Wellington Archdiocese Samoan Youth Rally

March has been a month of many blessings – and not just because I celebrated my birthday earlier in the month, yay! - but because of many things, today I will share of the events of our Youth Rally ….

March 1st – Wellington Samoan Chaplaincy Youth Rally

The theme was youth for Christ - and there was no doubt as we began at 7am marching through the streets of Newtown that we young people were making a stand for something more than ourselves – we were shouting, singing, and chanting our faith out loud.

Quick run down of some of the highlights:
Mass celebrated by Archbishop John Dew, with our visiting clergy from our French delegation who will be visiting Wellington during Days in Diocese in July. How fortunate we were to share our culture with others in the celebration of the Eucharist.

Her honourable Luamanuvao Winnie Laban represented Her right honourable Helen Clark who was called overseas. Luamanuvao spoke beautifully of her journey in life, and there is no doubt that many young people were uplifted and inspired by her stories of cultural sacrifice, hard work and perseverance.

Celebration of song, dance, and speech from the thirteen Samoan youth groups of the Wellington Archdiocese. Messages of hope, peace, coming together and love were shared – what a sight to behold leading into WYD2008 – this is what it’s all about!

Ikenasio Tuia. This young man’s sharing on his journey as a Samoan Youth and his journey through spirituality was truly touching. How fortunate we have been in our diocese to have such a courageous and humble servant who is willing to share his love for Christ. His sharing invited young people to question their own journey, and to challenge us all to take up our crosses and to not be afraid to follow Christ.

I was honoured to also have the chance to speak, and the feeling of being on stage and sharing my journey with the youth was such a special gift that I will treasure. My only prayer is that, even if it is only one person, is that my sharing was able to stir a sense of want for youth to journey closer with Jesus.

I am so excited for what WYD2008 is bringing to our communities. We have so much to offer our church, our energy, our passion, our longing to be drawn nearer – it goes beyond one event – and this rally made me see this clearer. WYD2008 has begun everybody! It’s happening all around us, whether it’s fundraising, group meetings, or marching through the streets holding banners.

Stay tuned for more of what March has blessed me with including an update on our Youth Mass on Palm Sunday – we packed out the Cathedral!! Plus,photos from the Rally - I'm on the hunt for these as we speak!

Soifua ona o Iesu Keriso.
God Bless you all!