More than a dozen youth leaders from Perth headed to the national bi-annual Australian Catholic Youth Ministry (ACYM) Convention hosted in Adelaide from 3-5 October 2014.
They were joined by almost 400 participants and two Bishops from Western Australia.
The theme for the convention was taken from the World Youth Day (WYD) 2014 theme “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3).
Formation, information and inspiration were delivered by Bishops and Australia’s best Youth Ministers for the three days.
The event also included a National WYD launch of the new official tour operator for Krakow 2016 – Cosmos.
It was a Polish themed dinner at the Convention, complete with Polish dancers during the night and a mini- concert by Fr Rob Galea.
The next Australian Catholic Youth (ACY) Festival to be hosted in Adelaide in December of 2015 was also launched on the Saturday evening of the convention.
The big announcement was accompanied by great food, spectacular program and a festive venue.
The ACYM Convention included plenary sessions across a variety of topics and workshops on how to speak to young people about vocations, safe-guarding young people, training new leaders, and studies in youth ministry.
The youth leaders who attended were able to gain resources and teachings from a wide variety of youth ministers from around Australia.
Nationally, the second edition of the “Anointed and Sent – Australian Vision for Catholic Youth Ministry” was launched by the ACBC Office for Youth.
It has been five years since the document was initially given by the Bishops of Australia to the Church and some great progressions have occurred in developing the Bishops’ support for youth ministry around the country.
The convention concluded with a Eucharistic celebration presided by Bishop Eugene Hurley of Darwin.
The ACYM Convention will once again happen in two years’ time.
While the Perth youth leaders gained valuable lessons and resources throughout the convention, one thing they undoubtedly took back with them was a connection with many aspiring and inspiring youth leaders from around Australia.