BY Daniel Harkins | December 18 | 
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Young Paisley Catholics and Bishop John Keenan hold discussions about the Faith
Out of the mouths of babes was the Biblical message Bishop John Keenan followed in St Luke’s High School last week as children from the school’s cluster gave their thoughts and opinions of the Church.
Paisley Diocese is currently preparing for an Easter synod and the bishop took part in a consultation with the area’s younger laity at an event in St Luke’s in Barrhead.
Pupils from St John’s Primary School, St Mark’s Primary School and St Luke’s Primary School joined with their older peers as they explored what evangelisation means to them.
The morning began with a prayer to Our Lady of Paisley, before Bishop Keenan spoke to the pupils about the upcoming synod. The bishop spoke about the importance of the laity, pointing out that while there were only two members of the clergy in the room, there were more than 100 lay people. He said it was not just their job to evangelise but the young people’s also, as the key role for evangelisation in the 21st century will be with the laity.
Ross Chalmers, principal teacher of RE at St Luke’s, coordinated the event and is now collecting the responses and feedback received from the young people, to be submitted to Bishop Keenan ahead of the synod.
“It was a really positive experience and the bishop was really upbeat about it,” he said. “I think what the bishop did was explain what evangelisation was and to make it clear that it is about sharing, and sharing not just ideas about the Gospel and Jesus, but just sharing yourself with people, sharing joy and bringing happiness to each other, living well and being a source of joy for others in your life.”
Amongst those taking part was a group of 16 children from St Mark’s Primary, all of whom are enrolled in the Pope Francis Faith Award.
—This story ran in full in the December 18 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.
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