Youth Fellowship Saturdays
Youth Fellowship organises ongoing Saturday meetings for those seeking to discover God or wishing to find a new depth in their spiritual life. It is also well attended by many others who want to nurture and sustain their relationship with the Lord.
The meeting provides an atmosphere of hearfelt prayer, especially through praise and worship music, which gives a much needed space for a time of personal response to the Lord’s Word and presence. Emphasis is therefore given to unpacking the meaning of God’s Word through various teachings which make the Scripture relevant and practical to our every day lives.
Since we believe that the power of God’s Holy Spirit is present to touch people’s hearts whenever we gather in His name, the participants are encouraged to have faith in the healing presence of Jesus, He who wishes to give us hope, healing, strength, freedom and joy. Priests are always available for the sacrament of Recnociliation.
The gatherings are also a chance for youth to develop and foster friendships and create a sense of community. Whoever wishes can also receive the necessary encouragement to persevere in their spiritual walk through the support of the team members who are always available to listen and provide godly counsel.
YWAV
Science has come a long way in helping us figure out how the universe was made but it doesn’t explain why it was created, the real reason we are on this planet. Based on what we see around us and what has been passed down to us, we create our own goals. Yet when we experience pressure, boredom, difficulties or dissatisfaction we are somehow obliged to stop for a moment and ask ourselves: what’s the sense in all this?
This is where a real vision for our life becomes essential. As opposed to sight which is seeing the world in its external superficiality, vision is the ability to see with the heart, the deepest part of me which yearns for more meaning, truth, love and hope than what I’ve experienced so far.
YWAV meetings are designed to help youths discover or perhaps re-discover that they’ve been made for more. Held in relaxed environments like winebars, with SALT unplugged providing the music, these once a month Friday evening meetings offer a thought provoking, spiritually enriching and relationship building experience.
Youth Events
These youth events, mostly held at Tabgha House, also known as the ‘Convent’, consist of more informal gatherings where the people who attend the Saturday meeting regularly come together and bring their friends for these particular events. In this relaxed atmosphere they can interact and enjoy themselves through the various initiatives that are organised such as film nights, jazz nights, treasure hunts, BBQS.
Acquire the Fire
Falling in love is one of the most common human experiences but few people associate it with God and spirituality. Yet this is precisely what our faith is all about because in His essence ‘God is love’ (1 John 4: 16) and love requires a relationship. In our technological society where our dignity and destiny are often buried under the embers of our futile attempts to fulfill our deepest desires, discovering a different way of falling in love is like igniting a new passion in our hearts. This Course is an opportunity for beginners in the spiritual walk to experience this for themselves.
The Course is held once a week over 5 weeks and includes thought provoking talks on various topics with a time for feedback and interaction in small groups. The Course concludes with a specially organised Mass which includes prayers for a new and tangible experience of the Holy Spirit’s love and truth. The next Course will be announced during one of our meetings and on this website.
Cenacoli
Big things happen in small groups. This has been the testimony of many people who are or have been part of Youth Fellowship’s small group network. They are named after the ‘upper room’ in Jerusalem where Jesus ate the Last Supper with the the twelve and the Holy Spirit later descended upon them in Pentecost. The cenacolo group seeks to create a small community of disciples who pray and meditate on Scripture together and create a small community of faith. A series of courses running over a three year period offer an effective catechesis which cover the essentials of the faith and the spiritual life. Each cenacolo also has a yearly Lenten retreat. All the cenacoli periodically come together for an ‘intercenacolo’ meeting which consists of a time of praise and worship, a teaching and followed by a time of fellowship. If you would like to join a cenacolo please go to the ‘Get Involved’ page.
Retreats
Youth Fellowship organises a number of retreats, the best known being the yearly open Lenten retreat called ‘Come and See’. Through its tried and tested method, the weekend programme consisting of contemporary praise and worship music, times of prayer, relevant and interesting talks, and interactive small group has helped many young people discover and come into real contact with God’s love and truth. Other similar retreats are ‘Live’ organised by ACTS Teens and ‘Extreme’ which is held in a smaller group and conducted in English.
Salt
The band is made up of seven people who together play music that falls under the category of rock. And since God’s love has made such an impact on their lives, their songs are mostly about sharing that message with other young people.
SALT started playing together in 2003 as the band for YWAV, one of Youth Fellowship meetings. Then in 2005 they were invited to go to Germany to play during a youth festival. They ended up playing in front of a group of people (around 2000 of them), some of whom liked their new songs so much they wanted to buy a CD, which the band didn’t have.
When they came back to Malta they set about writing and rehearsing more songs, 10 of which became their first album called “Hello Truth”, which was launched with a gig in December 2006. This gig was a real blast because it was so well attended. The band spent the following year promoting the CD with many gigs around Malta, and ended the year with a nice treat by winning a Bay Music Award as Best Newcomers.
In 2008 SALT recorded another two songs called “Jars of Clay” and “Walk”, went to Australia for World Youth Day, had some more gigs and finished the year with another BMA, this time for Best Band.
After all that they took some time to write and record a new album, called “Less Noise More Love”. This title was chosen because it reflects the band members’ belief that if they play in gigs, make a lot of noise and do not love, they would be wasting their time.
