The Youth Council is a great sign of hope in our diocese.

When I arrived in Hexham and Newcastle last year and met the Council for the first time, I was very encouraged and felt how right it is that you, the young people of our diocese, come together in this way.

The Council enables me to meet you and listen to you.
  
All of us in our diocese are on a journey together, discovering Jesus and discovering how he calls us to live. We need each other. In particular, our Church needs your gift of youthfulness so that we remain a people of energy and enthusiasm as we follow Jesus Christ and build his kingdom of truth, justice and love in our world. I want to thank you for the generosity with which you share your gifts and talents in many different parts of our diocese.

Your Council has provided us with a wonderful dream. We must work together to make it a reality. I encourage you to keep your eyes on Jesus and to let his love shine out more and more in your daily lives. Encourage one another and, through the Council, let that message of hope be shared with the wider community of our diocese.

May the Youth Council continue to grow and flourish and be a living sign of faith and hope for the whole diocesan family, both young and old.

(Originally Signed)
Bishop Kevin Dunn
Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle

In June 2004, soon after his arrival in the diocese, Bishop Kevin met the Youth Council for the first time and expressed his appreciation of the existence and work of the Council. March 2005 saw the third residential meeting of the Youth Council. The weekend was another opportunity for the council to meet and share in worship, adoration, prayer and action. Bishop Kevin joined us for his first experience of a Youth Council residential weekend.

The weekend adopted the same theme as the 20th World Youth Day, “We have come to worship him” (Mt 2:2), the weekend was built around Pope John Paul’s letter to the youth of the world. This letter encourages us to follow the example set by the Magi, to follow the star that will lead us to Christ, to give to him the gold of our lives and to leave by a different road. In other words, to come to Christ, give ourselves to him and allow him to transform us.

The weekend began with a reflection, which asked us to recall the times in our lives when we have felt confused, distracted and not known which way to turn, Claire Johnson gave a testimony of her faith journey sharing the times in her life where she had felt there was a choice to be made. Taking the opportunity to encourage each other the council worked in groups to reflect and share their individual journeys in faith. The groups also took the chance to compose a prayer based on their discussions, a prayer that was to be used later that evening to represent the gold of their lives. In this year of the Eucharist we spent evening prayer in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.

“Receive the face of Christ, Be the face of Christ.” 
 
The weekend focused on the vocation given to each one of us and how we can accept the vocation and live it out. Bishop Kevin commissioned the council members during the Saturday Mass and the efforts of the morning workshops were brough to the liturgy in dance and art.  The dance based on the song ‘Shackles’ reminded us of the freedom that God has promises us. The art workshop had created a cross - like those found in El Salvador which tell a story. The cross depicted the story of our faith journeys and a space had been left at the centre for everyone to put a thumb print as a sign of commitment.

In his homily Bishop Kevin reminded us that the Apostles brought only five loaves and two fish but Christ transformed what little they had and used it to accomplish something wondrous. At the end of Mass Bishop Kevin challenged us and inspired us to follow Christ’s path, as he gave each member of the Council and icon of the face of Christ and said, ‘Receive the face of Christ, be the face of Christ’. After receiving the icons the members of the Council placed their thumbprints using gold ink, again giving the gold of our lives. The fingerprint has become one of the symbols of the Youth Council reminding us that, although we are a council and although we are church, we are all unique and are called to commit to the Lord in a unique and individual way.

I Have My Mission 
 
During the weekend, a reflection was used based on the prayer of Cardinal John Henri Newman. This prayer reminds us that we serve the Lord even in our sickness, our perplexity, our loneliness and our sorrow; that even in the darkest of times when we feel most alone we are in the service of God. This is the kind of service that reminds us we must always trust in the Lord.

Council Action  
 
The council also addressed business issues. The main focus of this weekend’s business was centered around the current working group of the council which had been established at the last residential meeting. The group was set up to organize a fundraising event for the Youth Village project. The council again undertook to support the work of the working party.

Other issues discussed by the council included how the council was to actively fulfil its dream and raise the profile of the DYC throughout the diocese. 

Since the youth council began it has supported the annual youth Sunday celebrations in the diocese and has been increasingly involved in the preparation and organisation of these events.

November 2003
 
The first Youth Sunday organised by the council celebrated the theme of covenant: gazing into
the vision. During this celebration the banners that had been created at the March residential were
presented to the Bishop where he accepted them and commissioned the youth council to take the dream out into the diocese. Members of the youth council, anointed by the Bishop, anointed the young people who came to the celebration.

November 2004

Youth Sunday 2004 was centred on the theme celebrating the covenant. Over 400 young people joined the celebration and listened to Bishop Kevin’s call to young people: to transform our world with the light of Christ. Two of the many special moments during the celebration were the opportunity for everyone to trace their name in a bowl of water after the renewal of Baptismal promises and a time of silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in a church filled with candle-light. 

