On Sunday and Monday, the 7 and 8 May 2023, the Sancta Maria College CSYMI Ministry Development team hosted the New Zealand hub of the Oceania Evangelisation Program. This is an annual international gathering of schools and parishes who are part of the CSYMI (Catholic Schools Youth Ministry International). Over 800 teachers, Religious, students and youth ministers participated in this event, sharing their insights into the theme of “Jesus is Lord”; from Papua New Guinea, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Tonga, the Solomon Islands and of course Aotearoa.
Sancta Maria College hosted 23 students and teachers from Aquinas College Tauranga, the Auckland National Evangelisation Team (NET), and Sam Brebner, Head of Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Auckland. On the first day, we listened to testimonies from overseas, gained insights into practical ways to spread the gospel in our own context, and finished with a Youth Mass in St Luke’s Church.
On the second day, the NET team ran a series of active and contemplative reflections for our groups, and we finished the day with personalised coaching on the faith journeys of participants. Sancta Maria College students made a lot of new friends and were excited to be invited to help run some junior ministry sessions at Aquinas College later in the year.
Click the following link for a student account for the Youth Ministry event A weekend of learning: Our Youth Ministry’s First Retreat | Sancta Maria College
