YCW launch a brand new website!

The YCW in England and Wales is delighted to announce the launch of its new website. After a period of research the new mobile friendly site will be a fantastic tool for young people already in the movement as well as those seeking to be involved.

Paul Batt, the National Secretary of the YCW, said 'This website is a fantastic tool to enable the National Team to connect with their members and other young people. It's vitally important that our methods of communication as a movement progress with the updates in technology.'

The importance of the use of digital media was highlighted by Pope Benedict XVI when he said, 'Believers are increasingly aware that, unless the Good News is made known also in the digital world, it may be absent in the experience of many people for whom this existential space is important.'

The website was built in the memory of Father Bernard Woods, a long time chaplain of YCW and Impact in the Diocese of Lancaster who died suddenly in May 2013.

The YCW can also be found online at:

Facebook: 'Young Christian Workers'
Twitter: @YCWImpact
Instagram: ycwimpact

Please enjoy using our new website and let us know what you think!

YCW urges young people to vote!

The Young Christian Workers in England and Wales is encouraging all young people aged 18 and over to use their vote in the upcoming General and local elections. The election comes at a time when the movement is just completing a campaign on working life. 

Phil Callaghan, National President of the YCW said, "Many young people feel disillusioned with politics and understandably so. However, I want to encourage all young people to use their vote so that the voice of the young can dictate the way in which our society is governed."

The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales are encouraging all Catholics to vote in the upcoming elections. 

Here, Archbishop Peter Smith, the Vice President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference explains the importance of the Christian voice in society.

YCW Leaders commit to act!

Leaders reflect upon what it means to educate others. 

On the weekend of the 13th to the 15th March, YCW members from across England and Wales gathered at Buckden Towers in Cambridgeshire for a weekend of training, reflection and action.

The weekend was focused around the 'Act' phase of the current 'Good Work!' national campaign. During the 'See' phase the movement reflected upon some of the issues that face young people in the 21st century workplace including the rise of 'zero-hour' contracts and the lack of respect witnessed and experienced by many young workers. Through the Scriptures and the rich teachings on work in the social teaching of the Church, the groups and members learned a great deal during the 'Judge' phase about the Church teaching on the dignity of work.

Now in this 'Act' phase, the leaders came together to think about how they can take action on both a personal and movement wide level. There were reflections on how to instil solidarity and subsidiarity within the workplace and amongst workers, which Catholic Social Teaching calls for all Catholics to do. 

To assist in these deliberations, the group were empowered by some input from Fr Jim Clarke and Hugh Foy from the Conforti Insitute in Scotland who reflected back on some of the Scripture passages used in the 'Judge' to consider how we can apply the Gospel message into our everyday lives to effect change amongst people we come into contact with.

Some conclusions from the weekend included a renewed sense of importance from the YCW membership to encourage as many young people as possible to engage with politics and to use their vote at the upcoming General Election in May. The YCW National Team will work on the methods to most effectively achieve this over the coming days and weeks.

YCW and Impact fan the flame!

YCW members at Flame 2

A strong contingent of YCW and Impact members were amongst the 8000 young people gathered in Wembley Arena on Saturday 7th March for the Flame 2 Catholic youth congress. The event was organised by the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation (CYMFed) which is a federation of all of the Catholic dioceses, religious orders and organisations and movements who have a charism or apostolate to young people.

BBC presenters Alfie Joey and Gilly Hope introduced the stellar line-up of speakers and performers including Cardinal Luis Tagle, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Fr Timothy Radcliffe, Baroness Holliins, David Wells and Matt Redman, who provided excellent quality music throughout the day.

Much of the day focused around the theme of the mercy of God and the inescapable fact that God unconditionally loves each and every individual. Cardinal Tagle from the Philippines gave a very moving talk on this subject and challenged those present to be merciful towards others. 'My dear young people of England and Wales, be the living signs in our world of God's mercy. Be living signs of the joy of the Gospel of mercy.'

Following the event, one Impact member from Urmston in Manchester said, 'I had such an amazing time, it was great be with lots of other young Catholics. It makes you realise that our group isn't on it's own and there's lots of people who believe the same things.'

For more information about CYMFed please visit www.cymfed.org.uk

May Day Celebration

On Monday 4th May, YCW and Impact members, chaplains, friends and supporters will gather for a national May Day celebration.

Bishop John Arnold, Bishop of Salford will be the chief celebrant of a Mass of St. Joseph the Worker. Following this will be a reception celebrate the culmination of the current 'Good Work!' national campaign where the movement has reflected and taken action on the current issues that young people are facing in their working lives. This will be a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon the impact of young people in their places of work, study and local communities.

The event will also be an opportunity to celebrate the relocation of the National YCW headquarters to the Diocese of Salford. This move will include the establishment of a training centre and lay community which will lead to an increased capacity to further spread the mission and apostolate of the movement.

If you would like an invitation and require more information on the event, please contact Jo at the YCW Headquarters at jo@ycwimpact.com or by phone on 020 8203 6290.

Celebrating Young People Awards

The YCW are delighted to be a partner in the 'Celebrating Young People Awards', a new and exciting initiative from Million Minutes.

The Celebrating Young People Awards honour the achievements of those truly remarkable young people who make our communities and our world a better place. Nominated by anyone from friends and family to teachers and clergy, the winners are drawn from throughout England and Wales and reflect achievements in every area of social action.

Their achievements will be an inspiration for us all. They will show us all how ordinary young people can do the most extraordinary things. Our judging panels, made up of celebrated figures, choose the winners who will be honoured at a glittering ceremony in London's Leicester Square in the Summer.

The YCW is honoured to be the sponsor of the Joseph Cardijn Award for Young a Workers which will be presented to a young person who has stood up for the rights of workers, helped people into work or shown leadership amongst their colleagues.

For more information on these awards or to make your nomination, please visit www.millionminutes.org/awards