A Christmas Message From The YCW National Team

As we draw towards the end of 2018 we look back upon all that we have achieved. As a Movement we can be content in the knowledge that more young people across England and Wales are growing in Christian leadership and 'being the difference' in their homes, places of work and local communities.

However we must also recognise that this year has been a difficult time for many. Young workers across the country are still faced with hardship due to unemployment, low pay and precarious working conditions. Further afield from home we see worrying evidence of political unrest and war where the Christian values of love, peace and the common good are ignored in place of ideology, power and greed.

However, the season of Christmas provides us with an opportunity to dispel some of this darkness by focusing our hearts and minds upon the hope that the birth of the Prince of Peace delivers. Pope Francis in his Christmas Day message of 2014 reminded us;

"Where God is born, hope is born. He brings hope. Where God is born, peace is born. And where peace is born, there is no longer  room for hatred and for war."

We pray that in this season of Christmas the birth of the Christ child will enlighten our hearts so that we may all better live out His call to be missionary disciples to one another.

The YCW National Team wish you a very happy and holy Christmas.

The headquarters of the YCW will close on Friday 21st December and will reopen on Wednesday 2nd January 2019.

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NEC Hosts Former Members For Christmas Reception

The YCW has held a Christmas reception for former member to thank them for their service to the movement and celebrate another successful year across England and Wales.

National President, Kate Wilkinson, said: “It was a wonderful opportunity to meet up with current and former members and I was grateful to be able to thank them for all they do. We have incredibly strong bonds from over the years and across the country, so we hope to continue to build upon this going forward.”

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It followed a meeting of the NEC that looked at how we can start to ACT on a national scale, in response to the National Campaign on mental health and young people called MIND! The Gap. One of these actions will be to lobby for all schools to have comprehensive mental health policies and train staff in how they can best support young people around this topic.

In addition, we have also made plans to gather support locally for the Garden Project at the HQ and will start to progress this scheme over the next 12 months.

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National Council 2019 was also discussed and invitations will be sent out in early January to all groups and members with full information about this important event.

New Middlesbrough Diocese Group Makes A Quick Impact

A few months back we reported that - after almost a decade away from having a group presence in Middlesbrough Diocese - the YCW has successfully formed a new group in St Patrick’s Catholic College, Thornaby. This followed the appointment of former YCW member, Damian McCann, as Deputy Head of the school and a visit up to the area from the National Team earlier this year.

Since then, the young leaders within the Group have been working hard to understand the SEE-JUDGE-ACT Method of the YCW and participate in enquiries and reviews of life. There are now 9 young leaders being trained through this and they have already begun to live out the actions called for in the Gospels.

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The first action focused on homelessness and followed a discussion around what is would feel like to be alone and away from family at Christmas time. In response, the Group have been supporting the Salvation Army raise money and awareness by holding a competition for the best ginger bread house. There was also a bake sale organised to add further funds for the charities’ work in this area.

In addition, the Group visited a local care home to have afternoon tea with the residents. The young leaders took time to reflect on this experience and understand the importance of taking time to visit those who are lonely.

One young person said: “Walking to the care home I was nervous, but when I got there I felt very welcomed.” Another added: “I was scared to go in, but I was fine when I started talking to them.” There was also a lot of fun during the event as the young people shared what music they are fans of and got the residents to join in. One young leader described this saying: “I think it is great that we get to share what is popular today with the older generation. I loved the trip and want to go again. The stories were great!”

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Finally, the Group looked at Matthew 25 and the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. They explored what this meant around the issue of hunger. As part of the CAFOD harvest campaign, the Group collected for the harvest festival, made and sold soup during lunchtimes and made lunch for parishioners/parents. All this raised £192 for CAFOD.

COMECE Report Out On “Shaping the Future of Work”

During the Commission of the Bishop’s Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) organised inter-religious conference “Shaping the Future of Work”, Mgr. Antoine Hérouard, President of the COMECE Social Affairs Commission, officially presented the reflection on the changes in the labour world, encouraging the EU to shape the digital and ecological transformations of our economy and society aiming to the common good.

The conference was held at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 27 November 2018.

The report is the result of a year long process of consultation and dialogue that started in November 2017 with representatives of the European institutions and Catholic-inspired organisations and representatives of young European Christian workers movements – including the Young Christian Workers. 

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The COMECE document suggests 17 policy recommendations that range from the promotion of international labour standards and the social economy to special provisions on tax justice and workers in transition. Some of these include:

1) Ensure decent working conditions in all forms of employment: Workers should be entitled to a core set of enforceable rights, including health and safety protection, access to mandatory training and information, and access to adequate social protection.