The gift of the Eucharist was at the centre of the liturgy and Bishop Kevin shared with the young people his own experience of the Eucharist in his life. The Youth Council is committed to its dream of creating a “church that is real and gives us meaning” a “church where we can discover Jesus.” Through the Youth Sunday celebrations we always hope to gain a greater understanding of our faith and grow in love so we can transform our world with the light of Christ.

November 2005
 
A Dream Written on Our Hearts

Over the past year we have journeyed together to discover and reflect on the vocation the Lord has placed in our hearts. Together we have looked at times in our life that have given us great challenge, times when it has not been easy to see how God could have a plan for us.

During the past year we realised that we are all called to live a life in faith and love, and at the end of this journey we celebrated ‘the dream God has written on our hearts’ at Youth Sunday 2005.

Led by Canon Cunningham we celebrated the unique way we have all been called to be a beacon of light to others. The service began in darkness with a heartfelt dance called Kindle the Flame, young people danced with candles in their hand as people looked on and listened to the searching words of the song. During the service we saw the power of beacons to light the darkness and the power we all have of giving light to each other.

We reflected on our saints recognising the strength of our past and the examples they have left for us. This was followed by a drama from the Youth Council showing us how we can be beacons of light in the present and live our vocation in our everyday life. The celebration ended with a huge procession from the church to the local school following a beacon, the procession was also led by the energy and celebration of drums.

Towards the end of the celebration everyone was invited to make a personal affirmation to being a beacon of Christ's light in the world. Each person wrote a personal note and attached it to a scroll, some placed their name, others thoughts and some a simple 'yes.' When everyone had made their statement and placed it on the scroll the scrolls became two beacons of light.

Over the past two years the Youth Council has discussed and undertaken to support the development of a Diocesan Youth Village. The village will be a residential retreat centre and house the Youth Ministry Team.
  
The work carried out by YMT on the site will include: an international volunteer programme, school missions, the development of youth provisions within parishes and local communities, follow-up activities, regular youth meetings, retreats, confirmation retreat days, pilgrimages, consultancy for priests and volunteers, facilitating of a diocesan youth council, the coordination of area youth ministers, adult training courses for volunteers, the development of degree level training, arranging of conferences and involvement with ecumenical and national agencies.

The dream of the council was for a place “where people feel welcome,” for a place “where people can discover Jesus” and for a place “that is real and gives us Meaning, a place where we can grow.”

The Youth Council has been active in its support for the Youth Village. When we first created our dream we asked Bishop Ambrose to write to the people of the diocese so all could share in our dream. We also requested that people throughout the diocese be made aware of the Youth Village Project. The council set up a working party to organize an event in March 2005 that would not only raise money but would also raise awareness of the project and the Youth Council.

This was a Saints and Angels night at the Durham County Cricket club in Chester-le-Street. The funds raised by this event were donated to the project so that the site can be developed to meet its full potential. When the full development is completed it is hoped that the site will have a residential centre capable of holding 90 guests and an auditorium. This will allow the site to be used for overnight retreats and as a day centre. The council is continually committed to support the full development of this project in the hopes that the site itself can become a place where we can grow in our sense of community, grow in our faith and in our love for one another and the Lord.

The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle has undertaken to become a FairTrade diocese.

There are millions of families in the developing world that have to worry about fluctuating world prices, prices that in the end may not even cover the cost of producing their crop. Action is being taken to help the farmers in these countries get a better deal for their crops and a sense of security, so they know that the produce will be sold for a fair price. FairTrade runs projects all over the world helping farmers not only sell their produce but also work for a better standard of living. Many foods that we feel are common place are being produced in developing countries and imported to the UK marked with the FAIRTRADE logo, they include: Fresh fruit, Sugar, Coffee, Tea, Fruit juice, Honey, Nuts, Roses, Snacks,  Chocolate,  Cocoa, Preserves, Spreads,  Footballs, Wine, and Beer.

n a world where poverty kills 30,000 people every day, 2005 will be a year of unprecedented opportunity for rich countries to tackle some of the root causes of poverty. By chance, the UK has an extraordinarily influential role in 2005, and CAFOD is behind a massive rallying call on the UK Government to make poverty history by tackling unjust trade, debt and aid. CAFOD is joining together with Comic Relief, Oxfam, churches, trades unions and a host of celebrities and organisations in what could become the most powerful coalition ever against world poverty:
MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY.

Millennium Development Goals By 2015

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development

UN Millennium Declaration, September 2000

FACTS at current rates of progress.

• Primary education will not be reached for all until 2130
• The proportion of people living on a dollar a day will not be
halved until 2150
• Reducing the number of children who die before their fifth birthday
will not be reached until 2165

The Youth Council is committed to supporting the work of CAFOD, and members of the youth council have been active in setting up CAFOD groups throughout the diocese and working with the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign.
 
“massive poverty and obscene inequality, rank alongside slavery and apartheid as social evils” Nelson Mandela, 2005