CYMFed, the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation of England and Wales, is hosting a series of online talks for the youth ministry community featuring expert speakers from across the globe.
“Journeying Together” aims to inspire, inform and encourage youth ministers as they continue to work with and support young people over the coming months.
The focus of the talks is “synodality”, which has also a key theme throughout the 2018 Synod on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment Synod.
“This first-ever synod on young people has created new energy for youth ministry,” said CYMFED’s Chair, Father Dermott Donnelly.
“This series of talks has been put together to build on that energy and seize the opportunity the Holy Father has given us by highlighting the importance of youth ministry in this way.
“We’re delighted with the quality of the speakers who have agreed to take part and we’re sure these talks will prove to be tremendously useful to anyone who is involved in youth ministry in any way.”
The full Journeying Together programme is…
Wednesday July 15 at 11am: The God who speaks in a digital world
Fr Michel Remery, national youth chaplain for Luxembourg, will talk about the Church’s embracing of modern technology in recent months and its importance in this Year of the Word. Father Michel is author of Tweeting with God, the international bestselling book which answers daring questions from young people about God, faith, prayer and morality in 140 characters or fewer.
Wednesday September 16 at 11am: Removing Obstacles for Mission: Safeguarding, Governance and Risk Management
Malcolm Hart, director of the Centre for Evangelisation at the Australian Bishops’ Conference, reflects on Pope Francis’ call for us all “to adopt rigorous preventative measures, actions and sanctions to ensure the safety of young people in the life of the Church and the world.” He will be joined by James Camden, director of youth ministry for the Diocese of Parramatta.
Wednesday October 14 at 2pm: A Field Hospital for Young People: Ministry Through a Pastoral Lens
Husband and wife Paul and Sarah Jarzembowski examine ways to accompany youth and young adults with a pastoral approach during times of trauma, anxiety and uncertainty.
This session will explore some simple yet effective ways Church leaders can truly take the pastoral approach in ministering with young people.
Paul is assistant director, youth and young adult ministries at the United States Conference of Bishops, while Sarah is the coordinator for college campus and young adult ministries in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Wednesday November 11 at 2pm: Synodality: A Key for the Evangelisation of Young People
Sister Nathalie Becquart, who was an observer of the Youth Synod and has since been appointed as a consulter to the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, will share her insight and observations and look at the importance of synodality in the evangelisation of young people.
The monthly talks are open to all and will be live-streamed on CYMFed’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/c/cymfed. For more information visit cymfed.org.uk/journeying-together.
CYMFed shapes and supports Catholic youth ministry in England and Wales. CYMFed members work together to deliver a shared vision for youth ministry, offer training, support and events for youth minister and young people. CYMFed is an associated body of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. It organises the Flame Congress, the largest Catholic youth event in the UK. The biannual event gathers 8,500 young people at the SSE Arena, Wembley. Our picture shows Flame 2019.
