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A&B Diocesan Catholic Youth Service

Archive for category The Redshirts (LYSG)

Some Lourdes/ Redshirts dates

Jun 24

Posted by yaab in Lourdes Pilgrimage (non-Redshirts), Redshirts 2011, The Redshirts (LYSG) | No Comments

A lot of opportunities to get together...

There are some important things coming up for those who are going to Lourdes this year, either with the Redshirts or with another group on the Pilgrimage.

Saturday 9th July at 1230pm to Sunday 10th July at 4.30pm – Whole Redshirt group overnight gathering at Christ The Prince of Peace, Portmore Way, Weybridge. Surrey. KT138JD.   Redshirts are asked to arrive by 4pm Saturday for registration.  Leaders to arrive from 1230 with prayer at 1245 followed by a shared lunch at 1pm. Setting up the hall will follow lunch.

Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th July. Lourdes Pre – Briefing and Briefing weekend at St. Wilfrid’s School, Old Horsham Road, Crawley.

Wednesday 27th July to Friday 5th August – The Pilgrimage! N.B. Redshirts leave a day earlier than the rest of the pilgrimage, so if you’re not a Redshirt, you’re probably leaving on Thursday July 28th.

Sunday September 4th – Whole Pilgrimage Reunion 11am to 5pm at St. Wilfrid’s School, Old Horsham Road, Southgate. Crawley RH11 8P

Saturday 10th September at 9.30am to Sunday 11th September at 4.30pm. St. Joseph’s Church and Halls, 12, Eastgate Gardens, Guildford. Surrey. GU1 4AZ. Redshirt reunion overnight. Redshirts to arrive by 1030am. A relaxing weekend of social, prayer and reflection time including the crowning of the 2011 Redshirt King or Queen of the bowling lane!

Redshirt Advent Retreat and Celebration of Lourdes 2011 – Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th December at Dalesdown Residential Centre, Honeybridge Lane, Dial Post, Horsham. West Susses. RH13 8NX.  Starts at 6.30pm Friday and ends 4.30pm Sunday. Full programme to follow in due course.

An up date on ‘the walk…’

May 27

Posted by yaab in Local news, Redshirts 2011, The Redshirts (LYSG), World Youth Day, WYD 2011 | No Comments

Preparations are steaming ahead and Ray has the boots and camping gear to prove it! He’ll be passing through Farnham, Guildford, Box Hill, Merstham and on to Westerham Hill, so if you want to track him please do so at www.yaab.co.uk or on twitter: @yaabtweet.

Some of you may have been aware that the donations site for the walk had been experiencing some problems. If you have made a donation via this site, please rest assured, we have received your donation. Many thanks!

For those of you who still wish to donate, a new site has now been set up, so please do use this one: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/dabyouthpilgrimages.

Sponsor Ray for the walk…

May 14

Posted by yaab in Redshirts 2011, Stuff you might wanna do, The Redshirts (LYSG), World Youth Day, WYD 2011 | No Comments

As we have mentioned before, Ray will be doing a walk during half term to raise money for World Youth Day Pilgrims.

Full details are here. You can sponsor him by clicking here.

News in Brief…

May 1

Posted by yaab in Lourdes Pilgrimage (non-Redshirts), Redshirts 2011, The Redshirts (LYSG), World Youth Day, WYD 2011 | No Comments

Day for WYD Pilgrims at DABCEC

A few things have been happening lately that we haven’t posted about, so we though we’d do a bit of a roundup for you…

On Tuesday April 19th, the World Youth Day pilgrims met together at DABCEC for the day. They had been due to get together for a weekend in December but the snow put paid to that and so this day was arranged early in the year.

A good amount of the pilgrims turned up and spent the day getting to know each other and learning about what to expect in Madrid. It was also a good chance for everybody to get to know their small groups.

There are just under 130 going from the Diocese to World Youth Day. For the first few days, the group will stay in the Diocese of Salamance for the Days in the Diocese before moving on to the main event in Madrid itself. Our 130 will join approximately two million others!

