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The Diocese of Arundel & Brighton recognised the active faith and service of a significant number of young people across 12 diocesan Catholic schools earlier this month, with Bishop Richard Moth presenting 132 Faith in Action Awards to students during celebrations held at Arundel Cathedral, Sussex, and Christ the Prince of Peace Church in Weybridge, Surrey.

The Faith in Action Award – supported by CMFED, the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation of England and Wales – aims to help young people to connect their life and faith in a tangible way, through service to others in their community. The Award has four levels, with primary and secondary school students completing the Pin Award, which deepens their understanding of what it means to belong to God’s family, through to the Gold Award, which requires ongoing commitment to active service through innovative acts of service outside of existing parish and school structures.

Highlighting the scheme’s positive impact, a representative from St Wilfrid’s Catholic School in Crawley said: “Faith in Action has become an integral part of the Catholic life of our school. It has been beautiful to watch students grow in confidence, particularly when reflecting on their faith.”

St Cuthbert’s Catholic Primary School in Englefield Green also participated in the scheme this year. Reflecting on the many benefits of the initiative, one teacher said: “Faith in Action has inspired our school community. The children involved have led assemblies, run a charity event, been role models, and linked their journey with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. We will be continuing the award programme next academic year and can't wait!”

Diocesan Youth Adviser, Lizzie Wakeling, is an active member of the national CYMFED Faith in Action Awards panel. Speaking yesterday, Lizzie said: “We launched the award across 3 schools, 3 years ago - we now have 12 schools involved, with the fantastic dedication and commitment of our school award leaders central to the success of the programme.

“Bishop Richard called people across our Diocese to embrace prayer, formation, and mission in his recent Pastoral Plan. The children and young people receiving Faith in Action Awards this year are doing exactly that; they are a model and witness for us all.”

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