2) Facilitate the exchanges of good practice on decent working hours: With the spread of mobile work devices a culture has developed of permanent availability. The EU should secure working hours that respect health and human dignity and include a “right to disconnect”.

3) Rethinking the notion of education: In childhood and youth, education lays the foundation for a self-determined life, but in a rapidly changing world of work it should become the constant element of working life. The European Commission should promote life-long learning schemes and assess the possibility of introducing personal learning accounts that workers could use to pay for education and retraining.

Click the picture to download a copy of the Executive Summary with all 17 recommendations.

Click the picture to download a copy of the Executive Summary with all 17 recommendations.

Quoting the reflection paper, Mgr. Hérouard identified the challenges in the current shift and called the EU and its Member States to take the ecological and digital transition as an opportunity and to shape both trends towards a common European vision of a decent, sustainable and participative world of work for all.

During the conference, Mgr. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, President of COMECE, highlighted the role of work as an integral part of human identity and instrument to care for Creation and stated that “religions are called to remind Europe that our society is composed by human persons, not by statistics”.

The conference was co-organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the EESC, COMECE and its faith-based partners as a contribution to the recently launched ILO centenary initiative on the future of work.

The event gathered more than 200 persons from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths with the participation of Mairead McGuinness, First Vice-President of the European Parliament, Luca Jahier, President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Heinz Koller, ILO Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia and MEPs Claude Rolin (EPP) and Patrizia Toia (S&D).

Sandbach IMPACT Group Prepares For Advent

As we begin the season of Advent, some of our Groups are using the time to support their parishes and develop their own leadership skills and confidence in organising events.

Joseph Cardijn placed a strong emphasis on young people engaging in Parish life, saying: “You don't find leaders—you form them. I am convinced that this first leader can be found in every parish in the world."

In Sandbach, the IMPACT! group decided to host Ecumenical Vespers for the first Sunday in Advent, making the parishioners feel welcome and encourage them to make time for prayer in the run up to Christmas.

As part of the day, the young leaders also helped with the catering and worked together to bake a number of mince pies. It was a learning experience!

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They also took part in the readings and prayers in church, which was a helpful way to get them involved and build upon their confidence in speaking in public and at Mass.

Fr John Marsland, National Chaplain of the YCW in England and Wales, said: “This is an excellent way of developing the young people into more confident leaders, who realise the benefits of working together to help others. It also connects their actions with a greater understanding of our shared faith, where so many find the inspiration to be the difference in their local areas.”

Oldham YCW Group ACTS To Support Local Women's Refuge

Since the creation of the new Oldham YCW Group in September, the young leaders have been working through a range of activities, including the SEE-JUDGE-ACT Method, to see how best they can be the difference in their local community.

To begin with, the Group took time to explore what issues are being faced in the area and used this information to begin a discussion about what other, more established, YCW Groups are doing across England and Wales.

Marc Besford, National Training and Development Worker, attended the initial meetings of the Group to help assist the young people get a deeper understanding of the movement and how it works. He was able to feed in a range of examples and this helped the Oldham Group steer their discussions during the SEE stage.

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Once the SEE stage was completed, the Group then turned to Matthew’s Gospel and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats to help them JUDGE how best they could respond to the variety of local issues raised during the SEE discussions. This passage of Matthew calls us to care for “the least of our brothers and sisters” because in doing so, it is as if we are caring for Jesus himself.

This call to help the poorest and most vulnerable inspired the Group to focus on how they can take concrete action to answer God’s message. However, it also gave them the opportunity to see where their impact could best be felt. This meant they wanted to find something that perhaps hasn’t received as much support as others.

Ultimately, the Group decided that they would help their local Women’s Refuge - a place where women and their children can take refuge when they are suffering from domestic violence and abuse. These refuges are vital lifelines for many women and in the run-up to Christmas, many victims will have to spend time away from family and friends in order to stay safe.

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The Group have now decided that they will collect items and put together some Christmas stockings for the local refuge. They are appealing for items at Church and hoping to deliver these gifts in the run up to Christmas.

Fr John Marsland, National Chaplain and Parish Priest of the Group’s parish, welcomed the Group’s first campaign, saying: “The efforts of the Group are a real inspiration and show how young people can used their leadership qualities to make a big difference in the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable. It is not just the gifts the Group will be giving that are important, it is the demonstration of love and compassion that they are showing that is truly important.”