Glenford Lowe sdb
MUMBAI, MAY 25, 2010: The holiday season is now over. The Don Bosco Summer Camps 2010 (DBSC ’10) will slowly, more than fade into memory, act as a catalyst to bring new meaning and purpose into the lives of many youngsters. The adventure, the fun, the personal growth accompanied with quality ‘me-time’, the making of new friends, living in tents under starry skies, visiting the mission centres in Gujarat, interacting with young energetic Salesian priests and brothers, the deep prayer moments leading to a personal encounter with Christ were all experiences of a kind. Back to school, for many non-campers, the classrooms will soon be their ‘cocoons’ for the next few months… limited to bench-work: reading, writing, arithmetic. For the Bosco Campers, life will be different… ‘Home – School – Church – Playground’ will be the benchmarks for total growth in ‘Body-Mind- Soul-Heart’.
DBSC ‘10 was indeed a new learning experience for many a youngster. The freedom of the open spaces and a youthful family spirit provided the necessary arena for holistic growth. No one who attended the Bosco Summer Camps 2010 ever felt isolated or alone. The secret of the Bosco Summer Camps was simply this: Everyone is Special. I am Gifted, Loved and Capable.
Salesian Youth Ministry revolves around Don Bosco’s insight, ‘love what the young love and they will begin to love you’. Put differently, it simply means ‘when you make what is important to the young important to you, then what is important to you will also become important to them’. Entering through the door of the young person’s world takes courage and confidence. But when we get in there; we realize there is light and shadow, success and failure, hope and despair, meaning and emptiness, the divine and the secular… Salesian Youth Ministry is basically ‘journeying with the Young’ because they are ‘special’, very special indeed.
Youth are the young face. Pope Benedict XVI rightly affirms: “Without this young face, the Church would appear disfigured” (San Paulo, Brazil, May 10, 2007). DBSC ’10 were an opportunity for the young to discover their place in Church and Society. For us Salesians, we make Don Bosco’s vision our own: To accompany them to become Good Christians and Responsible Citizens.
Don Bosco Youth Services (DBYS), Matunga, has over the years been instrumental in enabling young people to discover themselves and to respond with love, hope and meaning to the challenges that life offers them. The numerous Summer Camps: the Mission Camp (Gujarat), the two ‘Beat the Heat’ Leadership camps at Boscowadi (Uttan), the Youth Pasch – an Easter retreat for working youth and the two Vocation Camps for those seeking to discover God’s call were wonderful opportunities for the young to live life more meaningfully.
Accompanying the young is a whole process. It does not end with the Summer Camps alone. The Don Bosco Youth Services (DBYS) continues to provide young people with nourishment for growth in love and life. Lest the Church’s face be disfigured….. Let us give young people an opportunity to reconnect with Church and Society.
If you have a heart for the young, why not join hands with us? Contact us at dbysmatunga@gmail.com
or call us 24154118 / 24154106
MUMBAI, MAY 25, 2010: The holiday season is now over. The Don Bosco Summer Camps 2010 (DBSC ’10) will slowly, more than fade into memory, act as a catalyst to bring new meaning and purpose into the lives of many youngsters. The adventure, the fun, the personal growth accompanied with quality ‘me-time’, the making of new friends, living in tents under starry skies, visiting the mission centres in Gujarat, interacting with young energetic Salesian priests and brothers, the deep prayer moments leading to a personal encounter with Christ were all experiences of a kind. Back to school, for many non-campers, the classrooms will soon be their ‘cocoons’ for the next few months… limited to bench-work: reading, writing, arithmetic. For the Bosco Campers, life will be different… ‘Home – School – Church – Playground’ will be the benchmarks for total growth in ‘Body-Mind- Soul-Heart’.
DBSC ‘10 was indeed a new learning experience for many a youngster. The freedom of the open spaces and a youthful family spirit provided the necessary arena for holistic growth. No one who attended the Bosco Summer Camps 2010 ever felt isolated or alone. The secret of the Bosco Summer Camps was simply this: Everyone is Special. I am Gifted, Loved and Capable.
Salesian Youth Ministry revolves around Don Bosco’s insight, ‘love what the young love and they will begin to love you’. Put differently, it simply means ‘when you make what is important to the young important to you, then what is important to you will also become important to them’. Entering through the door of the young person’s world takes courage and confidence. But when we get in there; we realize there is light and shadow, success and failure, hope and despair, meaning and emptiness, the divine and the secular… Salesian Youth Ministry is basically ‘journeying with the Young’ because they are ‘special’, very special indeed.
Youth are the young face. Pope Benedict XVI rightly affirms: “Without this young face, the Church would appear disfigured” (San Paulo, Brazil, May 10, 2007). DBSC ’10 were an opportunity for the young to discover their place in Church and Society. For us Salesians, we make Don Bosco’s vision our own: To accompany them to become Good Christians and Responsible Citizens.
Don Bosco Youth Services (DBYS), Matunga, has over the years been instrumental in enabling young people to discover themselves and to respond with love, hope and meaning to the challenges that life offers them. The numerous Summer Camps: the Mission Camp (Gujarat), the two ‘Beat the Heat’ Leadership camps at Boscowadi (Uttan), the Youth Pasch – an Easter retreat for working youth and the two Vocation Camps for those seeking to discover God’s call were wonderful opportunities for the young to live life more meaningfully.
Accompanying the young is a whole process. It does not end with the Summer Camps alone. The Don Bosco Youth Services (DBYS) continues to provide young people with nourishment for growth in love and life. Lest the Church’s face be disfigured….. Let us give young people an opportunity to reconnect with Church and Society.
If you have a heart for the young, why not join hands with us? Contact us at dbysmatunga@gmail.com
or call us 24154118 / 24154106