WelCom February 2023
Nick Wilson
Student leaders from Palmerston North diocese’s Catholic colleges gathered at Highland Home Christian Camp in Pohangina Valley, near Ashhurst, late last year, for a week of servant leadership formation.
Tausilia McClutchie of the diocesan Young Catholics Office led The Young Catholic Leader (YCL) programme, which prepares the students for their college leadership roles for 2023.
Students focused on 11 keys of leadership in the way of Jesus, designed to assist their attitudes, values and behaviours in leadership roles in our kura tuarua, secondary schools.
Sacramental experiences, prayer, physical challenges, group work, examination of wellness, and personal challenges made up just some of the experiences our rangatahi – young people – encountered.
Comments included: ‘I am out of my comfort zone and ready for this year of leadership’; ‘I learned a whole lot about real leadership skills’; and ‘a life-changing experience, which has changed my perspective’.
Pope Francis reminds us what the Church will be in the future depends on young peoples’ free co-operation with God’s grace.
We look forward to another great year in our secondary schools with these young leaders implementing what they have learned. Let our collective prayer be that our schools are places where we can all encounter the living God. A huge thanks to Catholic Charities for their support and to the leaders who facilitated the programme.
