Sanctuary@Walsingham is THE International Prayer Festival of 2010.
It gives you the time and space you need to think about your faith, in amazing surroundings and a stress free environment. You can attend walks, talks, services and workshops which will make you want to explore your faith.
Catholic? In your late teens/twenties? Want to feel 10 out of 10 for 2010?
New year celebrations can be such an anticlimax. But if you’re looking for an alternative celebration this year, then devotion@balham could be right up your street.
During this special new year event, you can see the new year in with God, make new friends and start 2010 as you mean to go on.
Entry to this event for young adults is free if it’s your first time, so don’t worry if all your money is gone by Christmas. It’s taking place at the Holy Ghost church in Balham, with places to sleep nearby.
For more information or directions, visit www.youth2000.org, call 01937 584 451 or find details through Facebook.
Just wanted to let you know about the upcoming retreat this weekend, 30th October - 1st November.
The retreat is taking place at St Mary’s Retreat in Carmarthen, South Wales. It'll include a range of talks, life-changing services and time for quiet prayer. This event is pay-what-you-can, so it won't break the bank.
For more info go to www.youth2000.org or email me at info@youth2000.org
We ask you to pray for all the young leaders who served at the Walsingham festival. We held a formation day in the run-up to Walsingham to which all the volunteers were invited. It was a fantastic opportunity to plan and prepare together for Walsingham, and it really built up excitement! Two more formation days are planned to take place in London before the end of the year – these days are proving exciting times of fellowship and growth in the faith, where young leaders have the opportunity to develop skills needed at retreats and to build real friendships.
The next one is taking place on 21st November, put it in your diaries! More details will be available soon. Contact the office for more information.
We are delighted to bring you news of the Walsingham Festival 2009, which your prayers, support and donations made possible! This was the first Walsingham festival organised by the new leadership team, and although it was a daunting task, God proved He is never outdone in generosity. Now over a month since the festival ended, the national office is still receiving feedback and testimonies daily from young people whose lives have been changed. We would like to share with you some of these comments, so that you can see how your prayers and money go directly towards making possible the conversions of young people in this country!
Members of the Service Team, Retreat Team and Music Ministry arrived in Walsingham early to prepare the site and also to spend some time together before young people from all across the country descended on the shrine. We were grateful to have Fr Emmanuel CFR with us during this time to give formation and help prepare us for the task ahead. Thursday evening came and there was huge excitement as hundreds of young people arrived – we even ran out of food! One young person said:“I was quite overwhelmed as soon as we arrived at the site on the Thursday evening, when we went inside the main tent for the evening Mass. I had a great experience of such warmth, it was wonderful.”We were delighted to welcome over 1200 young people to this year’s festival, including large groups from both Germany and Spain.
It was a great privilege to have Eduardo Verastegui with us over the weekend. Eduardo is a Mexican Hollywood actor who had a radical conversion, making the decision to dedicate his talents to God. He starred in and produced the 2007 pro-life film “Bella”. (See our website for more details about his story.) Eduardo was a lively and charismatic speaker, inspiring many of the young people present to commit their talents to serving God, and to stand firm in their Christian values, especially chastity. Eduardo is a fantastic role model for young people and an amazing ambassador for the faith, and we were delighted he could attend. One young person said: “...I was probably helped most by his explanation of being a Catholic and working in the media, but still staying true to being a Catholic and living a Catholic lifestyle.”
All the speakers throughout the festival inspired and instructed the young people present in the basics of the faith. One young person said: “The Festival definitely made me think about things in a different way, for example the importance of living out chaste relationships, and what it means to be pro-life” and another said: “I would like to say a huge thanks ... The energy of the speakers every day was very refreshing and in every talk ... I always found at least one thing that was very relevant to me personally.”
We were supported by great numbers of priests over the weekend who heard hundreds and hundreds of Confessions! One young person said:“The constant availability of priests made it very easy to go to Confession, which was something I did (eventually) after I had not been for a long time,” and another said:“I enjoyed the Reconciliation service (I never thought I'd be saying that, after dreading Confession for so long) but I felt fully healed after and since I have found it easier to pray and I am generally just more happy!”
