East District youths celebrate Hope in God by celebrating the Mass at their 1-day East District Youth Day event

By Samantha Chan

5 September 2009 - Over 700 East District youths met on 5 September 2009 to celebrate the East District Youth Day 2009, titled "Spera in Deo"” or "Hope in God" in Latin.

Significantly, this is the first time the East District Youth committees had worked together on an event of this scale, in recent years.

Casually referred to as EDYD, the East District Youth Day is part of the Catholic Archdiocesan Youth Centre's (CAYC) first-ever District Youth Day initiative which decentralised the Archdiocese Youth Day into various districts of the North, City, East, Serangoon and West.

At the east, participants and helpers came from all 5 East District Parishes of Holy Family, Holy Trinity, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, St. Stephen and Our Lady of Queen of Peace.

Following the footsteps of the previous Archdiocese Youth Days, Confirmation 3 youths were invited exclusively to attend the event.

It took 9 months to conceptualise and execute the entire programme. The youth committees from each eastside parish agreed that they needed to retrace their Catholic roots by focusing on the Eucharist. In order to develop a deeper trust and hope in God, our young people need first to recognise the Living Christ being present in the Eucharist.

As a result, "Spera In Deo" or "Hope in God" was birthed, where the confirmants, catechists, as well as youth ministry helpers and parent-volunteers were mobilised in this 1-day programme to celebrate especially the theme of, "We have set our hope on the living God" (1 Timothy 4:10).

This theme is based after the Holy Father's Message to young people for the Twenty-fourth World Youth Day, which was celebrated on 5 April, Palm Sunday, this year.

The programme was two-fold. Each parish first hosted an afternoon session on the theme of Hope in God, reflecting on minimising our distractions and exhortations to train oneself in Godliness. There was also the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Following the parish segment, each church proceeded to gather at the CHIJ Katong Primary school hall for a combined night rally. With local actor-host, Randall Tan as the event emcee, there were songs of praise and worship, a testimony by OLPS parishioner and altar server James Chan, and a talk by Fr. John Joseph Fenelon (Fr. JJ) on the Eucharist.

"I was personally moved by the sharing of James Chan. His desire for the Eucharist has further encouraged and motivated me to desire and receive the Eucharist as often as possible. Thanks for the enriching experience. I went home and shared the testimony again with both my sons who are altar servers." Edwyn deSouza, Youth Coordinator, CAYC

Finally, the Holy Mass itself was the highlight of the night. With music provided by Holy Family's 25-year-old choir, Genesis II, the Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Nicholas Chia, together with all the East District Priests.

The decision to make the Mass the main highlight of the EDYD was a challenging one as it also highlighted the fact that our youths are in need for a greater understanding of the Mass. At one point of the night, our bishop Nicholas Chia was compelled to comment on the need for proper attitude, silence and reverence during Mass. He then encouraged all present to actively participate in the Mass so as to exercise and develop our faith further.

Overall, the East District Youth Day was a success. It brought together youth helpers and parent-volunteers from all eastside Parishes in such a scale for the first time!

With the experience and friendship gained from collaborating on this project, the eastside youth ministries are now further motivated to organise more combined eastside events in the future.

SPERA IN DEO in action!
Click to view larger-size pictures (1024 x 683)

Interview with Charlene Siow Yi Ting, 18, a Youth Ministry member from the Church of Our Lady of Queen of Peace

Q: What did you like about the East District Youth Day?

I really like the warmth that rubbed off me when I entered the hall with the other youths, seeing many people I know. It immediately hyped me up and made me really enthusiastic about the whole event. The testimonies were insightful and made me see things differently. It added a whole new aspect in my life and helped me appreciate God more, definitely. Helping out in the parish segment also prepared me spiritually for the rally as it helped me to learn to focus, putting all distractions aside. 
 
Q: How did the message "Spera in Deo" (Hope in God) speak to you at this event?

I went for this event because I wanted just to help out. So I told myself, God sent me here for a reason. And that was why I prayed to grow closer to my friends and to God through this rally. True enough, I saw people differently through this event, which proved my first impressions of people wrong. I also heard testimonies that proved to myself that it is right to set my trust and hope in God - the Living God.

I came out of the rally with a new perspective and this experience is definitely an eye opener for all youths. It will definitely enrich our faith!

View Nat's photo album at Flickr >>

View Van's photos from OLPS & Rally >>

"TAG" YOUR FRIENDS at Jerald Justin Ko's pictures on Facebook