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Y Journey - the youth wing of Journeying
Wednesday 27th March 2019
Jon Wilkinson
Y Journey was conceived in 2010 when two Church leaders sat down at a party and began to imagine what a Journeying holiday might look like for teenagers. The fundamental question was this; Can todays teenagers, in our loud, media saturated, information intense culture, meaningfully experience God in creation, the journey, in one another?
Well, we decided to give it a go, and with the enthusiastic backing of the Journeying leadership we launched Y Journey in 2011 in the Yorkshire Dales. Naturally, a Y Journey holiday differs in some respects from a conventional Journeying holiday as we are working with high octane, energy filled young people. However, the core values of Journeying were built into the structure and programme from the start. Still, the question remained; can this work with young people? The answer came on that first holiday. One afternoon we found ourselves on the banks of the rushing, wild, and powerful falls at Aysgarth. Following a lot of paddling, splashing, and general horseplay we invited everyone to find a quiet spot and to be still, to discover God in the beauty of the place and time, and to enjoy his presence. A rather sceptical part of me thought that after two minutes extreme boredom would set in followed by restlessness. In fact, as the leaders quietly wandered round the group all we saw was young people absorbed in the moment and totally oblivious to our presence.
Now, after eight holidays I can affirm that time after time our young people have journeyed to the edge and found the centre. This has happened in the Pennines, The Lake District, Northumbria, the Derbyshire Dales and the Yorkshire Dales. The destination varies but the journey remains the same.