Shepherd’s Cup, pillar of parish life to reach youth

By Dimioula Pacheco, Aliyah Alexander, Kareem John, and Akiel-Daniel Crooks (young adult leaders)

Have you ever considered that you were in the right place at the right time? Well, this is the experience of the Parish of St Philip and St James Shepherd’s Cup Team.

The shift from Shepherd’s Cup being a sole football tournament format to a multifaceted yearlong series of events drew the interest of many, including teenagers, young adults, and parishioners.

The formation of our team began in preparation for the highly anticipated obstacle course competition at Jaeger Park, Matura on August 20, 2022.

We each initially met our first coach, Kelford Bartholomew in various encounters while he was attempting to recruit members of the team.

While recruiting, it was as though he already knew the beauty of what the team could embody because he was enthusiastic (he still exudes enthusiasm).

Our youth coordinator, Pamela Lewis was also in on it, thankfully, and although some of us were hesitant to sign up, it turned out to be much more fulfilling and fun than we thought.

To prepare for the obstacle course, we met up a couple times per week in the churchyard to train, pray and bond. During this time, there were members gradually joining the team.

One of our teammates recalls his experience of meeting the team for the first time as warm and welcoming. He remembers his first fall being at training during tug-of-war.

Even more falls occurred during the obstacle course, but more memorable was getting back up each time because the team was always there to help, support and of course, have a laugh or two.

This act of togetherness and kindness extended beyond training and was noticed by others at Shepherd’s Cup activities, so much so that we won ‘Most Disciplined Team’ that year.

Our prayers and learning Bible verses, along with time spent and dragging through mud together, enforced our team ethic and helpfulness to others, calling us to be one body with many different parts in unity (1 Cor 12:12–27).

The commitment to that main event remained for all activities thereafter, the consistent organisation, training, and prayers.

Most recently, we placed first and third in the U18 and Young Adult categories consecutively for the finals of the Futsal Tournament.

Over time, we have run, danced, done aerobics, limed, volunteered, played football, cricket, and other activities through Shepherd’s Cup events.

Who would have thought that we would see footballers and our coach dancing the Rhumba? We were encouraged to step outside of our comfort zone and be confident. Learning and growth do not blossom from doing things we already know how to do.

If we never climbed a rope before or ran a 5K, we did it through this initiative.

Shepherd’s Cup was not solely created for arbitrary fun events, but it is a way to reach the youth in a language we can understand and relate to, which truly is the continuation of unifying the Church through fun, fitness, and fellowship.

It is a form of consistency necessary to encourage productive activity involvement among youth, and it forged a beautiful extended family that is needed during these times we live in.

We have had additional committed coaches, Richard Mc Carthy, Keron Lawrence and Darren Rampersad, a supportive leadership team and a growing team where we all continue to come together in our brokenness to form a unit.

Its impact on us has been profound in that we have created lifelong friendships, have an avenue for exercising and fitness, and have coaches willing to guide and advise us.

As young adult leaders of the team, it is our responsibility to share with our counterparts all that has been given to us. The importance of volunteerism within Shepherd’s Cup and otherwise is that when we give of our time freely and willingly, we help our brothers and sisters in Christ, in a way where we feel fulfilled to invest in the growth of others.

Where there is growth, there is maturity and fruitfulness that hopefully is not limited within the sphere of Shepherd’s Cup but also in school, at home and our communities.

Furthermore, physical activity is crucial for our health especially amidst a high prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle. These realisations are what we intend to share with others through our actions.

We are grateful for the support from our parish priests then and now, coaches, families, friends, the wider parish, and the Catholic Youth Commission.

We hope this version of Shepherd’s Cup becomes a tradition for generations to come. We envision it being a pillar for each parish with the inclusion of the existing activities, other sports, and other fun group activities such as nature walks and a mini Olympics. Our expectation is that it becomes an ever-evolving venture which keeps the interest of future youth while maintaining God-ordained goals.