This weekend saw over fifty of this years Lourdes Youth Service Group (known as ‘The Redshirts’ … but you knew that, right?) gather for 24 hours at St. Joseph’s Church in Guildford. The weekend was spectacular for a number of reasons. The vibe and atmosphere in the group was amazing. People bonded together so well and really got stuck into the tasks we gave them. There were a lot of questions about what happens in Lourdes and a lot of excitement too.
We leave for Lourdes in just seventeen days now. It’s getting really close.
We spent the weekend getting to know eachother and doing a little bit of preparation for Lourdes. We learned some music, talked about ‘the talk’ discussed our role as Redshirts, and started to bond together as small groups.
The weekend ended with Mass, celebrated by Bishop Kieran and Fr. Rob Esdaile (our Redshirts’ Chaplain). We were also delighted that Adam Simon (President of the Lourdes Pilgrimage Trust) and his wife, Barbara, stopped by to share a few thoughts with us at the end of Mass.
A great deal of thanks go to Fr. Colin, Fr. Aaron and the community at St. Joseph’s, Guildford too. They very kindly stepped into the breach at the last minute to give us somewhere to host the weekend, and we were very grateful.
