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Flame 2023 was a noisy and colourful event with young people clapping exuberantly and waving in time to lively music from Adenik\u00e9, Guvna B, Faith Child and One Hope Project, together with motivational speakers. It was organised by CYMFed, the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation, working with the Bishops Conference, which promotes youth ministry on a national level in the UK.<\/p>\n
Early last Saturday 4 March, a coach full of young people and adults set out for Wembley Arena to join over 8,000 young christians for the fifth Flame Congress. Every diocese in England and Wales was represented. A full day event full of energy, prayer, joy and hope, especially for young people. Many groups had been travelling from the early hours and faced lengthy journeys home. However, enthusiastic exuberance filled the arena throughout.<\/p>\n
It is the largest Catholic gathering of young people in England and Wales.<\/p>\n
The theme of Flame 2023 \u2013 which is exactly 150 days before World Youth Day in Lisbon \u2013 takes the WYD Scripture \u201cMary arose and went with haste\u201d and crystallised it into the theme, \u201cRise Up!\u201d<\/p>\n
Rise up after the pandemic, Rise up as young Catholics, Rise up \u2013 as Mary did \u2013 for the surprising and beautiful adventure that is our Catholic faith.<\/p>\n
Cameras were lit up around the arena from diocesan youth groups \u2013 the day began in complete silence as a statue of Our Lady of Walsingham was brought to the front at the start of the six-hour event.<\/p>\n
In a special message to the conference, Pope Francis encouraged young people to develop a sensitivity to those around them. \u201cBe known for prayer, pursuit of justice and common good, love for the poor and dare to be different,\u201d said Pope Francis in his message.<\/p>\n
Guest speakers included Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. The huge audience responded enthusiastically to his stories on the theme of \u201cRise Up!\u201d an echo of the scripture passage describing how Mary, after her visitation by an angel, \u201carose and went with haste\u201d.<\/p>\n
The vast audience listened attentively as various speakers spoke about angels in our world today and the need to rise up and meet local and global challenges. Cardinal Luis Tagle (formerly Archbishop of Manila and now based at the Vatican) reminded us that “rising up” has many aspects.<\/p>\n
‘Who were the angels sent to me?\u201d he asked us and smiled as he shared his personal story. He mentioned some of the “angels” that had inspired him during his life to “rise up” and serve God and his neighbour. He spoke of his grandmother, who supported her five children in widowhood after her husband had been killed in WWII. He suggested that God sends angels to all of us, in the form of key people we meet in the course of our lives. He urged us to be ready to recognise and respond to them, “rising up” in a spirit of service.<\/p>\n
Everyone applauded when he challenged us to consider \u201cWho are the angels sent to you by God?\u201d<\/p>\n
Also present was the Archbishop of Perth, Timothy Costelloe, the president of the Australian Bishops\u2019 Conference and a Salesian of Don Bosco, an international order of Catholic priests and brothers dedicated to the service of the young, especially the disadvantaged and marginalised.<\/p>\n
He urged the young people to build bridges not walls and to be active in the Church and the world. On the way home from Flame,\u201d he suggested, \u201cask, \u2018What do I need to do?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
We heard from Jenny Garz\u00f3n Saavedra, who works with Cafod\u2019s church partner Funvipas (the pastoral action team of the Diocese of San Vicente del Cagu\u00e1n) in the Colombian Amazon.<\/p>\n
Cafod partner Jenny Garz\u00f3n Saavedra beamed when she heard the tremendous cheer to welcome her as she walked onto the stage in indigenous dress and with flowers in her hair. Working for a diocese in the Colombian Amazon, she supports communities on projects \u201ccollecting native seeds, protecting water and planting trees\u201d. She is an experienced youth worker and trains and supports parish groups still feeling the effects of Colombia\u2019s 50-year-long conflict. She has witnessed the deforestation in the Amazon to make room for cattle: she said, \u201cI dream that our land, our Amazon, will not disappear. I dream that we continue to take care of it, defend it and love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In contrast, inspirational words came from Robert Bilott, a Catholic attorney from Cincinnati who stood up for communities injured by chemical contamination. His book, Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer\u2019s Twenty-Year Battle Against DuPont, <\/em>was turned into the 2019 motion picture, Dark Waters, starring Mark Ruffalo.<\/p>\n Robert Bilott highlighted the poisoning of water sources by the DuPont company and the dangers of corporate greed. The crowd cheered a clip of a 2019 film about his campaigning work.<\/p>\n \u201cOne person taking a risk can change the world,\u201d said Bilott. He felt his campaign \u201cwas the right thing to do\u201d and was proud to play his part in getting dangerous chemicals regulated all over the world.