elizabeth s Scarisbrick Sunday 21 December Christingle celebration of Christmas with blessing of Cribs and candles 4.00pm Mass noon for the intentions of all our benefactors Vigil Mass for Christmas 7.00pm New Year s Day Mass noon Mass 11.00am Mass 9.30am New Year s Day Mass 11.00am St Anne's invitation to success At a Parochial Parish Council Meeting we spent a lot of time discussing how we could reach out to more members of our parish and encourage them to attend the Sunday services. So it was decided to hold a special Invitation Sunday in which all parishioners were invited to one of two special Masses, the am Family Service and the usually reflective Mass at 4.30pm. We would try to organise something slightly different and would publicize it as far as possible. The earlier Mass would target the younger children and their families whilst the older students would be invited to take part in the afternoon Mass. St. Anne s Primary School agreed to provide the singing and readings for the morning Mass and an invitation was sent to all parents to come along with their children. The singing was delightful and the children delivered the readings in a prayerful way. The church was packed and it was so good to see so many families with children, together with people of all ages joining in our Sunday worship. After Mass, refreshments were served in St. Anne s Pastoral Centre. The organisation of the 4.30pm Mass took a different format from the usual quiet reflective service, with hymns and responses sung by the Chamber Choir from St. Bede s High School and the congregation was encouraged to join in with the hymns. Again, the readings were ably delivered by the students and the standard of singing was superb. The style of Mass was very favourably received. The schools kindly agreed to publicize the Masses through their Message Boards and this proved successful as Mass attendance was well up on that day. Invitation Sundays are linked with the national Back To Church Sundays but the PCC felt that Invitation Sunday was a more appropriate and welcoming title. We look forward to organising more Special Sundays in the future. Irene Slack

4 A brief history of The Most Holy Redeemer and St. Kentigern, Melling The new parish in Maghull, dedicated to St George (Patron Saint of England) was officially founded on 4th September St George s first Parish Priest was Father Charles Green who wanted to make Mass accessible to parishioners who had to travel from Kirby and Melling. In May 1891 he purchased a piece of land for on Waddicar Lane in Melling with the intention of building a Chapel of Ease for people living on the outskirts of St. George s parish. However, ten more years passed before enough funds were raised to realise his project. Meanwhile, the people of Kirkby had rented a thatched cottage to convert into a place of worship. It was old and decrepit, having been uninhabited for some time. It could only be used when fires had been lit inside to dry out the crumbling walls. Despite the lowly stature the little cottage became affectionately known as Bethleham s stable. The cottage was used for holy Mass for the first time on Sunday 10th October 1897, coincidentally, the feast of the Maternity of Our Lady. The little place of worship was placed under the patronage of St. Kentigern, a former Bishop of Glasgow, who is also referred to in Scotland as St. Mungo. The now Canon Green continued to champion Kirkby s cause. By 1900, the little cottage dedicated to St. Kentigern could no longer cater for the hundred or so parishioners wishing to attend each Sunday, so the land Canon Green had purchased some nine years earlier was made ready for the construction of a more permanent place of worship. The foundation stone was laid on 1st July 1900 by Bishop Thomas Whiteside. The close of the 19th century was celebrated with much joy by the people of Waddicar as they looked ahead to the beginning of the 20th century and the completion of their new Church. Canon Green was fully involved with the planning and construction of the new Chapel of Ease. He organised an outdoor fete and bazaar to be held in the church grounds at Waddicar Lane, Melling, to take place during Easter week in Under his Chairmanship for the event he made his new assistant, Father William Dennett, head of the executive committee. The prices for admission were: Monday 1/-: Tuesday and Wednesday 6d and a Season ticket for all 3 days 1/6d. A brochure sponsored by Liverpool Traders promoted their wares