Future Redshirts...

On Sunday May 1st, a good few of the Redshirts 2011 turned out for the annual Lourdes Sponsored Walk at Worth Abbey. The walk took in a ten mile route, beginning and ending at the Abbey and going around Ardingly Reservoir, the show ground and a few other parts of this beautiful part of the diocese.

It’s always great to see how many Redshirts turn out for this event and how much effort they put into getting sponsorship as well. Half of the money each walker raises goes to the Lourdes sick fund and the other half is put toward their own costs.

This Sunday also saw Bishop Kieran’s latest pastoral letter to the Diocese. In his message, Bishop Kieran talked about the Redshirts and about the spirituality of young people in some depth. It’s well worth a listen and we’ll post it on here once it becomes available.

 

Sponsored walk for World Youth Day and Lourdes 2011

Apr 5

Posted by yaab in Redshirts 2011, Stuff you might wanna do, The Redshirts (LYSG), World Youth Day, WYD 2011 | No Comments

All packed and ready to go...

On the Way to Madrid

Wednesday 1st to Friday 3rd June 2011

A thousand miles begins with one step.  I am sure you will be delighted to know that over 200 young people from across the diocese are going on Pilgrimage this year as members of the diocesan youth service.  Currently 69 and 127 pilgrims respectively are going to Lourdes and to World Youth Day in Salamanca/Madrid. Some of young people are going on both Pilgrimages.

Preparations for both experiences are well under way, including a variety of gatherings of pilgrims to build the team dynamic, to come together to pray and to learn about the culture and purpose of each pilgrimage. In addition events at local parish and school level are happening to raise much needed funds, both for the young people themselves and the ongoing costs incurred in the administration and resourcing of these very worthwhile, life changing events.

As a direct response from the diocesan youth office your Adviser for Youth Ministry, ray mooney, has decided to embark on a 3 day, 50 mile walk across the diocese. Yes I know, a bit short of a thousand miles, but a good start all the same!

Basically ray will set out on the Wednesday morning and hopes to complete the task by the Friday evening.  He invites anyone to consider being sponsored by joining him en route for as short or long a distance as you see fit.  The target to be raised is £3,000.

Monies raised by each walker will go towards this target and, if exceeded, the surplus will be given to each accompanying walker proportionate to individual amounts raised.

The final route is being planned; it is intended to pass through the Diocese along the North Downs Way from just west of Farnham to Westerham in Kent.  Any overnight stops along the route may be a mix of camping and church halls.

We anticipate setting up a justgiving site which will make it very easy for you to donate… watch this space…!

I know finances for many are tight, so if you are unable to give to the funding please pray for the success of both pilgrimages and this fundraising event. I would also welcome your company along the Way!

 

Redshirts… Be part of a Lourdes Music CD!

Jan 14

Posted by yaab in Stuff you might wanna do, The Redshirts (LYSG) | No Comments

Redshirts helping out at the Grotto Mass this year...

The Main Lourdes pilgrimage will be making a CD of their music in February and they are inviting Redshirts to be a part of it. As well as inviting musicians to join them for the recording, they are also inviting a group of about 10 Redshirts and musicians to perform some of the Redshirts repertoire for the CD.

If you want to be involved you will need to E-mail Jack (jlkpregan@mac.NOSPAM.com – take out NOSPAM), give him your name and tell him specifically what you are up for, as follows:

  • The main recording is happening at Wonersh on the weekend of February 18-20. If you want to play in the main music group for the recordings then you would need to be at Wonersh for most – if not all – of this weekend.
  • If you want to sing some classic Redshirt songs for recording then we have a slot on the Saturday night (Feb 19th) set aside just for us.
  • If you want to be involved with this, then it would be good if you could get to the practice, which will be at DABCEC, 6pm on Friday February 4th. This is for Redshirts music only and not for those who want to get involved in main pilgrimage music.

