Sanctuary@Walsingham 26 - 30 August 2010

Programme for Sanctuary@Walsingham, 26 - 30 August 2010

2010-08-20T09:51:00.001-07:00

Sanctuary@Walsingham set to be a scorcher!

2010-08-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

Just 6 days now until Sanctuary@Walsingham!!!! Have you checked out the latest weather forecast?!? Walsingham is set to be a glorious bank holiday weekend! If the fantastic line up of speakers hasn't tempted you, then the weather definitely should!

26 August

Forecast

Partly Cloudy
High 18°C
Low 12°C
Chance of Precip.
10 %

27 August

Forecast

Light Rain
High 18°C
Low 13°C
Chance of Precip.
60 %

28 August

Forecast

Partly Cloudy
High 17°C
Low 12°C
Chance of Precip.
20 %

29 August

Forecast

Partly Cloudy
High 18°C
Low 12°C
Chance of Precip.
10 %

Asides from that one day of 'light rain', it looks to be sunshine all round! You might want to bring your wellies though just in case!

Interested in coming and want more information? Visit http://www.youth2000.org/page.asp?id=92 email info@youth2000.org or call 07733 395 811

We look forward to seeing you there!

Youth 2000 ball!!

2010-08-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a glimpse of the Youth 2000 Summer Ball! Picture taken by Ed Morton

Introducing our speaker, Fr Christopher Jamison...

2010-08-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

Joining us all the way from Worth Abbey we are very excited to welcome the renowned speaker Fr Christopher Jamison! Benedictine Monk and former Abbott at Worth Abbey in Sussex, Fr Christopher and the community at Worth may be familiar to some for their appearance on the BBC TV series, The Monastery. Soon to hit our screens is 'The Big Silence', also featuring the community at Worth Abbey.

Fr Christopher's talk on the Saturday is not to be missed!

Fr Stan Fortuna!!!

2010-08-12T04:46:00.000-07:00

Fransiscan Friar of the Renewal and international speaker, Fr Stan Fortuna joins us all the way from New York for this year's Summer Prayer Festival. He'll be in Walsingham for the whole 5 days giving workshops and inspiring us with his powerful witness and love of God.

Click on the link for a clip of Fr Stan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ0IQmzgNFA

5 great reasons to come to sanctuary@walsingham this year

2010-08-12T04:33:00.000-07:00

We have five great reasons you should come to Walsingham this year...

1.Fr Stan Fortuna- the renowned rapping friar is with us for the whole weekend - he will be giving some great teaching and performances - be sure not to miss him!

2. Fr Christopher Jamison - Fr Christopher will be sharing with us his great teaching on prayer over the weekend. Fr Jamison has recently finished filming The Big Silence, another BBC series featuring the community at Worth Abbey.

3. Time for prayer, receiving the sacraments, and praise- the whole purpose of Walsingham is for you to connect back with God - spend time with him in prayer, receive the grace he wants to give you in the sacraments, and join in with some wonderful praise and worship led by our music ministry.

4. Go deeper in your faith- it may be that you have been to a few retreats and would like to explore a bit deeper... This is why every afternoon, we offer a series of workshops where expert speakers lead you to explore those pressing questions. Grill the panel of experts with any questions you have at the Open Forum. Discover what it means to be a man or a woman and how you should live your faith in relationships. Use the weekend to pray and explore the vocation God is calling you to.

5. Meet other young Catholics- Sanctuary@Walsingham isn’t just about being on your knees all weekend! There is a lot of social time built into the programme, with many opportunities to meet other young people. Thursday evening this year will see a new programme of entertainment, which will help lead you into the retreat and get to know others you will be with over the weekend. Each afternoon there is time to socialise, play some sports or just relax.

Finally, bring some friends!!! Even if Youth 2000 is not for you anymore, there are so many young Catholics in the Church who could benefit by discovering the love God has for them. We encourage you to “step out into the deep” and think of 3 people you think could benefit from this prayer festival. Most importantly, pray for these people, and then ask God to give you the courage to invite them. Allow him to work in their life! You will be amazed by what he can do.

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!!!!

2010-08-04T02:44:00.000-07:00

In just 22 days, young people from all over the UK (and even abroad) will start to descend on the small village of Little Walsingham for Youth 2000's annual Prayer Festival - a fantastic bank holiday weekend guaranteed!!

This year's prayer festival will give you to time and space to think about your relationship with God. In beautiful surroundings and stress free environment you can pray, listen to inspiring talks, attend many different workshops, meet young people like yourself, take walks and have fun!

So, are you feeling prompted to come this year? Do you have friends who would benefit?

An outstanding line up of speakers include...

