On Sunday 26 February 2024, the sounds of laughter and joy resonated at St Christopher’s Church in Syndal, along with the peaceful silence of prayer and deep contemplation, as youth from across the Archdiocese of Melbourne gathered to spend time with Jesus at the first Encounter evening of 2024.
Encounter is an evening designed for youth to gather in fellowship and to meet Jesus anew—a way to form and deepen their friendship with him. The evening follows a ‘youth group’ format of prayer, music, testimony, games and songs, and ends with dinner.
Encounter was launched successfully at the Catholic Leadership Centre last November, providing an opportunity particularly for returning World Youth Day pilgrims to reunite and continue to be nourished spiritually at home with their friends.
This year, the initiative has extended to a series of evenings throughout the year, with parishes and local communities across the Archdiocese opening their doors to welcome all high school–aged youth.
Young people came from many parts of the Archdiocese, from Burwood and Syndal to the Mornington Peninsula and as far as Caroline Springs and Geelong.
One attendee who travelled from Geelong with a number of his peers said that his ‘mum told us about it’ and had encouraged them to go. Another attendee said that she went because she was hoping to ‘to deepen my faith to God and grow closer to him and try to be like him so I can live a better life’.
In a world where faith and Jesus may seem irrelevant, youth leaders are called to show youth actually how easy, real and necessary it is to encounter Jesus.
The series also supports parish clergy, youth ministries and local communities as they partner with Proclaim: The Office for Mission Renewal to craft, promote and deliver evening events that seek to draw young people closer to Jesus.
At St Christopher’s Syndal, the vibrant youth and young adult ministry Elevate Youth took the lead on Sunday evening, with their youth ministry team of young adults working with the Youth Mission Team to run the popular event.
Louis Shu, youth ministry coordinator at St Christopher’s, says that the whole reason he became a youth leader is to help young people encounter the Lord.
‘In a world and society [where it] may seem so hard to encounter the Lord, where faith and Jesus may seem irrelevant, youth leaders are called to show youth actually how easy, real and necessary it is to encounter Jesus,’ Louis says. ‘Whether through seeing Christ in one another … through the Eucharist, through worship music … we come to realise that it’s not about waiting for Jesus to encounter us, but he is waiting for us to encounter him and allow ourselves to be transformed by his love!’
The event began with a game, followed by an opening prayer and song. A member of the Youth Mission Team gave a personal testimony, reflecting on her own struggles and joys in her relationship with God.
Josephine Plazzer, a discipleship specialist from the Proclaim team who works in universities, gave a talk on the ‘stars in our midst’, focusing on the inspiring story of Servant of God Chiara Corbella Petrillo, a young mother who died at the age of 28 in 2012.
A joy for me was seeing the Holy Spirit move within the young people during adoration.
A time of reflection and small group discussion followed, allowing participants to break open what they had heard and encountered.
After another game, a time of eucharistic adoration and Reconciliation was led by Fr Jacob Alvares, assistant priest at St Christopher’s Parish. Young people were invited to pray, light a candle and reflect on Scripture during this time.
‘A joy for me was seeing the Holy Spirit move within the young people during adoration,’ Louis says. ‘To see young people really respond to the Blessed Sacrament by sitting closer to the altar to be closer to Jesus, to see young people sing along to the worship music and … be moved by the Spirit to take part in the sacrament of Reconciliation are some of the things that touched me in this event.’
It’s about planning an event that best allows for students to encounter Christ, whether that be through small group discussions, ensuring a prayerful space is created for adoration through the use of candles and a cross, and even ensuring that good food is provided.
The night ended with a dinner provided by local parishioners and an invitation to participants to continue to connect with their local youth groups.
Louis says, ‘A lot of work goes into planning an event like this, and it takes a team effort! For me, it’s about planning an event that best allows for students to encounter Christ, whether that be through small group discussions, ensuring a prayerful space is created for adoration through the use of candles and a cross, and even ensuring that good food is provided to ensure we provide a space to build fellowship.’
At the end of the event, a number of attendees spoke about the things they enjoyed most about the evening, including the games, the talks, adoration and, particularly, Reconciliation, agreeing that they would ‘definitely’ come to the next one.
The next Encounter evening will be held on Palm Sunday, 24 March 2024, from 5pm to 8pm at St Peter Apostle Mission Parish, Hoppers Crossing. All high school–aged youth are welcome. Free entry, with dinner provided. Register now. For further details, contact proclaim@cam.org.au.
Encounter is an initiative of Proclaim: The Office for Mission Renewal.
