2018 DIOCESAN YOUTH CONGRESS HELD
Some of the Congress participants around their Bishop the Rt. Rev. Valentine Kalumba, OMI
On Saturday 25th August, 2018, the first-ever Diocesan Youth Congress took place in Livingstone. The event was proceeded with a match past from Mukuni Park to the Youth Community Training Centre (YCTC) in Libuyu, next to St. Mary’s Secondary School.
The youth sung enthusiastic Gospel songs of praise and worship during the match past. The walk was characteristic of youth robust energy, where from time to time, they jogged in a typical military fashion. At the start of the event, for the 3.5 km spiritual walk to Libuyu, Fr. John D. Rurangwa, the Diocesan Pastoral Coordinator, encouraged the youth to feel free
The Youth matching to Libuyu
and interact with each other and enjoy the youth congress.
At the YCTC, the youth interacted with one another, and were exposed to various talks given by different speakers. The talks were conducted under the umbrella Congress theme of “I Thirst”. His Lordship Rt. Rev. Valentine Kalumba, OMI, Bishop of Livingstone also took time from his busy schedule to answer to the questions which the youth addressed to him. In his address and response to the questions, the Bishop challenged the youth to be self-reliant. He also urged the youth to know the hierarchy of the Church. He said that the Church has channels to follow when one wants to convey his/her grievances.
Other speakers at the same event included Fr. Bruno Hamukali, the Diocesan Youth Chaplain who gave a talk on the theme “I thirst”, Fr. John D. Rurangwa gave a talk on “fully human fully alive”, Sr. Gwendolyn Mfune, LSSF, from Zambia Association of Sisters (ZAS) also gave a talk on “Care for mother Earth” and Mr. Timmy Mutinta from the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) gave a talk on the dangers of drug abuse.
The congress was concluded with the Holy Mass celebrated by the Bishop. In his homily, His Lordship urged the youth to refrain from the love of material things but to get back to sacraments, the food of our souls. In his final remarks, the Bishop encouraged the young people to make better choices. Moreover, he implored them to know the teachings of the church, for they always lead to eternal life.
This year’s Youth Congress is the first to have been held in Livingstone Diocese. It brought together the 3 deaneries: Sioma, Sesheke and Livingstone.
