by Ms. Elvina Castellino
KAPADVANJ-GUJARAT, NOVEMBER 4, 2014:The Seminar for the youth of the Umreth deanery was inaugurated at Don Bosco, Kapdavanj, with the solemn celebration of the Holy Eucharist on 
October 24, 2014. Eighty six youth were present for the same. The main celebrant was Fr. Sandeep Parmar, the Diocesan Youth Coordinator while, Frs. Ivan de Souza, the Rector of Don Bosco, Kapadvanj, and Mayank Parmar, SDB, the Deanery Youth Coordinator were concelebrants.
The theme of the Seminar was "Youth and Family Life." All the sessions were geared towards this theme. During the four days of the camp, various eminent resource persons gave their valuable time, to make this seminar a runaway success. The resource persons were Mr. Rajesh Christian, Mr. Shailesh Christy, Frs. Appao, Isaac, Rappai, James Tuscano and Ashwin and Mayank. After the preliminaries, like camp orientation and appraising the youth regarding the rules of the Camp, the youth were presented an awe-inspiring 'Katha Session' by Fr. Ignas, SJ, who dwelt on the theme of the 'Eucharist' in an ethnic rendition of Bhajans, relevant stories and anecdotes. This was thoroughly enjoyed by the youngsters who were also motivated to actively participate in the Katha session.
The next day, was packed with inspiring sessions on themes like Generation Gap, Parents versus Children, Family and Society, and Family and the Church. The youngsters listened to all the talks with rapt attention. The panel discussion was the highlight of this day. The discussion was conducted by Frs. Isaac and Appao and Mr. and Mrs. Shailesh Christy and Nirmala Macwan. There was eager and enthusiastic participation by the youth who were very receptive to the ideas and solutions presented by the panelists to their genuine queries.
The third day began as usual with meditation. On this day the youth were fully occupied with the Ecology and Eco-spirituality session conducted by Fr. Rappai and his team. In the morning there was a lively discussion on the environment, nature, etc. The youth were encouraged to put forward their views on the biosphere through drawings. Later, they were taken on a nature walk where they were made aware of the different trees around the campus and their contribution to the biosphere and the many medicinal benefit
s to the human body. After the nature walk, the participants were shown a visual round dwelling on the same subject of ecology, nature and environment.
Just before lunch, the Archbishop of the Gandhinagar Diocese, Rev. Stanislaus Fernandes, SJ, visited the camp and addressed the participants. After lunch and recreation, in continuation of the session on Ecology, the participants were once again kept busy with the ecological inputs titled 'Youth and the Environment'. The finale of the third day was the celebration of the Eucharist, in a 'back to nature' sort of way.
The whole ceremony was conducted in the open air on the spacious lawns of the Don Bosco Institute, which gave the feeling of being God's own Cathedral with twinkling stars in the sky. The altar was decorated with flowers and leaves. Oil lamps and a wood fire illuminated the surroundings thus creating a cooling and soothing atmosphere. Mr. Jaswant Macwan emphasised the importance of the Divine Mercy Rosary in each one's life, after which, the participants recited the Rosary.
The final activity of the day was the Talent Show competition, put up by the youngsters who were very enthusiastic in participating and showcasing their unique talents like singing, shairi, mimicry, dance, etc. The participants were supported by a professional band from Nadiad which also entertained the audience present at the venue. The culmination of the show was the garba, in which the youngsters and the young in spirit took part with great enthusiasm, winding up only after midnight.
The fourth and the final day of the seminar, saw the sessions on 'Family and Spirituality' and 'Youth and the Church' ably conducted by Frs. James Tuscano and Ashwin. At noon, Bishop Thomas Macwan celebrated the Thanksgiving Eucharist. The Bishop expressed deep gratitude to all those who collaborated in organising and making this Seminar a grand success. He appealed to the Youth to make "Jesus" the centre of their life. After partaking of a delicious meal everyone departed happily with the intention of putting to use all they had imbibed during the Seminar.