Welcome from the CEODear Fellow Pilgrims, As we approach the Christmas season we remember that our God made his home with us and shared everything of himself with us. The hospitality of God and his generosity and love has no limits! Yet we also know that at the birth of Jesus 'there was no room at the inn" - and his parents had to search for accommodation on that cold Christmas night! Well - let's hope as Melbournians we have the energy and generosity to provide accommodation for 25,000 young pilgrims next year for Days in the Dioceses. Just last month we launched the Melbourne Stay program, designed to assist our pilgrims in finding a warm and welcoming place to stay while in Melbourne. It is a great opportunity not only to offer your home and hospitality but also to receive the gift of friendship from visiting pilgrims. 'Friends Forever' - our slogan for the Melbourne Stay program - reminds us that we are given many special opportunities to make a difference in this remarkable program and make Melbourne a memorable experience for the thousands of pilgrims arriving next July. Br. Mark O'Connor Parish Story
St Mary's Greensborough has been going full steam ahead in the promotion and planning towards WYD and DID08 next year in July 2008. Their first step was to bring together a small 'core' group of WYD leaders to develop their leadership skills and focus on their faith formation in preparation for pilgrimage. The group decided that they would make a big effort to get the parish involved and excited - and the best way to do this was to organise a week of WYD excitement! On the weekend of the 13-14 October 2007 the group decided to 'launch' WYD at their parish and young leaders from the group spoke at every Mass to tell people about this huge event and how they could get involved. After Mass the leaders handed out a WYD flyer to parishioners that provided more details. With the momentum flowing, the group held a parish information night and invited a WYD staff member to talk to everyone about how they can get involved as a parish and as an individual. The parishioners were then invited to share in the success of WYD with a day of prayer and adoration at Mass. Just last week St Mary's held their first fundraiser for WYD - holding a Trivia Night with over 100 people in attendance. The funds were raised to pay the deposit for the transport of the young pilgrims to Sydney. The parish currently has 10 youth leaders that will coordinate the pilgrimage group and 60 pilgrims going up to WYD with them. St Mary's Primary School has given their support of WYD by creating a coin trail that spelt out the letters W-Y-D. The parish has also been working with the school to see how they can be involved and are looking at ensuring WYD is part of the students' curriculum for next year. The parish council has put their support behind WYD as well by offering to organise a golf day, a Hot Cross Bun drive, and a dinner dance to assist with fundraising in the parish. The parish has been overjoyed by the bonds developed by the younger and older people in the parish community who are working together to make WYD a reality for the many parishioners going on pilgrimage. Congratulations to St Mary's of Greensborough for all their hard work! |
International Update
Well the DID08 international liaison team are on the way home after an incredibly successful tour of the Americas. I have spoken to groups of young people and pilgrim leaders in many different countries and after a month of travelling the final destination on the tour is Chile. Landing in Santiago I was immediately hit by the beauty of this South American country that is bordered by the Andes mountain ranges. I was greeted by Carmen and Beto from the Chilean Youth Ministry office. I visited numerous groups of young people including a gathering in Valparaiso and another at a local university in Santiago. I was particularly impressed by a group of young people from St Augustine's Parish in Santiago, who have made a video to promote the work they are doing to raise money for their group to make the journey to Australia for this great celebration. The video now appears on our website as a testimony to the creative and exciting ways people from all over the world are raising funds to come to WYD. It also provides us as Australians with a great inspiration to see what pilgrims are willing to do to get here from the other side of the world. You can view the clip on www.did08.com As I board the plane back to Australia, I know that there is a lot of work being done in 'preparing the way of the pilgrim' and you can all be assured that you will be in "good hands" whilst here in Melbourne for Days in the Dioceses. See you soon! In faith, Tim Davis |
Travel to Sydney
Here is just a short snippet of all the great facilities and services you will receive when you board an official WYD Melbourne coach:
As you can tell a great deal of preparation has been conducted to ensure pilgrims have a safe, efficient and hassle-free journey to Sydney for WYD. To join the official transport program register on the Harvest Online website www.harvestonline.net.au or for more info contact the WYD Melbourne Transport Office on +61 3 9412 8444 or email BusTransport@did08.com |
Animation of Catechesis at WYD
Many of you may have been involved in youth groups, outreach programs, camps and other activities designed to offer young people a personal encounter with Christ. The Catechetical sessions at World Youth Day provide an opportunity for you to work alongside the Bishops as leaders in this same task. At every World Youth Day, Catechesis takes place for 3 hours on the morning of the Wednesday - Friday. Every pilgrim group will be allocated to a catechesis venue that they will go to every morning. Most venues will be Catholic churches, but also halls and large commercial venues will be used in Sydney. There is a particular theme for Catechesis each day. A Bishop, Archbishop or Cardinal will give a talk on the theme and say Mass for the pilgrims. The animating team then undertakes the session or program based on the following:
The animating team is comprised of a leader, a Master of Ceremonies, a music team, servers and readers for Mass, and other animators to help welcome the pilgrims to help present dramas or giving testimonies. The team would need to be comprised of a minimum of 6 people, but ideally 10 or more. WYD is looking to recruit approximately 30 groups of animators coming from Melbourne. You will be required to attend a one-day training session in mid-May 2008, which will be held here in Melbourne. You don't need to be an expert in catechesis; rather if your group is enthusiastic to share their faith, has skills in music, public speaking, and running events, then why not get involved? To register your interest, log on to www.wyd2008.org and a WYD Melbourne representative will be in touch to confirm your place. |
Pilgrim Services - What's New?The Pilgrim Services Team extends a big "Thank You" to all Key Contacts and Coordinators in the parishes and schools of the Archdioceses of Melbourne for their enthusiasm and work during 2007 on plans for Days in the Dioceses and the pilgrimage to World Youth Day. We wanted to share with you a letter we received from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference who are particularly impressed with the amazing work we are doing in preparation for WYD. Letter to WYD workers from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference We look forward to working with you again in 2008 as we undertake the mission of activating the nation! Fundraising Idea - Hot Cross Buns! To celebrate WYD08, Tip Top is offering Parishes, Community Groups and Movements the chance to sell Hot Cross Buns to students, families and other local community members to raise funds. These funds can be used at your discretion to support plans for WYD08. Key Contacts have recently received information about the Tip Top Hot Cross Bun Drive. We encourage you to register your interest in this great fundraiser to support your local WYD08 initiatives. Registrations close soon. To find our more please visit www.wyd2008.org |
Training Corner
The new section "Programs and Resources" contains valuable resources for each of the main coordinator roles including - Local Events, Melbourne Stay and Formation. If you attended the recent Pilgrim TEAM Make sure you take a look and use these resources to help you in your role. Log on to: Pilgrim TEAM Training. |
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St Mary's Greensborough -
making a difference!!
G'day from Santiago, Chile,
The
number of Pilgrims registering for Transport to Sydney for World Youth
Day is increasing daily, and why not when Pilgrims receive some great
benefits for travelling as part of the official WYD Transport
Operation! 
Catechesis
- the task of passing on the faith - tends to fall as a responsibility
to the Bishops. The Bishop invariably charges specific groups of people
to help him carry out this task (e.g. catechists and school teachers),
but all those who share their faith can also get involved in this
mission. 
With
the recent launch of our new website - you will find a dedicated
section for the Pilgrim TEAM Training resources and information.
Training
sessions in October/November you will find all of the questions and
answers from the sessions as well as copies of the training manual and
many other resources that were referred to in the sessions.