The Redshirts have a great tradition of music, and a great tradition of helping out the main pilgrimage with their music too (which is also awesome). The Main pilgrimage have released a few CDs before, but this will be the first one for a few years.

This is open to any Redshirts from any year.

Redshirts helping out at the Social Action Day

Nov 24

Posted by yaab in Redshirts 2010, The Redshirts (LYSG) | No Comments

Patrick from Crawley...

One of the hallmarks of the Redshirts is the service of others. The main work of the project is to serve the Lourdes pilgrimage, but in recent years, Ray, the leaders and the Redshirts themselves have been keen to extend that to other areas of our diocese.

Each year, groups of Redshirts turn up to a great deal of diocesan events to lend support and assistance. This is a great help to the organisers of the events, but it is also a great way to let more people in the diocese know what the Youth Service Group (that’s the posh name for the Redshirts!) is all about.

On Saturday November 13th, the Diocesan Social Action Commission organised a day called One in Four, which was all about inviting people to become more aware of mental illness.

A few Redshirts willingly gave up their time to help out with this and gave great assistance with the technical side of the operation, as well as with a few other things.

As we’ve just mentioned, we are now starting to think about Redshirts 2011. Anybody interested should get in touch soon.

Do you want to be a Redshirt in 2011? – APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW

Nov 15

Posted by yaab in Redshirts 2011, Stuff you might wanna do, The Redshirts (LYSG) | No Comments

The chance of a lifetime...

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR 2011.

THE DEADLINE IS MONDAY FEBRUARY 14TH.

If you don’t have an application pack yet, you need to E-mail Ray with Your name, E-mail address, date of birth, home address, home telephone number, which school you attend, and what year you’re in and why you want to be a Redshirt

The Redshirts are a really important part of youth ministry in the diocese, as well as a really important part of the A&B Lourdes pilgrimage.

You can find out all about the Redshirts here. This page gives you a nice introduction and gives you links to the photos and articles about previous years.

Applications are welcome from anybody who is in Year 10 or 11 at school, or from anybody who is equivalent age.

REDSHIRT PILGRIMAGE WILL BE JULY 27TH – AUGUST 5TH 2011. COST WILL BE £630, WHICH INCLUDES TRAVEL, FULL BOARD ACCOMMODATION IN 3-STAR HOTEL, INSURANCE, RED SHIRTS AND ALL OTHER COSTS OF THE TRIP.

Redshirts Reunion at Guildford

Sep 12

Posted by yaab in Redshirts 2010, The Redshirts (LYSG) | No Comments

..which is still underway, hence the very quick post. Enjoy the piccies…

Lourdes Pilgrimage Reunion at St. Wilf’s

Sep 5

Posted by yaab in Lourdes Pilgrimage (non-Redshirts), Redshirts 2010, The Redshirts (LYSG) | 1 Comment

Mass with Fr. Ian

The entire Lourdes pilgrimage (well, most of them) gathered at St. Wilfrid’s in Crawley today to look back and celebrate this years pilgrimage which ended just over four weeks ago.

We all met together at around ten, which gave us an hour or so to catch up and hug before Mass started at eleven… We were delighted to see so many Redshirts there, and it was also great for them to be invited to do gathering music and a communion reflection (taste & see, of course) for the Mass.

Mass was celebrated by Fr. Ian Byrnes and took us up to lunch at midday. The nice long lunch break gave us a good chance to catch with each other and relive the memories from Lourdes.

Before the end of the day we were treated to the traditional (and brilliant) John Sexton slideshow, recalling the week in Lourdes and taking a closer look at all of the different groups who had made up the pilgrimage 2010.

For the Redshirts, this is the first of a few get-togethers taking place during the autumn. We are all together for an overnight in Guildford next weekend, and then there is the reunion weekend at Dalesdown in December.

