By Caroline Smith
With Lent being a season of reflection, one local parish found a way to encourage this, gathering young people together through an overnight 24-hour fast at the beginning of the season.
On 18 of February, members of the Pallotine youth ministry at Riverton’s Our Lady Queen of Apostles Church hosted FAST24 – gathering for a weekend of fun activities, workshops and discussions – all while forgoing food to reflect on the purpose of Lent.
The event began with Stations of the Cross on Friday night and ended with a vigil Mass on Saturday evening. In between, attendees had the choice of staying overnight at the parish centre, where they slept on cardboard boxes to reflect on the experience of homeless people.
Youth Ministry member David Tham said the idea for FAST24 originally came from a ministry group overseas.
“The fast concept originally came from Singapore, but it’s the first time we’ve done it at Riverton,” he said.
“We’re planning a second one in December – it will be fasting in the light of Advent, just as this was fasting in the light of Lent.”
Some members of the Singapore group – ACTS29Mission – attended FAST24 to present a workshop on how young people could become involved in outreach work, using their own experience of outreach activities in the Philippines as an example.
Youth ministry leaders also gave a presentation about St Vincent Pallotti, who founded the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallotines) in 1846. This was followed by a tour of the church and discussion about its history.
In addition to workshops and discussion, attendees also took part in activities of a quieter and more reflective nature, such as dawn prayers and a riverside walk on the Saturday morning, as well as Reconciliation and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament later that evening.
Mr Tham said FAST24 had also provided an opportunity for older parishioners to connect with young people through discussion, workshops and reflection.
“The purpose is to re-engage the youth and young at heart, going back to the basics of why we celebrate Lent and Advent,” he said.
“Our Youth Ministry includes a mix of young and old, and the older people have taken ownership of evangelising to younger people.”
With the original FAST24 event finished, those who attended are already looking ahead to the one planned for Advent, with a reunion group meeting up monthly for Stations of the Cross and dinner.