Many young people who attended appreciated the experience of being with over 1200 other young Catholics and the festival atmosphere of Youth 2000 Walsingham. Here is what some young people said: “Probably just being able to meet other Catholics in their twenties who had shared a lot of the experiences I had had was the best part about it”; “I made many good friends there who I have been in constant contact with since leaving the festival… when I arrived I knew no-one. The atmosphere was so genuinely friendly and it was also very humbling to meet other young people who have helped out in their community in real physical ways”; “I felt closer to God in such a friendly environment.”Please keep all these young people in your prayers, that they may receive the support and encouragement they need to continue living out their faith on a daily basis.
Fundraising
As you may be aware, we are still short of around £7,000 needed to pay off the costs of the Walsingham festival: bills still need to be paid for marquees, plumbing, catering costs, coaches, kitchen equipment, sound, St John’s Ambulance hire and furniture. If you feel prompted, please visit our fundraising page: http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/walsingham2009 where you will see even more testimonies from the festival, and where you can see the running total of what is still left to pay off. If you have any ideas of potential donors we could approach, please get in touch with the national office. And most of all, please keep this intention in your prayers.
We bring you some last-minute reminders relevant to our Safeguarding Policy. Please have a read so that you know what to expect when you arrive! Any queries, contact the National Office.
If you are bringing under 16s to the Festival: they must be accompanied by a responsible guardian, at a ratio of 1 adult to every 5 children.
Every group with under 16s must be accompanied by at least 2 responsible guardians: otherwise, in the event of an emergency that results in one of the minors having to leave the retreat, the remainder of the group will have to leave the retreat with the guardian too.
If you are bringing a group of under 16s with both boys and girls and you are staying overnight: the group must be accompanied by the correct number of male and female guardians who must sleep in the same accommodation. Minors cannot be left unsupervised at any time.
If you are 35 or over and you are not part of a family group, or not acting as a guardian to under 16s, we suggest (1) stay in a B&B in the village; (2) bring your own tent and camp in the pond field (we can direct you when you arrive) - this is an area put aside for over-35 volunteers at the festival. If you are attending with a family group, you must stay in the designated family area.
Emmet is 27 years old and was born, bred and reared in Ireland. He has a Social Care Degree and worked with individuals with intellectual disabilities for a number of years before studying Theology. While studying Theology Emmet met Pure in Heart who are a Irish Youth Group based in Dublin and through attending their prayer meetings he realised the true meaning and beauty of human sexuality and how it comes to its fullest expression in marriage (see Pureinheart.net). Emmet joined the Pure in Heart mission team 2 years ago and has been giving talks,power point presentations and workshops on sex, relationships and a true love that is pure. He has spoken to young and old in hundreds of schools in Ireland. Emmet has also been involved in Pure in Heart missions in the UK, Haiti and Kenya. The mission team also spoke in Harvard University where a Pure in Heart prayer group has now been established. The new Pure in Heart mission team also consists of Ken Parkes, Conel O'Callighan and Aine Kerns who are all from Ireland.
We look forward to seeing and hearing all of the Pure in Heart team at Walsingham this year.
Fr Danko will be joining us on the evening of Sunday 30th August to lead us into the testimony session. He is a Franciscan priest based in Medjugorje. Just last week he directed the annual youth festival in Medjugorje at which 50,000 young people from 60 different countries were present. It was an extremely joyful week and we are excited that Fr Danko, who is a powerful speaker with a particular charism for young people, will be able to join us!
This year at our Walsingham Prayer Festival we will be joined by Eduardo Verastegui!
Eduardo Verastegui is a Mexican actor and singer who had an amazing conversion experience.
At the height of his career when he had finally established himself in Hollywood, he decided to give up his secular lifestyle and use his talents to serve God.
He acted in and produced the film “Bella" (www.bellathemovie.com) an amazing pro-life film which has won many awards including the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival and which to date, has saved the lives of many babies! He also founded "Metanoia Films", a production company in Hollywood, determined to make films that reflect faith and virtue.
He is an active international speaker on pro-life issues and continues to share his powerful testimony and inspire young people to follow a path that leads to Christ. He is coming to talk to us about 'The Call to Holiness' and we are looking forward to welcoming him to the UK.
Our names are Dom and Phil. We are currently just over half way on a fundraising pilgrimage for Youth 2000. Youth 2000 is a charity very dear to our hearts for its work in drawing people closer to Christ through the Catholic Church.
