Acknowledgement of Country, welcome and opening prayer. Photo: Diocese of Parramatta.
By Theresia Titus
The Australian Catholic Bishops Office for Youth and the Diocese of Parramatta hosted the Australian Catholic Youth Ministry Convention (ACYMC) 2018 from 21 to 23 September.
Held at Rooty Hills, Western Sydney, the event focussed on the call of Pope Francis to “Open New Horizons for Spreading Joy” and “go out to the peripheries to support young people in finding their place in the world”.
Catholic Education Western Australia Executive Director Dr Debra Sayce was the first keynote speaker at the convention.
During her session, Dr Sayce emphasised that passion, courage and competence are vital to opening new horizons for spreading the joy of the Gospel.
ACYMC 2018 Participants during the opening mass. Photo: Diocese of Parramatta.
She began by explaining it is crucial for youth ministry workers to be thoroughly grounded in who they are and their faith to help young people realise their God-given potential and influence on other people.
“How we present ourselves in our faith tradition to others, particularly young people, is crucial,” Dr Sayce said.
She then continued by challenging the audience with the question “Why?” and invited them to reflect on their reason, purpose and motivation in doing what they do, and in defining their self-identity.
“Why we are here I suspect, is because of young people. We want to grow, we want to know more, we want to help, we want to assist, and we want to contribute to the lives of the people we touch,” Dr Sayce said.
Dr Sayce presented the audience with results from the 2017 Mission Australia Youth Survey, which is based on 24,000 young people.
She highlighted that only 29.2 per cent of the 24,000 young Australian surveyed are involved with religious group activities, compared to 75.2 per cent participating in sports or 54.1 per cent who undertake voluntary work.
Dr Sayce also explained that more than 60 per cent of those young Australians surveyed, looked at their future positively.
“So our young people are reasonably optimistic. We have to look at where they are and what motivates them, what challenges them, and what the barriers are for them to reach their God-given potential, and you’re at that cutting edge,” she said.
Opening Mass of Australian Catholic Youth Ministry Convention (ACYMC) 2018 celebrated by Bishop Vincent Long. Photo: Diocese of Parramatta.
However, she emphasized that the top challenges faced by young Australians, such as mental health, alcohol, drugs, equity, discrimination and being competent in the work of youth ministry is crucial in assisting these young Australians to tackle their issues.
She then continued by drawing on the words of Pope Francis, saying that to have better training, studying and depth of understanding of scripture is essential in presenting the rich tradition of the Catholic Church to the people.
“Our young people are not pristine perfect kids. They present themselves with great vulnerability. So it’s really important that as workers in the area of youth, whatever the role, we have a responsibility to ensure that we are trained well.
“We are called to mature in our work, and I think that’s a really important piece of our work in youth ministry,” Dr Sayce explained.
Dr Sayce laid out three goals each youth ministry worker should achieve: “to foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person, to draw young people into responsible participation in the life and mission of the Catholic community and to empower young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in today’s world”.
Concluding her session, Dr Sayce referred to the quote by Pope Francis that says “the world needs a new kind of young person”.
“One committed to the highest ideals and eager to build the civilisation of love,” Dr Sayce recalled.
“Be those young persons, be a joyful witness to God’s love, and for the world in which we live,” she concluded.