By Josh Low
Being surrounded by other young people who were passionate about the Catholic faith has inspired Bateman parishioner Elisha (Ellie) Sanghera to commence the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA).
The commitment to move forward in the Catholic faith saw her formally recognised as a candidate at the Rite of Election and Formal Recognition of Candidates ceremony last month.
While she was baptised as a Catholic at a young age, Ellie was raised in a family with different religions on either side, but did not partake in any of the further Sacraments of the Church.
“My mother’s side of the family is Catholic, whereas my father’s side is Sikh.
“But I’ve never grown up with a particular religious background as neither side were practicing their faith.
“I wasn’t fully aware of the customs for either religion and at a young age I somehow determined and was adamant that I was ‘half-Catholic, half-Sikh’, which I now realise makes no sense at all,” she said.
It was only after attending the youth group at Bateman Parish that she began to think and learn more about the Catholic faith, that she gained the courage to take the next step.
“I’ve wanted to progress in my faith journey since I began attending the Bateman Parish ‘Stronger Teen Youth Group’ in 2012.
“I had a feeling in my heart that this was the right thing to do,” she said.
Ellie believes that her friendships with fellow youth group members have been crucial in the exploration of her faith and the deepening of her relationship with God.
“I didn’t really have anyone to look up to in terms of the Catholic faith but everyone that I’ve met through this group has been a great blessing.
“It’s the first place that I started truly learning about what it means to be Catholic, and the people there inspired me to start my journey.
“I’ve never met anyone in my life more dedicated to their faith than the people in that group and each and every one of them has made an impact on me from the beginning.”
Ellie says that there has been one person in particular who has played a huge role in her faith journey; her sponsor, Aura, former youth worker at Bateman Parish.
“I have known Aura since I started attending the Parish youth group in 2012, so to have her as my sponsor brings me so much joy.
“It is such a great privilege for me to have her as my sponsor as she has walked with me this whole time, she has been there to answer any questions I had, even when I message her at insane hours and has just been an overall amazing support system throughout the entire journey,” she said.
Through her experiences, Ellie wishes to be an active witness of the faith to others, especially those who have never had an encounter with Catholicism.
“I hope that I will be able to encourage others, especially non-Catholics among my friends and family to consider Catholicism because of the impact it has made on my life,” she concluded.