We were inspired at the New Year retreat in Balham to undertake a sponsored cycle across Europe in order to raise money for the Youth 2000 summer prayer festival in Walsingham. The cost to Youth 2000 to organise the national retreat is roughly £80,000. It is a donation-only event in order to make it more freely available to anyone and everyone who would like to attend.
Our cycle started in Rome, and we crossed Italy and headed south through Croatia and Bosnia to get to the Marian shrine in Medjugorje. We then took a ferry back to Italy, crossed the Alps through Austria (240 miles of mountains!) and we are currently cycling north through Germany, heading to Walsingham - England's Nazareth.
This event can only be made possible through the generosity and charity of benefactors such as you.
We are keeping an online blog at www.catholicbiketrip.com - there's also a link on our website to sponsor us, and in doing so help to cover the massive costs of the event.
Please do keep us and the festival in your prayers! With best wishes,
Anna Cowell knows just how hard it can be to go home at the end of the festival... Which is why she will be offering this workshop on the day before we head home... Here's what's in store...
Packing Up Your Tent Workshop Anna Cowell : 27 : Youth Officer : Diocese of Leeds Loves Lourdes, Chocolate, Talking about JPII & Sex and has a recent addiction to West Wing! So, you've had a brilliant few days here at Youth 2000 and now it's nearly time to think about packing up your tent to go home. What else should you be packing in your bag in order to keep your faith and the Youth 2000 experience alive when you get home? Come along to this workshop for some freebies and some tips about making the most out of heading home!
Kuba Kmiec recently spoke at the last Youth 2000 retreat, therapy@ealing. We welcome him back as he gives one of the main talks at this year's Walsingham.
Kuba has been involved with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal since 1995. He spent 3 years working for the International Catholic Programme For Evangelisation (ICPE Mission) running evangelistic outreaches in Poland, Ukraine, Latvia and Lithuania. He moved to London in 2003 and has been part of Soul Food, a Catholic charismatic prayer group for young adults in London, since 2004. He is currently part of the Soul Food Service Team.
We look forward to hearing his top tips on how to pray!
Every year, a lot of behind-the-scenes work makes the festival happen. From cooking, to stewarding, from preparing everything for Mass, to cleaning the toilets, many generous and enthusiastic people are needed to put the festival together. If you have been to Youth 2000 before and would be willing to help out, please contact the Youth 2000 National Office - we would LOVE to hear from you! Just call 020 8675 2743 or email info@youth2000.org. You can help out with just about anything:
catering
security (day and night)
stewarding
sacristy
registration
tuck shop
programme runner
Take your pick and call us!
If you want to know more about what any of the above involve, please get in touch. If you know someone who's super-talented in any of these areas, please get them to call the office too!
Are you thinking of coming to the festival but don't know anyone else who's going? Today we hear from Youth 2000 trustee, Danelia Cardona, about her first Walsingham experience...
My first Walsingham was in 2003. I had recently returned to the Church and was seeking for true love, truth and identity. The festival was advertised at the London prayer group and although I was not sure whether to go or not, especially since I didn't know too many people, I felt a "tug" in my heart - so I took the risk! I booked myself on the coach that the prayer group organised.
The weekend was filled with little miracles. It was a relief to find out it was donation only and that the coach was so reasonably priced for a return journey. I gave what I could! My accommodation and food was sorted and even on the first night I slept in the front of the national director's home, who I didn't know who it was at the time. It was his son the next morning who confirmed that his dad was "the boss of all of Youth 2000".
I was a bit apprehensive by the "evangelical" style of the praise and worship and my heart sank the first morning I walked into the tent: "oh happy clappy" I thought. However, the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed captured me and I was from that moment on more interested in the content than the form. I loved all the talks and felt they nourished me and elightened me. I took a lot from them home and made new friends through the discussion groups. I discovered a new found love for our Mother Mary and enjoyed praying the Rosary with others every morning. The fellowship with other young people certainly enhanced my experience and people who I met there are still friends.
My decision to train as a psychiatrist was born out of that festival after a time in Adoration seeking God's will. I now understand how He wants the best for us and our complete fulfilled. In spite of the challenges of my job I love it and it is a great joy every day to know that I am serving Him through it.
Walsingham was definitely a turning point for me. Although I had had a powerful conversion experience a few months prior to the retreat it was during this retreat that I gave my life to Christ and found that true love, truth and identity that I had been searching for... In a tent, in a field, in Norfolk.
