theASCENT
theASCENT is a three-year discipleship process for young Catholics in years 10-13 who want to embrace their faith and learn how to share it with others. First launched in 2013, the process runs in several locations around the UK, led by a competent team of around 80 volunteers who give over 15,000 hours a year to support the young people in their journeys.
The Process
There are three primary components to the process for the participants:
- Three residential weekends per year providing opportunities for teaching and formation in the Catholic faith, encounter with Jesus Christ, personal prayer, and envisioning their next steps.
- Weekly ‘PoDs’ (Pockets of Disciples) which are small groups who meet together online for a consistent experience of fellowship and formation.
- Monthly 1-to-1 mentoring giving a space for bespoke discipleship facilitated by a trained team member to meet the individual needs of each young person.
Our formation materials are written by qualified individuals with rich expertise in their given area. These areas include, but are not limited to: Catholic Social Teaching, Scripture, Sacraments, Theology of the Body, Charisms, and Apologetics. Participants also receive training in leadership, communication, and reflective skills, as well as developing their character and relationships. We are also committed to investing in our team's discipleship growth and as such we hold a yearly training weekend for all three location teams to come together, as well as spending an additional optional weekend away together for fellowship, rest, and prayer.
We currently accept 12 young people per year in each of our locations, and 6 from our Richmond partnership. To date over 170 young people have completed the process, and around 80 participate at any one time. We encourage our young people to serve their localities through involvement with their parish and other Catholic organisations. Our alumni have gone on to serve the wider Church by entering full time ministry post-college and working at a national level with Catholic bodies including CYMFed, Social Action Charities, Catholic Dioceses, and Catholic Student Network.
Find out more here: https://www.theascentuk.co.uk/
METANOIA PROJECT
Proclaiming the Good News of God’s Kingdom
A Catholic charity for the New Evangelisation, ministering to people of all ages, proclaiming the Word and serving the poor in the Preston area and beyond
Vision:
To build a vibrant, faith filled, evangelistic community who help to bring about the Kingdom of God through both proclamation and service.
Focused on transforming their local area and the lives of those around them they will become a light for and the centre of the wider community.
We aim to fulfill this vision by:
Establishing Christian Communities comprising both residential and non-residential members which are a place of witness, welcome and nurture for the local community
Working alongside local Schools, Parishes, Priests, People and other organisations in order to offer both initial proclamation of the Christian message and on-going discipleship to help build and strengthen the local Church.
Facilitating age appropriate groups, for people of all ages, that offer opportunities for a deeper encounter with Christ which will inspire and envision Catholics to be excited about their faith, whilst equipping and supporting them to share that faith with others through both proclamation and very practical service within their local community
Developing a variety of training and discipleship programmes that lead people into relationship with Christ and His Church and enable personal growth.
Creating and sustaining a variety of initiatives that reach out to the local community and find practical ways to meet their material, spiritual and emotional needs.
Offering opportunities for all members of the local community to engage with the project at whatever level they are comfortable in order to provide and introduction to Christian work and Christian people.
Metanoia Project was started by Joe and Ruth White in 2011 and became a registered Charity in 2016. We have a great team of dedicated Trustees who employ Joe and Ruth as Project Directors. There are also many others involved as volunteers and Community members and we hope to take on further employees as Metanoia Project continues to grow.
Find out more here: http://metanoiaproject.co.uk/
Joel’s Bar
Joel's Bar is the young adults ministry of CELEBRATE Trust which has run Catholic Charismatic events for the last 28 years serving those aged 16-28.
“At Joel’s Bar (JB) we are passionate about seeing young people inspired and equipped to live an authentic Christian life in the power of the Holy Spirit. We long for all young people to realise their call to live in a relationship with a loving God. We offer a space for young adults to encounter the living God and explore their faith in an environment that is built on community and fellowship. We believe there is something for everyone at JB with our timetable made up of various ways to engage both with God and each other. This includes the sacraments, Praise and Worship, Prayer ministry, personal prayer, small group discussion, workshops, sports, evenings of entertainment and lots of time to socialise and build community in our Cafe and Bar!”
Find out more at https://www.joelsbar.co.uk/
SION Youth Team-primary and secondary schools
A school mission brings a Sion Youth Team to work with your school for a week. The aim is to help students and members of the wider school community encounter God and grow in understanding of the Catholic faith.
A Sion Youth Mission enables a school to:
Revisit its mission as a Catholic School.
Have the Gospel proclaimed in a radical and accessible way to both staff and students within the school context.
We present the Gospel message in a modern, lively and stimulating way in order to encourage all concerned to take a fresh look at our faith and to live it more deeply.
We have created a variety of lively, thought-provoking assemblies, year-group work, presentations, classroom sessions and prayer times that allow us to interact with students and staff through different approaches and methods.
Find out more here: https://sioncommunity.org.uk/primary-school/
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