By Sophie Elwood

Bishop O’Donoghue had a frightening experience at Castlerigg Manor when he was visiting last month. Young people from the Preston Impact group were spending the weekend at the Diocese’s youth centre planning their next steps together for the coming year, having already completed an arts project on the global violation of children’s rights and an exchange to Malta in the summer.

The bishop was passing through the area and decided to drop in to say hello. He happened to arrive, at the climax of a Giant Jenga tournament. The young people struggled to keep the wobbling tower balancing while they greeted the bishop. One of the Jenga competitors missed a move and hundreds of wooden bricks tumbled to the floor, narrowly missing the bishop! But quite unruffled Bishop Patrick was able to join the group for a photograph.

The Impact group has been having an exciting time in any case. Their artwork will soon be displayed in the community art gallery at the Harris, in Preston. The group is currently involved in a multi – faith project learning about other faiths directly from faith leaders. They have already met a woman priest from the Church of England and discussed her experiences of facing prejudice and also the general relationship between the Catholic Church and the Church of England, of which many members knew little about.Impact has also been involved in a number of foreign exchanges, the most recent being a trip to Malta last summer. The group are currently planning the second half of the exchange and are looking forward to meeting their Maltese friends again. The group is also involved with planning this years’ International Youth Festival to be held in Preston. The festival involves young people from Germany, Finland and Hungary and is always an enjoyable success.

Future plans include reflection evenings with local communities. And before heading off to university next year members hope to continue their work in ensuring that young people have a voice in their church communities and that that voice is heard!