whilst advertising an extensive programme of activities for young and old alike. Meals were served in large refreshment tents and many stalls were set up by volunteers wanting to contribute. The extra funds raised were enough to cover outstanding debts for the Chapel of Ease and provide for the furnishings. On Completion, in 1901, the Church was named Holy Redeemer and St. Kentigern. The first Parish Priest was Father Bernard Ramsbottom. Since that time there have been two further priests serving the parish, Father John Byrne and Father Leo Lynch. Father Des Seddon serves as Parish Priest today. Angela Mollam A Night of Summer Music comes to St John's Burscough As we reach the end of the summer, the nights are drawing in and the temperature is dropping. There isn't much to look forward to to pass away the long dark autumnal nights. However, this year in St John's Burscough we were treated to a charity concert by the Cantique Choir. Cantique was formed in 2007 and performs a wide range of music. Its musical director is James Archer. The concert consisted of a wide range of music from Mozart to John Rutter to Whitney Houston. It was a varied programme that appealed to everyone's taste. The night was enhanced by two groups of young people adding a little extra magic to the evening. Firstly the 'Canticles' as they are known, four children of a member of Cantique, performed two songs for us, 'Frozen' and the beautiful 'Somewhere only we know'. Then the highlight of our night as three members of St John's Primary School stepped forward to sing with the choir: Katherine Billington, Olivier Priestman and Hope Curren joined the choir to sing 'On Eagles Wings', and everyone agreed they sang their hearts out! After the concert all parishioners were invited to the parish hall for a glass of wine, some snacks and a chance to meet the choir. The night was a great success and all the money raised went to Queenscourt Hospice in Southport. Paul Symes

5 Alpha Course at St Elizabeth's Foundation Stone remembers 164 years of Bishops Back in the winter a small group at St Elizabeth s led by Mark Charnock embarked on planning to run an Alpha course in Scarisbrick. It was decided to run the course over the period from Lent to Pentecost and because in previous years we had joined with the other churches in Scarisbrick to prepare for Easter it was also decided to make the course ecumenical. During September 2014, the parishioners of St. George s Roman Catholic Church, Maghull, were blessed by a visit from Malcolm McMahon, Archbishop of Liverpool. After celebrating Holy Mass he met members of the congregation in the social centre and enjoyed light refreshments. From the days of Bishop George Brown, , until the recent enthronement of Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, twelve bishops have been engaged in building up our diocese. Bishop Alexander Goss, , expressed concern that people living in Maghull, had nowhere to celebrate Holy Mass and his successor Bishop Bernard O Reilly, , was inspired to conduct a census to ascertain how many Catholics were living in Maghull. The information gathered led to the foundation, in 1887, of a new parish dedicated to St George (Patron Saint of England). Mass in Maghull was celebrated in two old barns until a purpose built school/chapel opened its doors in 1890, Bishop O Reilly having blessed its foundation stone in Meanwhile the people of Kirkby celebrated Mass in an old thatched cottage, affectionately named Bethlehem s Stable. Soon its walls could not contain the numbers wishing to attend each Sunday so funds were raised to build a Chapel of Ease in Waddicar Lane, Melling. The foundation stone for this was laid by Bishop Thomas Whiteside on 1st July 1900 and the building was completed in The new church, named Most Holy Redeemer & St. Kentigern, served as a chapel of ease until 1938 when it became a parish in its own right. Thomas Whiteside served as Bishop during When the diocese was elevated to the status of Metropolitan Archdiocese he became Liverpool s first Roman Catholic Archbishop and remained in office until he died in Archbishop Frederick William Keating, , laid the foundation stone for St. George s present magnificent church on 11th September 1927, He died on 7th February 1928; the building was completed in The foundation stone, inscribed in Latin, celebrates the building of our church and remains in place as a memorial of the Archbishop s life. Back in January we hoped (and prayed) we would get maybe