Rachel Grahl Leaves Youth Office
September 8th, 2008
Rachel Grahl, Youth Ministry Coordinator and WYD08 Coordinator, finished her time in the youth office last week after leading the young people of diocese to WYD08 in Sydney. She was also responsible for heading Days in the Diocese and the Journey of the Cross and Icon in 2008. Rachel has... more
WYD08 Reflection and Thanksgiving Mass
September 8th, 2008
Over 100 people gathered in Holy Spirit Church Cranbrook on the 24th of August to hear young WYD08 Pilgrims reflect on their experiences of their Sydney pilgrimage.There were many stories shared of faith, spirit, joy and journey. Pictures and slide shows helped pilgrims remember poignant... more
St Patricks Youth Mass
September 8th, 2008
St Patrick’s College students and staff ran their annual Youth Mass at St Joseph’s church, the Strand on the 23rd of August. Well supported by the presence of the St Pat’s Boarders, students assisted with the music ministry and shared their experiences of WYD08 with the paris... more
Upcoming WYD08 Reflection & Thanksgiving Event
August 8th, 2008
The Townsville pilgrims have returned from their WYD08 travels and are about to get together to share their experiences with each other. Sunday 24 August will see the Townsville Diocese WYD08 Reflection and Thanksgiving event at Holy Spirit Cranbrook, 3-7pm. This will include sharing... more
40 Days to Go until WYD08!
June 6th, 2008
That's right! WYD08 is getting closer with only 40 days to go. This is an important time for pilgrim preparation. Think Noah and his 40 days and 40 nights in the Ark, Jesus and his 40 days in the desert, our 40 days of Lent... 40 days is significant within the Church and it dir... more
Saint Margaret Mary's College Youth Mass
July 2nd, 2008
On Sunday the 1st of June, St Margaret Mary's College students and staff facilitated a Youth Mass at Mundingburra Parish. The girls enriched the mass through their contribution to the music, readings and prayers of the faithful during mass. A spokesperson from their WYD08 pilgrimage ... more
Palm Island WYD08 Preparation
June 6th, 2008
The Missionaries of God’s Love sisters, Sr Therese and Sr Judy visited Palm Island from May 28 to June 1 to help them prepare for WYD08 in Sydney next month. The sisters ran sessions looking at what the pilgrims could expect at WYD and looked into the WYD theme: ‘You will receive po... more
St Theresa’s ‘Gathering for Prayer and Praise’ Night
June 6th, 2008
St Theresa's Community put together an amazing night of faith and fun for around 80 young people at St Theresa's Church in Garbutt on Tuesday 27th of May.Boarders from St Patrick's College the Strand and representatives from the Tokelau and St Theresa's communities made up most of th... more
50 Days to go until WYD08!!!
May 26th, 2008
The countdown to WYD08 continues...only 50 days to go until WYD08 starts in Sydney!... more
WYD08 Pilgrims' Preparatory Mini Pilgrimage at Pallarenda
May 26th, 2008
Seventy WYD08 pilgrims came together from Townsville and Ingham to engage in a mini pilgrimage and beach afternoon as part of their WYD preparation. The seventy pilgrims were split into four groups that rotated around four different sites along the EPA Pallarenda track; the quarantine station ... more
Fun and Feasting at the Burdekin Valley Parish's St Joseph Fiesta
May 2nd, 2008
The Burdekin Valley parish in Clare hosted the annual St Joseph's Fiesta Sunday last weekend. The day started with mass celebrated by Bishop Michael and Fr Luigi Sabbadin a Scalabrinian priest from Brisbane who annually joins the celebrations with the local community. Rachel Gra... more
Western Parish and School Dialogues on Youth Ministry
April 29th, 2008
Dan Bowmar, Youth Ministry Development Officer for the Townsville Diocese has been visiting parishes throughout the Townsville Diocese in order to begin a youth ministry dialogue. Mr Bowmar recently visited the western region of the Townsville Diocese alongside Jim MacKinnon, Youth Coordinator... more
Faith and Food Festival celebrations at James Cook University
April 29th, 2008
Tertiary students came together to celebrate faith and culture at James Cook University in Townsville on the 17th of April.The Faith & Food Festival, also known as F3 draws together the different faiths and cultures that make up the University community. Ethnic food, dance and culture were... more
Palm Island getting ready for WYD08
April 29th, 2008
28 pilgrims from the Palm Island community are getting ready to take part in WYD08.Bishop Michael Putney visited the group on Palm Island to help them prepare by discussing the theology of pilgrimage and explaining, "WYD is a pilgrimage not a holiday, which means we are pilgrims not touri... more
St Margaret Mary's College Pilgrimage Group Update
April 24th, 2008
Last week proved to be a very busy time for the SMMC World Youth Day pilgrims. Wednesday night there was a Pilgrim & Parent Information Evening. This was a good opportunity for our parents to find out more about what it is that we are getting more excited about each day! ... more
Triva Night: The first WYD08 Pilgrim Networking Event
March 27th, 2008
Over 80 of Townsville’s WYD08 pilgrims attended the first of three WYD pilgrim networking events on the 15th of March at Ryan Community Centre. The ten teams were made up of the 350 pilgrims and 19 pilgrimage groups from around the diocese including some from as far as Ingham. “The... more
Young Adults Weekend Experience 2008
March 27th, 2008