On Saturday twenty young people met in London to plan and prepare for sanctuary@walsingham. It was a day for formation, prayer, training, planning, and catching up, and it was exciting to see how many talented young people were keen to offer their gifts and energy to serve other young people at this year's festival!
Fr Emmanuel CFR was with us to inspire us ready for the work of evangelisation we are preparing for in sanctuary@walsingham. He spoke about the importance of evangelising in our daily lives, and reminded us that the Church exists to evangelise! Those of us in the church pews need to be bringing other people in! This tied in with what Fr Stephen Wang has been teaching at other formation days: as lay people, it is our mission to sanctify the world - because we are in places and see people every day that priests and religious don't come into contact with. This is really our mission for sanctuary@walsingham - to invite those young people who otherwise wouldn't have contact with the Church and to show them that the Church is alive and that Christ really brings Good News to their lives!
Fr Emmanuel also talked to us about the importance of being "plugged into" Christ if we are to be effective evangelists. We need to be deeply rooted in Christ and receive our nourishment and support from the sacraments, personal prayer, prayer groups, Scripture, etc, if we are going to be open to opportunities that God gives us to speak about Him to the people we meet. If we don't experience the Gospel as Good News for ourselves, how can we show others that it is really is Good News?!
The day ended with a blessed time of prayer together and a trip to the pub. Thank you Fr Emmanuel for firing us up ready for the festival ahead!
We are very excited to welcome Lucy McCully! Lucy is 27 years old and she was born and bred in Scotland. She worked as a maths teacher before taking a year out to study Theology, after which she found herself taking up the position of Education Officer with the pro-life organisation SPUC Scotland. Lucy is an experienced pro-life speaker and for the last two years has been in and out of hundreds of schools around Scotland delivering a programme of talks such as Abortion, bioethics, fertility, sexual health and relationships. She has also been leading SPUC’s youth activism movement and has spoken at both national and international conferences, youth retreats and most recently at the All Ireland Rally for Life in Dublin. Lucy was the organiser of the 2nd International Youth Pro-Life Conference, which was held in Edinburgh earlier this year.
We look forward to Lucy's workshop, 'What does it mean to be Pro-Life?
We welcome Michelle Moran to Walsingham this year!! Michelle, born and raised in Leeds was a teacher before she together with her husband became the founding members of Sion Catholic Community for Evangelism which was set up in 1985. Michelle has a great deal of experience of working full time in the Church, nationally and internationally over the last 25 years and she has a recognised ministry in preaching teaching and evangelism which has taken her all over the world! She is currently the Chair of the NSC for Catholic Charismatic Renewal in England and Wales and President of ICCRS, the International Council for Charismatic Renewal, which has its offices in the Vatican. In 2007 Michelle was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to be a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. She was an Auditor at the XII Ordinary General Assembly Synod of Bishops, on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.
We look forward to Michelle's inspiring talk which she will deliver on the Sunday on the topic of the Holy Spirit, 'Receive the power'.
FIVE fantastic reasons YOU should come to sanctuary@walsingham this summer
1. BE INSPIRED! Great speakers including Michelle Moran, Fr Emmanuel CFR, Sr Mary Trinity SOLT, Kuba Kmiec, Charlie Conner and Fr Danko Perutina will be giving inspiring teaching that will form you in your faith
2. BE REFRESHED! Lots of time and opportunity to be guided in prayer together but also to spend time alone with Jesus... even in the middle of the night
3. BE CHALLENGED! A selection of workshops each day... Pure In Heart will be looking at how it is possible to truly live the Church's teaching about chastity in our relationships; Fr Stephen Wang and a panel of experts are ready to be grilled with all your questions on the faith; biblical scholar Fr John Hemer will be leading you through the Bible; Fr Stephen Langridge and friends have all the secrets on how to discover your vocation; and Lucy McCully will be talking about how we can Love Life!
4. BE FRIENDLY! Experience our fun, vibrant, festival atmosphere and make friends for life while standing in the lunch queue or over a hot chocolate at the end of the day
5. BE RENEWED! The highlights of the festival include two life-changing services where we have the opportunity to meet and be touched by God in a deep and powerful way
Bring your friends, family, colleagues, members of your parish, fellow students and any other young people you know!! Walsingham really is the place to be this August bank holiday weekend
