My Caribbean School for Catholic Communications experience

By Brianne Gomes

As a Youth Journalist Intern for the Catholic Youth Commission, I was granted the opportunity to attend the Caribbean School for Catholic Communications 2021. The courses were conducted on the Zoom platform and ran from Monday, August 2 till Saturday 7. These classes were conducted by Sr Angela Ann Zukowski MHSH who came to us each day with very well informed and well structured PowerPoint displays which helped in providing a more visual understanding of the daily discussions.

This course was definitely an eye-opener as I was able to build on my own previous knowledge, but also gain new information that I can see as being highly beneficial to my position as a Journalist Intern and at Church in general and even simply in my day-to-day life.

I do plan on applying what I learnt to whatever situations they fit into in my life, but there was one specific point from Sr Angela Ann’s presentation from Monday 2 that stood out to me the most.

In that first presentation, Sr Angela Ann spoke about synodality. From what I understood, synodality means, or at least represents, “togetherness” specifically within the Church. A synodal Church is one of participation and responsibility.

In the past, I was an active member in the altar serving and choir ministries and at present, I am a member of the St Benedict’s Youth and Young Adult Ministry, so the concept of synodality was not a new one for me.

However, Sr Angela Ann’s explanation of it highlighted its importance to me.

As I move forward in my journey of strengthening my relationship with God, I am realising more and more that working with and communicating with other members of the Church (or being a part of ministries within the Church) is an important factor in my journey.

I will make more of an effort to work in solidarity and be a more active member of the ministry I am already in, as well as joining or assisting with other ministries/aspects of the Church.

I will strive to be more active within the Church and externally, through communicating with others who may be uncertain about their spirituality and need guidance as it relates to Church and their relationship with God.