Think about going to Ask and Imagine

At Ask and Imagine last year, I met up with a group of eleven other participants from across Canada at Huron University College in London, Ontario. Over the course of ten days, we became very good friends, and together learned a lot about our faith.

The A&I program was broken into different segments. Six days were mostly spent in a classroom inside Huron University College. We would start with a session on Bible interpretation with the college chaplain, Father Bill Cliff-this was way more fun than it sounds, trust me! Father Bill has been studying the Bible for 20 years, and says it's "always astonishing." He would have a parable ready, and we would find hidden meaning in the text.

The second session of the day was generally a guided workshop, such as soul music, or the theology of ethics. These were interesting, and put faith into a new light for us. The final sessions of each day were a great deal of fun, such as "True Colours," a personality test, or the workshop on encountering world religions.

Outside of class we were a community. We took turns making the meals, and we all ate together at one big table. Everyone did his or her own dishes at the washbasin.

On the fifth day of the program, we went on a faith-in-action day. This gave us a chance to see how peoples' faith leads them to live their lives.

My group went first to St. Paul's Cathedral in downtown London, where volunteers run a food shelter. The volunteers are all retired people, and they spend six hours a day, five days a week at the shelter. Because of them, about 130 people have a good meal each day.

This was truly inspiring to my group, as the volunteers said they were all motivated by their faith in God. In the afternoon, we went and helped out at the London Food Bank, to experience this feeling for ourselves. It was incredibly rewarding to see people receiving help.

Mixed in the program were the spontaneous, pure fun times. The group leaders and residence advisors brought musical instruments. A couple of times we would break out into random bongo drum sessions. Several people could play the guitar, and we would join them in singing hymns and other music.

Then there was our 'free time night', mid-way through the program. Some people were quite keen to go shopping, so we walked over to the mall for a couple of hours, which was cool for a group of new friends.

The boys' night was needed, as there were only five guys (the other male participant, and three group leaders, and me). We decided to go bowling and hit the recreation centre in London, and bowled, while the girls stayed behind and did God knows what.

On the last full day the participants ran the workshops. In small groups we chose topics that interested us. My group chose the topic of grief; other topics were food, time, and play. This was where we displayed the skills that we'd learned. It was a culmination of all the activities from the program, and we made ourselves proud.

Later that evening, we drove out as a group to Lake Huron and celebrated our successes. We reflected on how amazing the past ten days had been, and how close we had grown together

I recommend the high school program to all teenagers from13 to 17 years old, who want to develop a better understanding of themselves and their faith, and also make some amazing friends. I learned a lot about myself, and I am truly thankful to God that I had the opportunity to go to Ask and Imagine 2008.

There are two A&I programs running in 2009. The young adult (ages 18 - 26) program runs from May 9 to 18 and the high school program (for students in grades 9 - 12) runs from August 15 to 26. Both programs take place at Huron University College in London, Ontario. Transport and tuition costs are covered by Ask & Imagine. For more information, visit the website, www.askandimagine.org, or speak to Diocesan Youth Coordinator Phil Colvin (contact information below).