<\/p>\n Much of the day was given over to worship and song led by One Hope Project. Amongst the musicians were MOBO and Urban Music Award winner Guvna B, rising star Faith Child,\u2013 Adenike, herself a 17 year old at a previous Flame, and since then she has been a finalist on The Voice. It was very special to see Adenike as she is not only a talented performer but also a friend and committed youth worker from Our Lady of the Crays, Orpington. After the event she joined us on the concourse for photographs.<\/p>\n Over lunch, Cafod, Columbans, HCPT, Pax Christi, Aid to the Church in Need and SVP organised creative activities.<\/p>\n Back in the arena, we all gently sang \u201cFather we adore you\u201d in a round, in preparation for a service of devotion led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols.<\/p>\n The day wound down with a quiet time of Adoration. Cardinal Vincent Nichols spoke of “how much we have to thank God for today – the music, testimonies and moments to treasure and draw encouragement.”<\/p>\n CYMFed chair, Fr Dominic Howarth, reflected that, “This is Church as you have never seen it before or been it before, but this is Church.”<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a beautiful and powerful stillness\u201d said Fr Dominic Howarth, the current chair of CYMFed, the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation, before thanking all participants.<\/p>\n A reflection from a young person on the coach going home:<\/p>\n I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the day. The music was awesome, the readers were so inspirational, and I loved the silence of the adoration. Everyone who was there was so friendly and happy just to be together. It was just great. Somehow, I feel closer to God and to my faith than I ever was, just due to the people and the event. It has really made me think. Thank you so much. <\/em><\/p>\n Ticcy Colling<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Flame 2023 was a noisy and colourful event with young people clapping exuberantly and waving in time to lively music from Adenik\u00e9, Guvna B, Faith Child and One Hope Project, together with motivational speakers. It was organised by CYMFed, the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation, working with the Bishops Conference, which promotes youth ministry on a national level in the UK. Early last Saturday 4 March, a coach full of young people and adults set out for Wembley Arena to join over 8,000 young christians for the fifth Flame Congress. Every diocese in England and Wales was represented. A full day event full of energy, prayer, joy and hope, especially for young people. Many groups had been travelling from the early hours and faced lengthy journeys home. However, enthusiastic exuberance filled the arena throughout. It is the largest Catholic gathering of young people in England and Wales. The theme of Flame 2023 \u2013 which is exactly 150 days before World Youth Day in Lisbon \u2013 takes the WYD Scripture \u201cMary arose and went with haste\u201d and crystallised it into the theme, \u201cRise Up!\u201d Rise up after the pandemic, Rise up as young Catholics, Rise up \u2013 as Mary did \u2013 for the surprising and beautiful adventure that is our Catholic faith. Cameras were lit up around the arena from diocesan youth groups \u2013 the day began in complete silence as a statue of Our Lady of Walsingham was brought to the front at the start of the six-hour event. In a special message to the conference, Pope Francis encouraged young people to develop a sensitivity to those around them. \u201cBe known for prayer, pursuit of justice and common good, love for the poor and dare to be different,\u201d said Pope Francis in his message. Guest speakers included Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. The huge audience responded enthusiastically to his stories on the theme of \u201cRise Up!\u201d an echo of the scripture passage describing how Mary, after her visitation by an angel, \u201carose and went with haste\u201d. The vast audience listened attentively as various speakers spoke about angels in our world today and the need to rise up and meet local and global challenges. Cardinal Luis Tagle (formerly Archbishop of Manila and now based at the Vatican) reminded us that “rising up” has many aspects. ‘Who were the angels sent to me?\u201d he asked us and smiled as he shared his personal story. He mentioned some of the “angels” that had inspired him during his life to “rise up” and serve God and his neighbour. He spoke of his grandmother, who supported her five children in widowhood after her husband had been killed in WWII. He suggested that God sends angels to all of us, in the form of key people we meet in the course of our lives. He urged us to be ready to recognise and respond to them, “rising up” in a spirit of service. Everyone applauded when he challenged us to consider \u201cWho are the angels sent to you by God?\u201d Also present was the Archbishop of Perth, Timothy Costelloe, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10691"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10694,"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10691\/revisions\/10694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saintedmunds.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}