At the start of Mass, thirty people carried a pebble for each year to the front of the hall and built a cairn. This represented how the Youth Service had been built up; cairns are used as a way marker on footpaths, just as this anniversary is a marker for the journey of the Youth Service group. Bishop Kieran and Fr. David Parmiter both said how much work and support had gone into building and maintaining the youth service over these past 30 years and how now it was the turn of today’s youth to carry on. During the mass Bishop Kieran officially introduced the specially commissioned candle stand that is the youth symbol for our Diocese.

Following Mass there was the opportunity to view the thirty years of photos, with Youthgather serving as a constant timeline throughout the years. Other displays included Redshirts inLourdes, World Youth Days, Papal Visits, weekend retreats and camps at Maryvale and a ‘Guess Who?’ style quiz with Priests and parents in their younger years. The evening ended with a short liturgy, led by Ray Mooney. All present were invited to take a candle and light it from the Youth Symbol, taking this light out with them, as a sign of the continuation of youth ministry in the Diocese, as they left. Posters and prayer cards with the Youth Symbol on them  were then distributed and will also be sent to each parish not represented at the evening.

By Charlotte & Hannah Moon

Anyone who would like to put themselves forward for consideration should email Ray Mooney (ray.mooney@dabnet.org). Please provide the applicant’s full name, address, home phone number, school year, name of school and parish. The email should also include the applicant’s reasons for wanting to be a Redshirt next year. This is the first stage of the selection process; an Application Pack will then be sent to all applicants in the New Year.

For more information go to www.ablourdes.org. If you have any questions regarding any aspect of the above please contact Ray on 01293 651158.

On Saturday 19^th November 2011

 We are planning a ‘welcoming’ display of events over the last 30 years and need your memories. So – how have you been involved with the Diocesan Youth Service during the last thirty years?

-  Were you at Gatwick to welcome John Paul II in 1982?
- Were you one of the 1000 young people who went to Ninian Park for Mass with the pope?
- Did you go on the pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi in 1982?
- Did you ever write an article for Not the A&B News, Youth magazine?
- Do you still have any copies of Not the A&B News?
- Did you go on the ecumenical youth pilgrimage to Taizé in 1985 or 1990?
- Have you been with a diocesan group to any of the World Youth Days: 1987 Buenos Aires,  1989 Santiago de Compostela, 1991 Czestochowa, 1993 Denver, 1995 Manila, 1997 Paris, 2000 Rome, 2002 Toronto, 2005 Cologne, 2008 Sydney and 2011 Madrid?
- How many times have you taken part in YouthGather since it began in 1973?
- Did you ever attend a residential 14 – 16 or a 17 – 30 weekend at Maryvale?
- Were you a helper at any weekend residential for young people?
- Did you take part in any of the Leadership training weekends?  If so which year?
- Have you been a participant in the Eli course?
- Have you run a youth group in your parish or helped out with one?
- Were you a member of a Youth Small Faith Sharing Group during RENEW?
- Were you there for the Youth Camp in the grounds of Maryvale in 1983 or 1985 or 1988?
- Did you take part in the exchange with Hexham and Newcastle in 1986?
- Were you part of “75 go Mad in Czestochowa in 1991?
- Did you go on the Mountain weekend or to Greenbelt in 1992?
- Have you been on a preparation for Confirmation weekend?
- Or a post confirmation weekend?
- Have you been to Lourdes as a Redshirt or as a young helper?
- Did you go to Hyde Park to be with Pope Benedict in 2010?
- etc, etc, etc . . . . .

If you can answer ‘YES’ to any of the above, or you have been involved in some other way with the Youth Service, do please get into contact with your memories and if possible photos that we can add to the display.

Please email your contribution to d.leach@waitrose.com or send it to Deirdre Leach, c/o The Youth Office, DABCEC, 4 Southgate Drive, Crawley, RH10 6RP. When sending in your contribution could you please also indicate if you will be coming on November 19^th so that we begin to get a sense of possible numbers – for catering!
There are literally hundreds of photos stored in the Youth Office, sadly many of them have no indication of the date or the names of the people in the picture.  On the 19^th we will have many of these on display in the hope that you will be able to ‘fill in the gaps’ by adding, details of dates, events and the people shown.

It was a good time of reflection; we spent time sharing about the experiences themselves, how we’d been able to share them, and, most importantly what we are going to carry forward from them.

Of course, fun, friendship and food featured highly. Check out the fantastic cake Sarah made!