Nick Wilson

The Young Catholic Leader (YCL) camp has been another highlight for the 2019 Youth Ministry calendar in the Palmerston North Diocese. Around 45 Year 12 participants from six Catholic colleges and four state colleges attended Highland Home Christian Camp in the beautiful Pohangina Valley out the back of Ashhurst in early December.

YCL is focused on leadership keys for ‘authentic Catholic servant leadership’ in our colleges. We had a variety of presenters talking about different aspects of leadership. For example, courage, perseverance, service, the ability to fail and to learn from those failures.

A concentrated focus on Te Whare Tapa Wha – the elements of wellness we need to keep in balance when being a servant leader in the school – was key to setting up our leaders for success in 2020.

Our prayer experiences were deeply impactful to our young people, with highlights being a special experience of Eucharistic adoration couched in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and a deeper appreciation of the Mass through Lectio Divina and physical liturgical movement lead by Fr Joe Grayland.

All of the leaders across the diocese were commissioned and sent back to their communities to share their gifts in 2020 and beyond. Special thanks to the leaders, priests of the Palmerston North Deanery and the PN Catholic Charities for assisting us to make our programme happen.

Find more photos on our Facebook page.

Published in WelCom February 2020