ten people to sign up for the programme in the event we had thirty names on the list from Scarisbrick and Ormskirk by the time we came to kick off on the 6th March and over twenty continued on the journey with us through to Pentecost. Mr Nolan, head of St Mary s primary school, kindly allowed us to use the school premises for the meeting. For Health and Safety reasons we were not able to use the school kitchens so the food was prepared in the parish house and shuttled down to the school just before the 7pm start dirty crockery making the return journey at the end of the evening. It was a real team effort with people preparing the food, setting up, serving the coffee and cakes and doing the necessary tidying up. Over the weeks we got quicker at all the tasks and grew into a stronger team a process which was echoed in the guests on the course. We remember with affection Archbishop Richard Downey Archbishop William Godfrey Archbishop John Carmel Heenan Archbishop George Andrew Beck Archbishop Derek Warlock...and celebrate the service provided since then by Archbishop Patrick A. Kelly and his successor... Archbishop Malcolm McMahon. The first evening was quite quiet, with a little polite conversation and relatively short discussion sessions after the DVD. By the final meeting on 5th June everyone was greeting old friends and the flow of exchanging views and ideas was great. In fact we had problems making sure we finished for 9pm. Our different backgrounds really brought colour and depth to the course. The end of course questionnaire showed that this was the first Alpha course for most people and they had joined because they were on a spiritual search and wanted to find out more. The two most popular answers to the question How do you think Alpha has benefitted you were it has strengthened my existing faith and I have made new friends. So what next? Well again the end of course feedback pointed the way, most people wanted more short courses or talks and bible study and Lectio Divina were highlighted as key elements. Our next adventure starts on Oct 16th and will run for 6 weeks. Each week we will consider one of the baptismal promises. The sessions will be about 90 mins long and will contain scripture reading and discussion as well as some prayer and praise (Mark is excellent on the guitar- no one can hear if you sing off tune!). This time we are sticking to coffee and cakes but will be having a meal together after the final session. If you would like to join us on our next course, which will be in the New Year and will focus on the Lord s Prayer, please get in touch. Mary Ormsby Two thousand years ago Simon became Peter, the rock on which the foundations of the Church were to be built. He became Bishop of the great city of Rome and through his tenacity the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith spread throughout the world. The above snapshot covering a mere 164 years pays tribute to all the Bishops who, in succession to Peter, have served in our own great city. Liverpool is safe in the hands of Archbishop Malcolm McMahon and we wish him well in his ministry. Gerard Crilly. Father John Smith, Parish Priest of St Gregory s, Lydiate for almost 27 years and more recently also of Our Lady s, Lydiate, died suddenly at Ampleforth Abbey on Thursday 11th September aged 65 and in the forty-second year of his priestly ministry. John Philip Smith was born in Chorley on 17 December He attended St Joseph's and St Mary's Schools in Chorley, and studied for the priesthood at St Joseph s College, Upholland. He was ordained by Archbishop George Andrew Beck in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool, on 16 June Following his ordination he had three appointments as assistant priest, at All Saints, Anfield, Holy Angels, Kirkby and Christ the King in Liverpool. In November 1987 he received his first appointment as parish priest at St Gregory's, Lydiate, in succession to Fr Edward Godfrey. At the time he was the youngest to have been appointed as a Parish Priest in the Liverpool Archdiocese. He was given the additional responsibility of administering the parish of Our Lady at Lydiate in January For well over a quarter of a century he laboured tirelessly for his parishioners in Lydiate, where he will be sadly missed. His Funeral Mass celebrated at St Gregory's, Lydiate, which was extremely well attended by parishioners and more than 40 clergy including Archbishop Malcolm, was followed by burial at St Gregory's, Weldbank, Chorley.

