By Anne‑Marie Harrison
Seventeen members of this year’s Southwark Diocese Catalyst Course gathered at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire, for a national weekend focused on youth and children’s ministry. Despite the rain and the slightly confused spring lambs ,we arrived to a wonderfully warm welcome of hot drinks, cakes, and friendly faces. After settling into our rooms, I took a brief moment simply to enjoy the peace.
Following a splendid evening meal shared with around a hundred youth and children’s ministers, we launched into quizzes, games, and introductions. The Children and Youth Ministry Team from Ridley Hall, Cambridge, led the weekend’s sessions, helping us feel both valued and thoughtfully challenged. We ended Friday with a reflective Compline before conversations continued at the bar.
Saturday began with morning prayer and song, followed by an inspiring talk from Rachel Gardner about the revitalising ministry she and her husband are leading in a once‑struggling parish in Blackburn. Her joy and creativity were infectious.
In the afternoon, our Catalyst group shared five personal items each that represented our Christian journeys, a moving and memorable exercise. Later, Becky May and Fuzz Dix offered excellent teaching on including children and young people with additional needs in our ministries, a topic many of us were eager to explore more deeply.
Representatives from seven theological colleges joined us too, encouraging us to consider further training, something I found myself wishing I had pursued earlier. The day ended in the chapel, where we sang wholeheartedly and stayed to pray together long after the final note.
Sunday opened with Carolyn Edwards speaking engagingly and humorously about children’s discipleship. The weekend concluded with a beautiful communion service and a shared Sunday lunch. I left feeling grateful, blessed, and hopeful that the encouragement we received will ripple outward to our co‑leaders and the children we minister with.
Want to join the next cohort?
Sign up here for Cohort 4 of Catalyst 30K: https://tinyurl.com/catalystcohort4
Be equipped to serve this generation and the next, become a catalyst for change in the church, and help place children and young people at the heart of ministry and mission.
For more information, contact Imani and Jo on the Children and Youth Team: [email protected].
