Our first weekend took place from the 7th - 9th September at the Ezekiel house in Northampton. 11 young people from parishes across the diocese are now forming the team that will travel to World Youth Day 2008.

Together we looked into what 'Being a Passionate Disciple' means for us. Over the course of the weekend, we used input, prayer, discussion and social times to break open our theme, and to got to know ourselves and each other a little better.

One of the key ways that we are exploring issues during the whole of the PYD course is by identifying things in our everyday lives that can help us to be more open to God and to other people on an ongoing basis.

Bartimaeus and Jesus...

Our central text that we used over the course of the weekend was from Mark's Gospel, chapter 10, and tells the story of a man who was blind and how he encounters Jesus.

We'll be using this text to break open ideas about who we are and how we relate to one another. We'll also be looking at prayer and how God interacts with humanity. Finally, we'll also be exploring the 'Kerygma' and what Jesus came to accomplish.