Youth CaFE: Hear from Other Leaders

“Plugged In” Youth CaFE has been a total blessing for so many young people in the Diocese of Leeds. Catholic Evangelisation Services have provided an excellent tool for the proclamation of the Gospel. During the Youth CaFE programme the young people really appreciated the opportunity to be with other Catholics, they were keen to learn about their faith and deepen their relationship with the Lord. The Youth CaFE programme facilitated this happening in a vibrant and relevant way. The young people valued the opportunities for prayer and discussion.
The fruits of this resource can now begin to be identified, “Plugged In” serving as a springboard in the Diocese for many other opportunities for young Catholics. For example: the number of young people who are now engaging with their parish and volunteering for various ministries is fantastic; many young people are keen to be trained as small group leaders; some will now form a worship band for future diocesan events; and the increase in interest in prayer events for young people has been unbelievable!
Anna Cowell, Diocesan Youth Officer, Leeds.

They enjoyed Fr Stan. They connected with his ideas. Peer Leader

"Young people have questions about life and about faith. They also want to know that they are not alone in having those questions. Youth CaFE is a great way to meet those needs - it brings young people together, so they know that they are not alone, and it lets them know that they 'have permission' to explore those questions of life and faith in a welcoming and safe environment."
Michael Roche, Pastoral Assistant, Harrow and Wealdstone.

‘At Saint John Payne we ran the course in the Chaplaincy for Year 9s during the lunch hour over a 12 week period using one video clip each week. Our leaders were members of Year 12 who had previously completed a course in youth ministry. The course was a great success, a time of growth and relationship building; the young people loved the video clips and discussion time. The ice-breakers and nibbles went down very well as did the prayer time at the end (especially the floating flowers!). Now that the course has run once I know that we will grow in number. We hope to run the course again in the Autumn and this time the leaders will be doing the promotion.’
Christine Webb, Chaplain, St John Payne.

They all loved Fr Stan. They enjoyed the ‘moderness.’ Peer Leader.

"The media’s constantly telling us that God isn’t relevant. Youth CaFE makes God relevant and shows that Jesus and gospel values are more relevant today than ever. God has been misinterpreted by those who don’t know him. Youth CaFE helps young people disconnect from what the world's telling them – and get plugged into God, to connect with him and to know what he wants for them…and that is to love them."
Rick Appleby, peer leader, Kingston

"I was delighted with the material, its production quality and the practical helpfulness of the leaders guide. The group aged 11 to 17 responded well to the material and the structure of the evenings."
Rev A.J. Strike, Southampton.

"The leadership sessions are a godsend! They covered everything I wanted to say to my team in a relaxed way. It provoked conversations and discussion that I wouldn’t have known how to broach. We had a conversation about praying as a team which has set the tone for the way in which we will work. This was potentially an awkward subject, but we were able to be upfront and open about our feelings surrounding praying publicly. Thank you Catholic Evangelisation Services!"
Josephine Stowe, Leeds

"The Lord is so good to us and answers our prayers so promptly. I had just been discussing with Father how our confirmation classes were ever so boring to our young adults and how we needed to find a program that was more in tune with them and then your information on plugged in Youth CaFE arrived."
A Pastoral Assistant in Ontario, Canada

We followed this course with a group of eight 10 to 14 year olds and the response has been very positive indeed with a unanimous vote of enthusiasm for the programme. They are quite keen that we continue in the same format now that the actual course has finished. The excellent foundations provided by CaFE make looking at more doctrinal matters a natural progression.
Ambience is vital for the success of the course. We made great efforts to insist that it is not “school” and a relationship was developed between all that discouraged this. The church hall was lit by soft lighting from table lamps and candles and Christian Rock Music played quietly in the background during discussions. Elements of the course such as the icebreakers, a bowl of sweeties on the table and an “Irn Bru” break are tempting to omit, but to do so would destroy the ambience on which the course depends.
In short we can commend this course to all parishes.
Robert Main, Sheila Main, Frances Clancy (Youth Leaders: Scotland)

They loved it. Especially Fr Stan. Youth Leader. Leeds.

‘We used the Youth CaFE course in our school in the second school term. We targeted Yr12 students using part of their lesson time-table. The course was firstly led by Angela Gillespie, Derby City Catholic Youth Worker and proved very popular, then after an encouraging start, myself (aged 19) and one other (aged 18), as peer ministers, continued the course with a new 6th Form group. The school was more than happy for us to do the course, as not only did it give a new and interesting project, it actually integrated well with the current curriculum. The young people responded very well. This particular age group are at a crucial and influential point in their lives, where everything in society moulds their personalities and opinions, so to discuss their faith, morals and values in this day and age is very interesting.
Personally, as a young person myself, I think this is a fantastic course which gets young people thinking and exploring their faith in a fun and relaxed manner and should be encouraged in every denomination. It’s about young people learning from other young people and there’s nothing more powerful than that.’
Sadie Iliffe, peer leader, Nottingham Diocese

"Being involved in peer-led groups has helped me in tons of ways in my life over the last few years. Firstly, having a peer leader, helped me see that I'm not on my own and that the hard things I face have been faced by someone else who survived. It also helped me have a kind of target or aim to make my faith good like there's..

"Secondly, being a peer leader, has helped me to make my faith firm and defined, I have constantly found myself looking at my life, making sure I'm setting a good example. Though this can be scary, it's great 'cause I've got an extra reason for being good."
Ben Cordy, Leeds Diocese see his website

The Youth CaFE course was advertised in the parish on boards and in the newsletter, but people actually came through word of mouth and friendship connections. Two groups developed: aged 12-14s (between 9-13) and aged 14-16s ( x 4.). Dunstan (aged16) soon took over leading with adult backing. The young people rated the games and DVDs very highly, and Mass was also really successful. From the course we learnt that fun, music and time for socialising with like-minded teens, need to be integral to faith building experience. Also that we can use talents of older teens to help younger ones;
Rachel Pugh, Bishop Stortford Parish.