6 Rome & Florence pilgrimage gets a special visitor A group of 18 parishioners from St Elizabeth s and St Anne s enjoyed a pilgrimage with Fr. Godric in September. However we could never have imagined how lucky we were to be. On our first full day, we had celebrated Mass in a side chapel of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of the four main Basilicas in Rome. As we were looking around afterwards, barriers were being erected in anticipation of an important visitor. We had a front row position when Pope Francis walked through the Basilica to pray privately in the chapel of Our Lady of the Snows. On his return from foreign trips the Pope offers prayers of thanks for his safe return, and brings a gift of a bouquet of flowers, which you can see in our picture. We were literally feet away from Pope Francis as he entered the chapel, and he even took time to comment that one of our party had dropped their hat on the floor. The Basilica was silent as the Pope prayed, but then he started to sing Salve Regina, and hundreds of pilgrims joined Francis in his hymn to Our Lady. This was certainly the highlight of the trip, and so unexpected. Peter Mawtus WW1 Commemoration Mass at Scarisbrick On Sunday July 20th, the last Sunday of the academic year, the pupils of St Mary s Scarisbrick took part in a Mass to remember all those from the parish of Scarisbrick who had died in the terrible conflict of the First World War. The children had been studying the conflict the previous term, and through the help of local historian Mr Richard Houghton and parishioner Dr Thomas Massam had researched the soldiers from Scarisbrick who had died in the conflict and in particular those who had studied at St Mary s primary school all those years ago. Some of their work was on display in the Lady Altar, which is the location of our war memorial at St Elizabeths. The commemoration was held as part of our weekly Sunday Mass, but we had extended an invitation to all the Scarisbrick churches as we wanted this to be a whole village commemoration. Fr Godric was joined by Rev Eileen Heaney, the vicar of St Mark's who preached a very moving and though provoking sermon at the Mass and we were joined by many friends and parishioners from the other churches. At the start of Mass children from St Mary's read out the names of all the men on the parish war memorial along with some family information such as where they lived and what their occupation was before the war. While this was happening a small wooden cross was placed in sand to remember them and a card bearing the same information and a picture, where it was available, was placed before the steps to the sanctuary. We were blessed by a glorious day, so after the service we all gathered in the gardens behind the church for coffee and cakes and a good catch up on village news. Our congratulations go to Fr. Gabriel who was ordained at Douai Abbey on 6th July He joined the community in 2008, starting his Novitiate in Br. Gabriel was warmly welcomed into the parishes of St Elizabeth s and St Anne s, where his ministry was greatly appreciated, and some 20 parishioners made the journey to share in his wonderful day.

7 Lasallian Developing World Projects Uganda 2014 For five weeks this summer I had the opportunity to travel to a small village in western Uganda called Mugalike. I travelled with 10 other members of the group where we were to build a boys' hostel for pupils at the local high school. Upon arriving at the village we were greeted by the local people who were extremely welcoming. The last time that Lasallian had a project in this part of Uganda was in 2007, so they were extremely happy to welcome us back. For the younger people in the village, it was possibly the first time that they have ever encountered white people so there were many young children staring at us anxiously and we also brought a few children to tears. However after a few days they warmed to us, becoming our friends and would constantly want to talk and play with us. Our accommodation was somewhat basic. We stayed with the priests of the village, in rooms of three people and there was one toilet and shower between the 11 of us. However there was many times when we did not have any water for the shower/toilet and there was often no electricity. When we arrived at the building site, the foundations of the hostel had already been built, so our work consisted carrying large rocks to fill the area that had been dug. Then the gaps in the floor had to be filled with smaller rocks, and tons of sand had to be carried from large piles on top of the rocks. Once the floor was somewhat flat a layer of concrete was added. After this stage was complete it was then time for the walls to go up. This involved many brick chains, which sometimes the children of the local school would join in to quicken up the pace. Some people would mix cement, carry cement and then other people would help to lay the bricks. After our five weeks in the village we reached the roof level of the building. The local builders that we worked with on the building site then added the roof after we had left the village. The building is now being used to house 150 boys. This will allow them to focus on their studies as they will spend less time travelling to and from school and it will also provide them with a stable shelter. I would like to thank the parish of St Gregory s and Our Lady s Lydiate for their support over the past three years in helping to fund the projects, especially Fr. Smith for introducing me to Lasallian developing world projects. He will be sadly missed by me, without a doubt. Jessica Ebo St. Anne s Ormskirk Roof Appeal St. Anne s Church is based at the heart of the Ormskirk community. There has been a church or chapel at the Prescot Road site since The current church has been in place since It has seen two world wars, 45 prime ministers and survived the great depression. But in 2014 Parishioners have been battling against the twin threats of old age and theft. The church roof is in urgent need of repair. The underlying fabric of the roof is crumbling and needs to be replaced to ensure the future of the building. As the building is listed, the work will have to be conducted to exacting standards and at height. Parishioners have launched an appeal and they estimated they need to raise around half a million pounds. Through events and donations 45,000 has been raised so far, and work has started on urgent actions to make the roof weatherproof. But recently thieves have been targeting the lead on the church roof. We have seen three different incidents this year, causing our already damaged roof to be unprotected from the rain. Buckets and mops have become a regular feature of our Masses in recent months. Chairman of the Roof Committee, Phil Wilkinson, said While the theft of the lead is very frustrating, the community spirit we have generated through our roof fundraising has been fantastic. The whole parish is pulling together to restore the church to its former glory.

