Youth Archives - Page 3 of 7

Dare to Dream is ready to go

With just on a month to go, everything is ready for the launch of Dare to Dream programme in Lyon, France.

“The final touches are all that’s left” says Marist Father on the organising committee, Alejandro Muñoz.

Dare to Dream is ready to go says Alejandro Muñoz — Alejandro Muñoz SM of the Dare to Dream organising committee

Dare to Dream is a world-wide gathering of Marist Youth taking place from 17 – 23 July and marks the 200th anniversary of the young Marists who signed a pledge at Fourvière to found the Society of Mary.

“Sharing “The Marist Places“; our spiritual origins, is such a pivotal part to understanding our Marist spirituality”, he said in a statement and responding to questions put to him.

As well as visiting a number of the Marist Places, the programme also provides for participant input.

Fr Muñoz thinks the opportunity to meet and learn from other young lay Marists will be a rich experience for everyone. He hopes the youth who mark the Fourviere event will return to their provinces enriched, energised and willing to share the Marist charism.

Fr Muñoz also hopes Marist provinces and mission districts will help the Dare to Dream experience grow.

“We have a number of New Media networks in place and we’ll of course be promoting these.

“I also intend to start a reflection group around the topics of youth ministry and vocations in preparation for the 2017 General chapter”, he said.

Of the 400 young Marists participating in Dare to Dream; 50 will represent the Society of Mary Fr Muñoz said.

He says the Society of Mary is making a large contribution and the organising committee is very grateful to the Marist school, Sainte-Marie, Lyon who will host the event.

The school is going beyond the call of duty and giving extra support and personnel to help make the event go smoothly, he said.

Dare to Dream is the first time since the last World Youth Day the four branches of the Marist Family; Fathers, Brothers, Sisters and SMSM sisters have worked together on a programme for youth.

Visit Dare to Dream on the Web and follow Dare to Dream on Twitter and Facebook.

Billeting likely to continue at St Patrick’s College

St Patrick’s College Wellington is pretty sure it will continue billeting students despite fears they could be liable if something happens to the visiting student.

The Marist College Rector, Mr Neil Swindells told the DomPost that with the right protocols in place he is 90% sure billeting will continue at St Pat’s.

Neil Swindells, rector of St Patrick's College Wellington — St Patrick’s College Wellington Rector, Neil Swindells

Swindells says the St Patrick’s College will put a safety process in place for billeting, but will not go beyond that.

Colleges’ concern over billeting students is a response to the Vulnerable Children Act which includes

carrying out a risk analysis on the host family
seeing two forms of ID
running a police check on anyone in the house who is over 18.

As a result of the new Act, some schools have decided to stop billeting.

However, the Ministry of Social Development says parents involved in billeting are considered volunteers, and are exempt from such safety checks.

It offers no comment on siblings over the age of 18 who are still living at home.

Hosting other students from around the country and internationally is seen by most schools to be a positive opportunity to learn and socialise with a student’s peers, and traditionally billeting has been a free and easy way to accommodate visitors on sports and cultural exchanges.

Source: DomPost

Young lay Marists Dare to Dream in France

A sense of expectation is rising amongst young lay Marists around the world as they begin the count down to Dare to Dream; the International young Marist meeting in Lyon, France.

More than 400 from the four branches of the Marist family will attend the 17-23 July event.

New Zealand’s Jen Martinez and Sam Mano will travel over earlier to help organise the final stages of the event.

Jen Martinez says she is looking forward to learning from others and hopes the meeting will inspire and encourage young lay Marists.

Eight young Marists, four from LOGOS, and four teachers from Marist schools in New Zealand will attend.

Fr Alejandro Muñoz SM of the Dare to Dream organising committee said the meeting is to encourage young people to dare to dream, like the group of young Marists did 200 years ago when they signed a pledge at Fourvière to found the Society of Mary.

“Fourvière is a promise that has given us a lot of life and has certainly given a lot of service to the world,” said Fr Muñoz.

