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Bishop Richard celebrated a special Mass at Arundel Cathedral on Friday evening, presenting certificates to many of the 65 children and young people who had completed one of four CYMfed Faith in Action Award levels in the Diocese.
Faith in Action Awards are overseen by CYMFed, the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation, and are nationally recognised. They aim to encourage young people by recognising, rewarding, and celebrating their active faith lived out through service and reflection.
In journeying through the various stages of the award, young people are encouraged to deepen their relationship with God; it is hoped that through this relationship and their actions, others will see God's love through them. Our diocesan Youth Adviser Lizzie explains more:
"The Awards were created to say thank you for all the great work that children and young people do in service of each other, their communities, and the wider world. They do exactly what Jesus wants all of us to do by loving our neighbour – no matter who or where they might be. They are also encouraged to reflect on this service in the context of faith."
The Awards are organised in four levels. Pin Awards are for those in school Year 6 who are just discovering what it means for their faith to be active. The focus of the Bronze Award is service - this award can be undertaken in Year 7 (and above) with participants gaining a deeper understanding of faith being linked to service.
The Diocese had four Silver Award recipients; the focus for this level is leadership - the young people following this award stage will have shown great initiative and will understand that serving others is a direct consequence of a desire to do God’s will. Speaking about Friday's celebration, Lizzie said:
"I am so proud of all the young people who have achieved awards this year, they have done so well - it has been a pleasure to read about all the acts of service they have completed in their journals. I would like to say a huge thank you to Bishop Richard who delivered an excellent homily inspiring the children and young people to gently persevere with their faith, as they are already witnesses to the world and as such on the journey to sainthood. A huge thank you also to all the teachers and chaplains who have accompanied the young people on this journey."
Many congratulations to all those who received awards - we look forward to seeing some of this year's young people return in 2024 to receive Gold Awards!