8 Macmillan relief from a child s perspective After watching an advert on TV about Macmillan coffee morning I knew I wanted to organize one myself to raise money to help people with cancer. This is important to me because my Mum is currently undergoing treatment for Lymphoma and by raising money I can help others in my position. I sent off for the information pack from Macmillan to give me some ideas. I thought it would be best if I could do this in school as the coffee morning was to take place on Friday 26th September, which was a school day. I spoke to my headmaster, Mr Chapman, and my teacher, Miss Moynihan, who both agreed it was a good idea. They suggested as it would be a lot of work for me to do on my own, that it could be a class project. In class, we all organized what we were going to do. Miss Moynihan asked everybody to bring in cakes or biscuits on the morning so we could sell them. She asked if anybody could bring in extra, which I did! All of our families were invited. We set up the hall, with lots of tables and chairs. We decorated with lots of balloons, which during the morning quite a few popped! We set up a serving table with all of our cakes and biscuits displayed on and another table to serve tea and coffee from. It was exciting when the doors opened and all of our families poured in. The room went from empty to full in seconds! My friends and I took it in turns to serve our families who in exchange for a donation to Macmillan could choose which cake they wanted. Miss Moynihan and Mr Chapman served the coffee and tea. It was a successful morning and through generous donations we raised the magnificent sum of 640 for Macmillan Cancer support. A Year 6 pupil at St George s primary school, Maghull Going for Gold! Amplify Youth Group are going for Bronze, Silver and Gold. The now established Youth Ministry team at St Anne & St Elizabeth are now running a Duke of Edinburgh Award night as part of their young person engagement. They have already helped 31 young people gain a Bronze award and are now assisting another 43 gain Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. The sessions run on a Thursday evening from 7 till 9pm and Youth Minister Mike Price is finding that they are now interacting with more young people than previously. We used to get between 8 and 12 young people on a Sunday but since we switched nights and have a clearly defined programme we are finding that we are now averaging about 28 young people a week, which is fantastic. The Duke of Edinburgh Award helps the local community and parish, as part of the award is volunteering. The Youth Group has seen young people volunteer at after-school clubs, uniformed groups, altar serving, coaching at local sports clubs and assisting in charity shops. The young people have to volunteer for an hour a week and it surprises some of them how much they enjoy it. It also teaches them a valuable life skill as well as getting them to grow in confidence. The other sections are skills, physical and the expedition. The skills section helps them to either fine tune an existing skill or learn something new. This again is an hour a week. Skills we have seen the young people take part in are: drama groups, dance, language, music, photography and 14 young people are now trained as first aiders. The physical section has seen the young people take part in archery, martial arts, football, rugby, tennis, running and quite a lot more. This helps to get the young people fit and healthy as well as dispelling the myth that they all sit at home playing on computers. The 'fun' part of the DofE is the expedition. This involves them having training in map reading, compass skills, camp skills, using a stove and cooking meals. They also learn about the country code, how to pack a rucksack and much more. They have a practice expedition where they can get help and guidance from fully-trained staff and then they are on their own and putting the skills they have learnt into practice. They work in groups and find that they can do so much more than they thought they could. They manage on their own for 48 hours. Well, not quite on their own. We do have trained staff watching and checking them, but we try to let them finish the expedition with the minimum engagement. It may seem a strange way for a Youth Ministry to work, but if you look at the figures and amount of time we get to spend with the young people, it does work. We can also see young people being seen in a positive light by the parish, which is good for all. Mike Price