'Crazy Wednesday'

During the summer, Salesian Youth Ministry volunteers Sarah, Anya and David, along with Br Ste Lloyd, went to serve at Camp St Francis, a Salesian summer camp for children, overlooking a Californian beach. David (covered in flour in the photo above) looks back on the experience.

Why are you here? This is not a challenge to you, the reader, it is also not an invitation to give up on this article already - though it might save you a few minutes and spare you any disappointment – rather, it is the question that guided our own reflection time during the hugely successful Camp St Francis season. This is the question that was put to each of the counsellors during the preparation week to help channel our thoughts, and to allow us to bring to mind our own personal reasons for being at camp. It soon became very apparent that a lot of our reasons overlapped, probably as we shared one Salesian spirit, and love of the young with one another. As well as being the thing that inspired us through prep week, it was also the question that we were invited to return to as the weeks went on, reminding ourselves why we were there at camp, especially in the more challenging times.

Br Ste Lloyd SDB describes the new summer scheme which revived a Salesian tradition in London this year.

This summer the Salesian community and Sacred Heart Parish in Battersea rekindled the long tradition of summer schemes in the London area. With the support of the Salesian Youth Ministry department, we offered 30+ young people, aged 8-16, a week of Faith, Fun and Family.