The Marist Sisters’ College in Woolwich, hosted four Inner West Catholic schools for the quarterly “Deanery Youth Afternoon,” on 30 October.
The schools attending were Marist Sisters’ Woolwich, Marist College Eastwood, Holy Cross Ryde and St Vincent’s Ashfield.
Facilitated by Sydney Catholic Youth (SCY), the afternoon event was a blend of fun, faith and formation, engaging the students in thoughtful reflection.
“All year we’ve been working with some of the schools in this deanery region,” said Anna Harrison, Sydney Catholic Youth Officer.
“They’ve invited us to come and help participate in the youth afternoons, which is awesome because the kids choose to be here.”
Prior to the involvement of SCY, youth ministry co-ordinators from each school would co-ordinate these events. But over the year SCY have been invited to facilitate.
“Having the SCY team involved in youth deanery afternoons, brings, a sense of excitement… They know how to connect with our students,” said Caroline Morizzi, the Marist Sisters’ Religious Education Co-ordinator.
“Connecting with our local schools is important—especially being a sister school, connecting with our brother schools.
“It’s an important aspect of why we are trying to get our youth together and make those strong connections,” said Caroline.
“A big part of our ministry is the ‘follow up.’ We hate seeing kids once. We like to be able to build a rapport, then continue to provide talks and fellowship to nurture these relationships,” said Anna.
On the afternoon The Catholic Weekly visited, the packed school hall of 150 in Woolwich, were screaming at the top of their lungs as SCY Officer, Julian Vieira, warmed up attendees with a game of “Head or Tails.”
Anna then masterfully led them through a talk on the theme of joy, speaking about how true joy comes from one’s faith—touching on her childhood experience battling illness.
This resonated with student, Aisling O’Connor, who said she was reminded of the importance love and faith had in finding true joy.
Another part of the success of the afternoons is a presentation from clergy. This time, Fr Steve Drum from St Charles Borromeo in the Ryde Gladesville parish introduced the students to Lectio Divina.
He explained it as “a divine way of reading the Bible,” that helps us understand Scripture, what God is saying to us and how we should respond.
As many of these students enter the stressful period of HSC, it’s a timely message.
“I learnt how important it is to just listen to him, reading a scripture and letting it speak to me,” said student Michael Ajaka.
“I’m going to use that in my life, whenever the stresses of school get a bit too hectic.”
For Anna, it’s her favourite part of youth ministry.
“When you see that sort of truth registering on the kids’ faces, it’s all worth it,” she said.
“Because it’s just truth, it’s our faith and it’s the love of God. When you see that resonating on their faces, it doesn’t get better than that!”