21st July 2012
– The Parish of the Blessed Sacrament – Viginia
The Idea of the band camp was to use music as a tool to evangelize youth ,Music is universal and attracts youth, There are a few Youth bands in the Archdiocese but there has never been an opportunity for them to come together and look at the spirituality behind music and liturgy ,The team comprising of Mark Naicker (Program Co ordinator – Education for life)Sean Latergan (Musician and youth worker St Dominic’s –Hillcrest) Vincent (Youth for Christ Missionary )Zee (Youth for Christ Missionary )The team met every Wednesday at the Chancery to discuss the Program. The meeting always began with inviting God into our discussions and asking for his guidance in our project. Posters were sent to all Parishes in the Archdiocese .Sean created a website for Participants to register .A total of 35 people registered and there was a registration cost of R50 to cover the costs of the meal and teas and stipends for speakers. The day began with registration and an opening prayer from Fr Joseph. Sean welcomed the Participants and explained the reason behind the Camp, This followed by four speakers ,first was Katia Benedetti who spoke on the topic of Professionalism in the Ministry then,was David Sprong- Our Musical Heritage. Sean Lategan spoke about the The Heart of Worship and the final speaker was Fr Julian Davey and his talk was Gateway to the Heavenly Jerusalem – Music and the Liturgy. All participants were asked to bring a packed lunch to share which brought the message of sharing together as a family. All activities during the day was designed to impart not only music knowledge but important life lessons .The Practical sessions for the participants was an amazing experience as it gave them the opportunity to learn new skills but also to realize that playing in the band is not about the music but about the spirituality behind the music. Two of the musicians where not Catholic but facilitated with respect and understanding of the Catholic faith. The facilitators were Claire Coleman – Vocalists, Avi Mackanjee – Guitarists, Paul Boissezon – Bassists, Jeremiah Nair – Drummers , Sean Lategan– Keyboardists after the practical session the participants were divided into mini bands by myself. The newly created bands now had to name their band and to play together as a band to the song that the team provided them. This was exciting as the newly formed band members had to work together as a team with complete strangers. The presentations where good, after the presentations the participants attend the Parish mass. The program continued after mass with a meal together and ending with a praise fest where all present were allowed to come and use the instruments provided to thank God for the day together .
The youth band camp was a vision of Education for life which is always in search of providing a platform for Youth and young adults to be inspired to change their lives to a positive Christ filled life. I would like to thank Sean for his commitment to Our Vision as a team, he brought the band camp idea to a physical reality, getting the facilitators, the speakers ,making sure the setup was done perfectly. Most importantly I thank the band camp team for our vision together.
THE WAY FORWARD
The team will be having their final meeting on the 2nd August to discuss where to from here ,We may need to add a few more members to the team or if the team decides we can leave it to the 4 of us.
POSSIBLE PROGRAMS FOR THE WAY FORWARD
- Build a band comprising of those that participated in the camp
- Be part of the Education for life parish promotion teams on A Sunday
- Organize praise and worship evenings which would include adoration and confession
We need to encourage young people to be active in their Spirituality ,to understand their purpose of being called Catholic, I hope the team can help set the youth on fire like the first deciples,by making them trust in the Churches spirituality and Guidance and love and thereafter becoming young adult missionaries for the Christ
Mark Naicker
– Program Co ordinator – Education for life
