by HILA (Hilde Historillo, Ianna Santiago, Lea Schulte and Anna Schulte)
The youth of the ICCEC in Berlin, Bonn and Cologne held their first “HOST: Unity” event on the weekend of 28 – 29 January 2023.
HOST: Unity is to be a series of events with the intention of gathering the youth of our three German parishes. The idea derived from our longing to have more joint youth activities again after a long drought due to the pandemic and to do so on a regular basis.
The weekend consisted of a youth gathering in Cologne on Saturday followed by a youth mass in Bonn on Sunday.
The gathering gave us the opportunity to worship God all together, learn about Him, our faith and our purpose through talks held by Dorothee Valentin and Hanna Historillo, exchange with others in group discussions, play games that require teamwork, and create a deeper bond with one another.
Many participants have reported that they were very much in need of this event without knowing it, saying that they have felt lost and alone in their faith. Joining in fellowship and devoting time to praise Him has helped rekindle the fire inside of them and draw near to Him again.
This weekend also marked new beginnings. Not only was HOST: Unity first launched, but we could also see the new generation taking over: younger members organizing the event, leading the worship, and our very own Deacon Denel Santiago from ICCEC Berlin serving as the Deacon of the Day and sharing the Word in our joint youth mass for the first time.
We pray that through God’s help HOST: Unity will become a frequent event through which HOST Germany may grow spiritually together and become one in heart and mind, so that His glory will be seen in us.