Fr Muñoz says the Dare to Dream programme aims to

promote the coordination and integration of young Marists
celebrate of the bicentenary of the Pledge of Fourvière
prepare for the bicentenary of the founding of the Institute of the Marist Brothers on 2 January 2017.

According to Fr Muñoz the programme will include an opportunity for the youth of the four Marist branches will visit historical places such as L’Hermitage, La Neylière, Belley and Sainte-Foy.

The gathering will take place in the Marist School of Sainte Marie Lyon – La Solitude, located on the hill of Fourvière with participants staying at the Lycée Aux Lazaristes high school.

This world-wide gathering is a joint initiative of the four religious branches of the Marist Family, and precedes World Youth Day, in Krakow from 26 to 31 July.

Follow Dare to Dream on Twitter and Facebook.

Youth work springs from ‘Hokianga where prayer became exhausted’

After only a few months of youth work at LOGOS, Magdalena Webb realises she doesn’t have to be exactly like others.

Studying and also working part time at LOGOS, the Society of Mary youth development programme, she hopes to make a positive difference.

“I’m learning to embrace my differences and use them in a way to positively influence young people,” she says in a profile feature on the LOGOS website.

Magdalena comes from land near the Whirinaki River in the “Hokianga Whakapau Karakia” (Hokianga Where the Prayer Became Exhausted).

Through family connections she is associated with the Catholic Worker Movement (CWM).

Not a CWM member herself; the Movement however plays a significant role in who she is and how she works as a junior youth worker.

Magdalena describes the philosophy of the Catholic Worker Movement living a simple lifestyle in community, serving the disadvantaged, and resisting war and social injustice.”

Two years ago she decided to give her life to the service of young people and like the Whirinaki River she hopes to be a source of life and growth to others.

Bomb threat closes St Patrick’s College Wellington

St Patrick’s College in Kilbirnie, Wellington, was evacuated on Wednesday morning after a bomb threat was made via email.

Rector Neal Swindells said the threat was made about 9.30am.

After contacting the police Swindells made the decision to send staff and students home.

Police remained at the school for much of Wednesday, working with the school’s management team, and investigating the threat.

As far as Swindells knew, the school had not received such a threat in the recent past.

He was not sure if any other schools in Wellington had been threatened in the same way on Wednesday.

It was obviously unsettling for staff and students, but the school had to make the decision to disrupt everyone’s day to make sure they were safe.

The threat follows similar incidents in February which closed a number of schools around the country.

At the time, police said the “robotic sounding” phone calls could be linked to an international hoax which had hit the US and other countries.

Evans Bay Intermediate School, neighbouring St Patrick’s, was also evacuated, and students moved to nearby Rongotai College.

College principal Kevin Carter said his school was happy to help out. “They were very close to St Pat’s, and they wanted to evacuate the area.”

Carter said the intermediate students watched a movie in the hall for about an hour and a half, then headed back to their own school shortly before 2pm.

Jen Martinez new LOGOS leader

Forty staff, volunteers, friends and supporters of the Logos Project in Auckland recently attended a Mass at which Jennifer Martinez was commission as the leader of the Logos Project.

Jen Martinez has worked at The Logos project for more than ten years.

“The experiences and opportunities I received in my younger years have had a profound impact on me, and are why I am so passionate about faith and personal formation,” says Jen Martinez.

“Many years ago I lived in a Catholic young adult community run by the Christian Brothers and I was very involved in different ministries within the Edmund Rice Network.”

“I also trained and worked as a chef after I left school at Marist College.”

“I love the fact that each day I have the opportunity to support young people to grow in their faith and in who they are called to be,” she said.

At the same Mass, Fr Denis O’Hagan SM also became Chairman of the LOGOS board.

Founded in 1999 by the Society of Mary, The Logos Project works with young people in the Auckland region.

It runs a range of programmes designed to develop young people, helping them to know who they are what they stand for.

More images available at Logos.org

Sources