To mark the end of the Year of Youth in November this year, young Catholics will converge upon an inconspicuous Brisbane warehouse that spends its weekdays as a carpark.
The Youth Evangelisation Office team leader, Melissa Fenech, paints a picture of what to expect at this Year of Youth Archdiocesan Celebration.
“There are so many opportunities for young people to attend prayer and formation events throughout the year – on average there are 70 events for young people in the Archdiocese of Brisbane alone in any given month. We always want to support these events as they feed young people into the local communities on the ground. However, we recognise the uniqueness of the Year of Youth and the opportunity it presents for us to bring together young people from the faith communities across the Archdiocese to celebrate in a big way,” Ms Fenech said.
“We wanted to create an event where the high schoolers and young adults would walk away feeling seen and loved and cared for by the Church.”
The event will feature finalists from Australia’s Got Talent 2016 – Indigenous artist Chris Tamwoy and dance crew The Equals, along with guest speakers Archbishop Mark Coleridge (Archbishop of Brisbane), Dave Jorna (Project Hatch), Nattasha Mierendorf (Ignite Youth), and Roby Curtis (Blind Eye Ministries). There will be food trucks, live music by The Nasalios (music duo), entertainment by Lachlan Mackay, and freebies for all attendees.
The most significant part of this event, however, is that it will be experienced through the context of local youth initiative groups.
“We recognise how important our youth leaders are in the Church, and it’s them who know their young people by name and can be the face of the Church. This event will offer a positive and uplifting environment that allows the youth leader to deepen their relationship with the young people they minister to.”
For this reason, there will be special times throughout the night where they gather as their local youth initiative group to build one another up.
The Year of Youth Archdiocesan Celebration will be held on Saturday 24th November 2018 from 5:309pm at 98 Montpelier Rd, Bowen Hills. Registrations close 31st October 2018 and can be done through your youth coordinator.
If you’re between the ages of 13-30 and are part of a Catholic faith community in the Archdiocese of Brisbane, please get in touch with your youth coordinator to express your interest in attending this event. For all other enquiries, contact the Youth Evangelisation Office at youthproject@bne.catholic.net.au