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The mission statement of YAIM is a response to the challenges
identified by young adults involved
in Jesuit and Ignatian ministries,
schools, retreat houses, churches
and other works.
Some of these challenges included a desire in young people to
achieve better balance in the
busyness of their lives; explore
their own spirituality; contribute
and be involved; and to overcome
their sense of distrust and
separation from the institutional
church. Young adults asked us to
meet them where they are, to use
language that they can understand
and relate to. In their own words,
this is what some of them said.
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Do you relate to some of these statements?
Busy lives:
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“We have a supermarket view of life; and that’s good; why commit to
anything in particular when you can
try it all and get the best?” |
Meeting young people where they are:
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“For myself, at this time in my life, I’m seeking to grow more in
my spirituality; I feel I have
already grown and am more advanced
in other areas”
“I'm scared … of responsibility, so I ask myself; is there really a
need to do something? but then I
ask myself, do I want my life to
truly develop?”
“Personal invitation is really important; please keep asking me to
get involved; even if I don’t come
initially, I appreciate being
asked.”
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Adequate language:
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“How you target things is really important; if they like things,
you'll get them talking about them,
and they'll keep coming back for
more.” |
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Balance as a priority:
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“I thought spirituality was all about being ‘holy’ and that was not
too appealing; now for me it is more
about myself.”
“I used to think that having balance in my life would be boring -
too much structure; but now I seek
it; it’s about well-being and
healthy life.”
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We young people have much to contribute:
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“Why do I want to make a difference? Because doing things for
others broadens my horizons, allows
me to see stuff that I would not
otherwise see; it is a chance to
give back, and it can also be a lot
of fun.”
“I want to be asked ‘Show me what you can do’. This is what I ask
my primary school kids and I’m
always amazed by what they can
actually do!”
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We have a distrust and sense of separation from the institutional
church:
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“I’m ready to explore my faith, but where to go! I’ll try
everything; I’ll even do bingo!”
“The Church needs to create spaces that are inviting for young
people; the physical spaces are
already there, but are not being
utilised.”
“We haven’t given up on the church; we are just waiting for it to
change.”
“Priests should pass a ‘fun test’ before they are ordained! They’ll
have three minutes to engage the
congregation, if they don’t, they’ll
fail!”
“I want to find my purpose in life; yes, of course I want to make a
difference too, but I’m not sure
where to start.”
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What do we young people want?
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“You are asking me what I want? I would tell you if I knew! You
want to know what to offer us? I’ll
tell you what, you organise
something, and if it is good young
people will come. Just don’t ask me
what that is!”
“I want to meet people who will listen and people I can look up
to.”
“I want someone to ask me what my hopes and desires are.”
“What I want is to find a place where I can feel comfortable; that
means belonging to a group with
similar ideas and beliefs; that
gives me a sense of being welcomed,
of family spirit.”
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Our way of engaging with these young people and responding to their
desires is to collaborate with
others working in this area; to
build a network of relationships
across our Jesuit province; and
indeed, with other ministries and
congregations with an Ignatian
charism and those with different
charisms.
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Our immediate goals include:
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To establish a structure which meets the needs of young people,
and responds to the core purpose of
igniting the hearts of young people
and building a faith that does
justice.
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To build a core network of young adults through participation in
different activities, such as
retreats, conversation groups,
social justice activities, etc. One
such activity will be the Ignatian
pilgrimage to
World Youth Day in
Cologne, Germany.
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