Perth Archdiocesan parishes, that have teamed up with 24:7 Youth Ministry, saw close to 300 young people celebrate Easter over the final weekend of the school holidays at 10 of its youth groups that were in operation.
Across the Easter long weekend, 24:7 Applecross began an eventful and fun-filled week with Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, where St Bene’s Youth participated in a beautiful service to journey with Jesus.
The following Friday, Applecross had a blindingly colourful combined ‘Paint War’ with 24:7 South! The groups had heaps of cool games, getting super messy with paint everywhere, finishing with a big free for all and sausage sizzle.
While 24:7 South did not have youth group that night, a dozen of them attended the Youth Mission Team’s first iStand camp for the year, an incredible weekend where young Catholics got to meet and make some amazing new friends.
24:7 Nedlands had a fantastic Easter Eggstravaganza on the Friday with 27 young people chatting and playing different games, including an eggsceptional Easter egg hunt throughout the parish hall followed a week later with Picnic in the Park. 24:7 Ocean Reef had a super fun games night on the Sunday started with the classic favourites ‘Name tag’ and ‘Who stole the bishops hat’. This was followed with an epicly chaotic Easter egg relay hunt chaos.
Eighteen young folks had a chilled night at 24:7 Balcatta, played football (soccer) and having engaging conversations before playing a range of games. The group recently went for laser tag. 24:7 Greenwood kicked off its Easter shenanigans with a thrilling Easter Egg Hunt with 73 eggs and four packets of Oreos to discover. On 18 April, the group held a mixed Netball Game Day after the 9am Mass at All Saints Church.
An Easter-themed Games Night took place at 24:7 Woodvale, ending the night with pizza and cupcakes made by one of 24:7’s awesome leaders. Easter at 24:7 Floreat explored the theme of “Who is God?”. It looked at who the Holy Spirit is and how it fits into Christianity. 24:7 Subiaco had a small and engaging night with the young people, starting outside with a hectic game of ultimate frisbee, then moving inside for what would be a blast of new games and some absolute classics.
Youth group at 24:7 Osborne Park was also filled with a holiday games night. Due to the holidays and on the same night as the Istand camp, it had a rather small night with 24 awesome young people present. The small numbers allowed for some awesome antics starting off the night with a few rounds of Just Dance, Kitty wants a chair, sleeping lions, and the name game. The night was a crazy amount of fun with such wholesome energy.
Mario Borg, 24:7 Youth Ministry Director, shared this reflection on 22 April:
“The Easter story forces us to think about the resurrection. It really should not be the only time we think about what it means to rise from the dead. We should do so every Sunday when we proudly profess the Nicene Creed at Mass.
Let us get this straight. We stand at attention, side by side and proclaim statements of beliefs around God the Father, Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit, the Church, Baptism, the Resurrection, and the World to come.
Towards the end of the Creed we actually state, ‘I look forward to the resurrection of the dead…’ It may be a surprise to some that this statement is not actually referring to Jesus’ resurrection. If this were the case, we would not be looking forward – we would be looking backwards! What we are looking forward to is our own bodies being raised from the dead.
This is exactly what Jesus promised when He spoke of the controversy of eating his flesh and drinking his blood in John 6:54, “The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Is it any wonder then, that we rise up and proclaim the Nicene Creed at our Sunday Mass. It is at Mass that we partake in the meal that offers us Jesus’ body and blood and along with Him the promise of eternal life and the resurrection of our bodies!
Wow, this is amazing news! This is another reason we should be joyful in this Easter Season. So, come on, spread the word…there are so many faith-filled young people coming together at Masses all around Perth each week to celebrate this truth. Our youth groups too are rejoicing in the truth that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Let us not be afraid to invite as many young people as possible to be part of this life-changing truth and join our vision for “Living For God, Full On, Full Time, All the Time”!