Fr Stan Fortuna

Fr Christopher Jamieson (most notably known for appearing on the BBC series 'The Monastery')

James Parker

Anna Cowell - fun and bubbly Youth Officer for the diocese of Leeds

Check the blog regularly to keep up to date with all news for Walsingham 2010!

Westminster Cathedral this weekend 7/8th August!!

2010-08-04T02:33:00.000-07:00

Have you got some spare time this weekend to help publicise sanctuary@walsingham, this year's prayer festival? We are keen to gather many people to hand out flyers after the masses at Westminster Cathedral this weekend. Please let us know if you are free. Contact info@youth2000.org or 0208 675 2743

The Ball - a GREAT night!

2010-07-29T06:52:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night Youth 2000 and friends enjoyed a fantastic night of food, dancing, entertainment, and a riveting bidding war at the talent auction! Lots of fun was had by all and it will certainly be a night to remember! We thank all those who came and donated so generously. All money raised goes directly to this summer's prayer festival, sanctuary@walsingham - an event which hopes to welcome over 1000 young people to a weekend of prayer, music, daily mass, workshops and the opportunity to build good friendships.

Please to keep this event in your prayers and if you feel moved to help with our fundraising please visit http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/walsingham2010. Every penny helps!

Photos of the ball to follow soon...

Youth 2000 Fundraising Summer Ball - £20 non dining ticket!!!

2010-07-21T03:18:00.000-07:00

Youth 2000 are happy to announce the availability of £20 non-dining guest tickets for the Youth 2000 Fund-Raising Ball!

Date/Time: Saturday 24th July, 2010 from 8pm onwards

Venue: Thistle Hotel, Bryanston Street, Marble Arch, London W1H 7EH

Suite: Albert Suite (Drinks Reception) & Hyde Park Suite (Dinner/Dance suite)

This ticket will allow you to have a drink in Albert Suite (whilst the dining guests are eating), access to the Talent Auction & participation in the salsa lesson & dancing in the evening!

Drop me an email (janetjoseph14@ aol.com) or call me on my mobile: 07872 611 103 if you would like a ticket, as I will need to inform the hotel & security presence on the night, of numbers/guest names in advance.

I will send you details of how to pay for your £20 ticket for your non-dining ticket & further information about the night.

All the money raised from ticket sales will go directly towards the Youth 2000 Walsingham Prayer Festival: 26-30 August, 2010.

Envelope stuffing!!

2010-07-16T14:15:00.000-07:00

Preparations for Walsingham are well under way! Just a few weeks ago, Mark and Alana and other generous volunteers gave up some of their Saturday to join us at the Y2K office to fill over 800 (yes 800!!) envelopes with flyers and posters to send out to parishes and schools over the UK. Look out for a poster in your parish!
If you would like some flyers and posters, please get in touch with the national office info@youth2000.org

Youth 2000's Fund-Raising Black Tie Summer Ball

2010-06-17T06:25:00.000-07:00

To include drinks reception, 3-course dinner, private DJ & dancing, raffle ticket prizes to be won, the legendary Youth 2000 talent auction & prizes for the best dressed table of the evening!

Date: Saturday, 24 July 2010
Time: 18:30 - 23:30
Location: Thistle Hotel, Bryanston Street, Marble Arch, London W1H 7EH

Drinks Reception within Albert Suite from 6.30pm
Dinner: 3-course meal within the Hyde Park Suite from 8pm (included in ticket price)

Ticket Price:Only £60.00

How to pay: Please post cheque's made payable to 'Youth 2000' to the Youth 2000 National Office, 36 Nightingale Square, Balham, SW12 8QN

Please state any dietary requirements and include your email address so that we can confirm receipt.
If you would like to reserve a private table for ten of your friends, then please let us know ASAP as there is a only a max capacity for 22 tables of 10 people!

Contact Details: Youth 2000 Office:info@youth2000.org or 02086752743 OR Janet Joseph janetjoseph14@aol.com or 07872 611 103

Please invite your family, friends, colleagues & parish community. Every penny raised will go directly to the work of evangelisation for the young people in the UK!
This fund-raising event is particularly to raise the £80,000 needed to run the National Youth Prayer Festival this summer, 26-30 August 2010.

Update from Youth 2000 HQ

2010-06-11T03:39:00.000-07:00

Hello readers,

Hopefully you all received the latest update email about the new London leadership team. Noel, Janet, Daniel, Hannah, Laura and myself Lanie are the members of this team we're having fun working together and the plans for Walsingham are in motion and we're excited about this years festival!

Our publicity campaign is well underway! Including posters in 4 train stations around the country. These can be found in Waterloo, London Victoria, Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester BR. If you happen to pass one or want to go on the hunt for one please send us a picture of you with it, maybe you and some friends could pose with it, perhaps you have a Youth 2000 t-shirt and could have a picture taken of you wearing the t-shirt with the poster, we want to see you and the posters. Wacky, interesting, original, silly faces, whatever it may be! The posters will only be in the stations until 20th June so be quick, send in your photo and it may be included in a future blog! Daniel found the one in Victoria and sent it in.

