On Friday 28th October, a group of eight Trinity students represented the College at the Archdiocesan Youth Ministry conference called ‘SHINE’. This was a gathering of over 500 students from across the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn led by the Catholic Schools Youth Ministry Australia (CSYMA) team, to which Trinity’s own Youth Minister, Gerard Teng, belongs. 

The theme for the day was ‘Let your light shine’ derived from the following scripture: “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

Students listened to key speakers including Archbishop Christopher Prowse; Catholic Education Office Director, Ross Fox; Catholic hip-hop artist and missionary, Joshua Augustine Angrisano (aka ‘sir augie’); and members of the CSYMA team.

They participated in some prayer, music and dance, and attended workshops focusing on recognising the gifts and talents God has given us and discovering various ways of living out our faith particularly in service of others.

Here are some of the things students said they took from the conference:

"My biggest takeaway was to notice the abundance around you and to use the gifts of everyone."

"I love how we all have a light in us, even if we can't see it yet, and God loves us even if we are still finding ourselves on our faith journey."

"One of the main lessons I learnt was not to exclude homeless people: you don't have to give money or anything; a simple smile or a little wave will do! More often than not, smiles and hellos are more likely to make them feel more included into society..."

I want to commend Year 9 students, Alexander Skeffington, Monique Sharman, Grace Miller and Darien Dorsett, and Year 10 students, Kiesha McMahon, Mackay Collins, Sophia Brown and Maddison Brown for the respectful manner in which they conducted themselves as representatives of Trinity Catholic College. 

Yours in faith
Arlene Dorsett
Mission and Ministry Religious Education