Here are some more photos… (be sure to check out the photos of Lourdes 2010 on the Main pilgrimage website too which will appear soon…)

An exciting autumn ahead for young people in A&B

Aug 29

Posted by yaab in Local news, Lourdes Pilgrimage (non-Redshirts), National Youth Sunday, Papal Visit 2010, Prayer & Spirituality, Redshirts 2010, The Redshirts (LYSG), World Youth Day, WYD 2011, Youth Gather, Youth Gather 2010 | 1 Comment

Flick.com user: gisleh

Okay, okay… well we know you’re probably a bit gutted that the summer is over and that those sunny days have been replaced by clouds and rain, but we are fairly confident that the autumn ahead of us is going to be a great one. There is just so much coming up for young people in the diocese. Here is a small taste…

By the way, before we get into it, just a small point: As you’ll see below, we are making use of Facebook events via our Facebook page. If you click on the links below, the Facebook events will give you the details, like times and places etc etc. You can also use the Facebook page to tell us you’re coming – though in most cases you still have to book properly with the youth office. Got it…!?… Good :)

Plenty of reunions for the Redshirts

Getting together at Guildford and Dalesdown

The experience of being a Redshirt is one that people will continue in Lourdes in the future, and also something that they will hopefully continue in their parishes, communities and their lives. If you have been a Redshirt, you’ll know that it changes you in a lot of positive ways.

To help people reflect on the experience there are a few reunions in the months after Lourdes. We are all meeting together for an overnight stay at Guildford on September 11th and then again for a weekend at Dalesdown in December.

A chance to apply for Redshirts 2011

If you want to go to Lourdes with the Redshirts in 2011, watch this space… details will be appearing on the site during the autumn. In the meantime, why not have a look at our Redshirts page, which gives loads of information. Or you can have a look at what past Redshirts have got up to by clicking the categories on the left hand side of this page (and down a bit!)

Preparation for World Youth Day next summer

Now that World Youth Day 2011 is less than a year away the preparation with the Diocesan pilgrims will step up a gear. There is a day for pilgrims at DABCEC (Crawley) this coming Saturday, and then a weekend at Dalesdown in December.

Youth Gather 2010 at St. Richard’s, Bexhill

This promises to be an awesome day, as always! Have a look at the Facebook event page for more details. If you are bringing a (school or parish etc) group, then purleeeeeze tell the youth office. Also, if you feel like doing a bit of walk marshalling, then please tell us that too!

More work on yaab, including a database of youth groups

As you might have noticed, we have been waving a bit of a magic wand over yaab lately – and thanks for all the positive feedback, by the way :) – and we’re not done yet. We are planning to use the integration with the Facebook page to communicate more and more news, meaning that once you have become a ‘fan’ of the page (I mean… you’ve done that right??) you’ll get news on your Facebook news feed whenever you log in, as well as on the site.

The one part of this site that’s looking a bit sorry for itself at the moment is our Youth Groups page. Are you in a youth group? Or, do you run one? If so, tell us all about it because there may be young people in your area hitting the site who might be really interested to know about it.

National Youth Sunday 2010

We don’t have much details about this yet, other than the fact that it will be marked on Sunday November 21st – the Feast of Christ the King – and that the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation will be putting some resources together to mark the occasion. As soon as more news becomes available, we’ll stick it on the site. Until then, why not let us know what you are planning to do in your area?

The visit of Pope Benedict

It can’t have escaped your notice that Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the UK in jus a few weeks time. Some young people from the diocese are going up to London to see him, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. For more news and details, why not check out the official site.

Advent daily prayers for young people

Building on our successful daily prayers from past Advents and Lents we will once again be putting together some daily Advent prayers for young people. There isn’t much on the site yet, but by Advent time, there will be loads of resources as well as prayers for each day.

In the past, the prayers have proved popular with young people, Chaplains, form tutors, youth leaders, parents and loads of other people in A&B and beyond.

Redshirts… share your thoughts…

Aug 7

Posted by yaab in Redshirts 2010, The Redshirts (LYSG) | 8 Comments

Some feedback (see the comments below) from the Redshirts who went to Lourdes in 2010. All are invited to chip in…