20 young adults travelled to Gumburu Environmental Education Centre in Paluma for the Young Adults Weekend Experience 2008 from the 7th to 9th of March. This is an annual opportunity for young adults from the Townsville Diocese to take time out and reflect on their journey of life and faith.&n... more
Kirsten Shan Joins Youth Ministry Office
March 18th, 2008
Kirsten Shan joined the WYD Team in January. She has taken on the part time position of WYD Administration Officer. A South African, she arrived in Australia from New Zealand with her partner. With experience in Marketing, Sales, Administration and Events in a communications en... more
JCU Campus Ministry
March 18th, 2008
O week has hit the JCU campus and Dan has been meeting and greeting the many new students as they orientate themselves to uni life."It has been a fantastic start to the semester being able to meet the students for the first time and also to catch up with those students I have worked w... more
WYD Pilgrimage Group Leadership Training Weekend
March 27th, 2008
The WYD Pilgrimage Group Leadership Training Weekend (2nd and 3rd February) was a great success with over 30 pilgrimage group leaders attending from throughout the diocese. Bishop Michael Putney, Sr Helen Mary Peters, Rachel Grahl, Bev Lando, and Dan Bowmar provided the group with infor... more
Parish Dialogues begin
March 18th, 2008
Dan Bowmar, Diocesan Youth Ministry Development Officer for the Diocese, has begun to meet with the parishes in the diocese to begin looking at the state of youth ministry and the next steps to be taken in developing parish youth ministry in the future. It is hoped that this dialogue will: Furt... more
WYD Pilgrim Social Event – Trivia Night
March 18th, 2008
This is the first of three social events for Townsville pilgrims to come together to get to know each other prior to WYD. It will be held in on the 15th of March at Kirwan Community Centre, Morindo Drive, Kirwan. The cost for this event is gold coin donation. Spot prizes and team pr... more
Wildfire returns in 2008
March 27th, 2008
Wildfire is back in 2008! The group began the year with Australia Day celebrations and are working through this year’s Lenten Program. Wildfire is a group for young adults between the ages of 16-35, who come together to talk about and share their faith in light of their current real... more
Dr Charlotte McCorquodale Visits TSV
November 1st, 2007
Dr Charlotte McCorquodale visited Townsville on Friday 12th of October to talk with the Priests and Pastoral Leaders as well as potential pilgrims and pilgrimage leaders about her experience in preparing, experiencing and following-up a World Youth Day within a host country.Dr Charlotte is a leader ... more
Launch of Diocesan Family WYD08 Pilgrimage Group
October 31st, 2007
The Diocese has launched a WYD2008 Family /Couple Pilgrimage specifically designed to assist those families wishing to travel to WYD Sydney 2008 with children under 16. Families who join this group will be accomodated together. This will allow families to share the WYD experience with ot... more
Ayr Branch of CWL Foster Parish / School Relations
October 31st, 2007
The Catholic Women's League in Ayr have found many ways to foster Parish/School Relationship. One of these is inviting Burdekin Catholic High School students to their monthly Mass. One Year level from Year 8 to Year 11 attend one Mass during the year, and we attend the Year 12 Gradua... more
WYD CROSS & ICON ARRIVE!!!!!!
September 8th, 2007
The World Youth Day Cross & Icon and message stick was handed over to the DIocese of Townsville last night in a ceremony at Longreach.This morning at Winton over 100 people turned out to welcome the Cross & Icon as well as the WYD Message Stick in a daybreak event, which included a public pr... more
WYD Cross & Icon at Byron Bay
August 4th, 2007
Follow the WYD Cross & Icon on their National Journey On Monday August 6th, the WYD Cross & Icon will begin with a sunrise service below the Byron Bay lighthouse, the most Eastern Point of Australia. You can follow the journey and experiences of the WYD Cross & Icon by checkin... more
Prayer for WYD08 - 1 Year to Go!
August 4th, 2007
On July 20th over 50 people gathered in the Sacred Heart Cathedral to celebrate an "Hour of Power" commenerating one year to go to WYD 08 in Sydney.Gathering in prayer and adoration, those gathered prayed for their own intentions as well as for the success of World Youth Day 2008 and the y... more
Arrival of the Cross and Icon signal
August 4th, 2007
Experiencing the World Youth Day Cross and Icon By Dan BowmarDan represented the Townsville Diocese at the Arrival of the WYD Cross & Icon in Sydney on July 1 - here is his reflection on the day.On the 1st of July I was privileged to be chosen to represent the Townsville Diocese and the young pe... more
Premiere WYD anthem
August 4th, 2007
Guy Sebastian and Paulini's latest collaboration Receive the Power is the official anthem for the world's largest youth event - World Youth Day - which will be staged in Sydney on the 15-20 July 2008. Receive the Power is an inspirational song that is being officially released today at a fre... more
Message from the Holy Father
August 4th, 2007
Pope Benedict XVI made the following appeal to young people during his General Audience on July 4th. it is encourages us and strengthens us in our preparations with only 12 months to go to WYD Sydney 2008.Dear Young People, One year from now we will meet at World Youth Day in Sydney! I want to... more