We're looking for ideas and people to help us with our fundraising for this years Walsingham prayer festival. If you have any ideas for sponsored events that the team could do or would like to do something yourself please email the National Office at info@youth2000.org.

There are still tickets available for the summer ball, if you would like to attend please see the website http://www.youth2000.org/page.asp?id=93

Check back next week for an update!

God bless you all,

Lanie

Spring is nearly here!

2010-03-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

That's right, 20th March is the official first day of spring! I'm sure you're all looking forward to packing away the winter coats, wellies and gloves and breaking out the sunglasses, shorts and flip flops!

Hopefully you've spotted a few new born lambs and have seen the daffodils breaking through the soil to say hello to the sun.

Here at Youth 2000 HQ we've got a few events to look forward to in the next few months and we hope you'll be able to join us at one or two of them.

First up is the next formation day. This will be happening at 2 Calbourne Road, Balham on 27th March. The day starts with 10am Mass at Holy Ghost, Balham. Please contact Lanie at the national office for more information (info@youth2000.org).

Next month we've got healing@healing, the retreat is taking place at St Benedict's School, Ealing. The dates for this retreat are 23rd - 25th April. The programme and parental consent forms are available on the website www.youth2000.org.

24th July is the date for the Youth 2000 Summer Fundraising Ball. The venue is Thistle Hotel, Marble Arch, London. There will be a drinks reception from 6:30pm and a three course meal will be served at 8:30pm. Ticket price is £60 per person, please send cheques for payment to the national office, with your name, email address for confirmation and whether or not you are vegitarian. More information can be found on the facebook group page under events. This event is primarily to help raise funds for the Walsingham prayer festival...

Which will be taking place 26th - 30th August. Walsingham is our biggest event of the year, held in a couple of fields at the site of the National Shrine to Our Lady. We will be expecting over 1000 young people! It's going to be great and you should definitely be there!

If you haven't already found it we've set up a fan page on facebook, simply search for Youth 2000 fans or click on the link on the right hand side of the blog. It's a great place to put photos from retreats, find friends and share your experience of Youth 2000.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact the office.

Have a great weekend!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! As usual we saw the New Year in at our annual Balham retreat. We welcomed over 200 people to the retreat including people from Scotland, Leeds, the Midlands, and London. We had some great speakers including Fr Emmanuel (CFR), Dr Danelia Cardona, Fr Julian Green, Fr Stephen Wang and Sr Jacinta (CFR). It was wonderful to see so many people choosing to spend the new year at a retreat, we had a great time and hope that those of you that attended did too!

The next retreat is just around the corner. We'll be heading to Harrogate for the weekend of 19th - 21st February. The retreat is being held at St John Fisher's High school. It would be great to see there! More details will be on the website next week along with the programme and parental consent forms.

devotion@balham

2009-12-18T06:46:00.000-08:00

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.

rejuvenation@Carmarthen

2009-10-26T06:03:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

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

Hope to see you all there!

GB,
Lanie Hallett

Next formation day

2009-10-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

Formation Days

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.

Follow up from Walsingham

2009-10-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

Just a bit of an update:

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.

Setting up the site...

2009-08-26T00:54:00.000-07:00

"Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight" (Isaiah 40:3)

The team has been working hard all week to prepare the site, to welcome you and to welcome the Lord!

Some of the team

The tents go up

Relaxing at the end of the day

We look forward to seeing you very soon!!

First Press Coverage of Walsingham!

2009-08-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6808514.ece

We are excited to bring you a Times online article which appeared at the weekend on one of our guest speakers, Eduardo Verastegui!

Important Information for all Festival-Goers!

2009-08-20T05:09:00.000-07:00

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.

From the Emerald Isle we welcome Emmet!

2009-08-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

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.

Introducing... Fr Danko Perutina!

2009-08-11T06:49:00.000-07:00

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!

Introducing to Walsingham 2009: Eduardo Verastegui!

2009-08-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

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.

1500 miles for Youth 2000

2009-07-30T02:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers

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,

Dom & Phil

One of the many workshops Walsingham will have to offer...

2009-07-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

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!

Introducing our third speaker...

2009-07-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

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!

Volunteers!!!

2009-07-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

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!

My First Walsingham

2009-07-21T04:03:00.000-07:00

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.

Formation Day!

2009-07-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

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!

Introducing our second speaker...

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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 2^nd 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?

2009-07-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

So who's speaking at Walsingham this year? Introducing our first speaker...

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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'.

5 reasons to come to Walsingham!

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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

We hope to see you there :o)

Hannah