Youths of OLL Klang ‘Gather’ to Pray despite Movement Control Order

Apr 04, 2020

KLANG: “Find new ways to spread the Word of God to every corner of the world” – Pope Francis.

Even a nationwide stay-at-home order could not prevent the youths of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes (OLL) from ‘gathering’ to pray and worship as one community. When the said order was issued, the OLL Youth Ministry (OLLYM) turned to social media as an avenue to not only stay connected with others, but also to cultivate the culture of prayer and evangelisation in the hearts of young people.

On March 21, OLLYM launched an online campaign titled ‘#bethankful’ via their Instagram page (@oll.y.m). This campaign is aimed at lifting up each other’s faith during these trying times by sharing the blessings that they are thankful for. Many parishioners, young and the not so young, participated by posting an image or a note, with the hashtag #bethankful. The posts are then reposted and shared in OLLYM’s Instagram page.



Parishioner Bernadette Anne Fernandez, also the confirmation catechist, commended the OLLYM team for the campaign noting, “evoking a sense of gratitude in people has been proven to scientifically rewire neural pathways in the brain, especially, when it comes to regulating certain emotions such as anxi ety and fear amongst those who are mentally vulnerable. With such encouragement, many who are suffering in silence or hopelessness will now possibly find solace, and thus, be happier individuals in the process”. The posts under the banner of this campaign has garnered over one thousand likes cumulatively and still counting.

The OLLYM also live streams sessions of Praise & Worship, Thanksgiving prayers and also the Way of the Cross conducted by the youths from their respective homes, via YouTube and Instagram Live.  The youth leader, Edwin Sawari said, “We are extremely blessed to have a tightly knit  family-like relationship among the youths in this parish, who each are deep-rooted in their love and thirst for God. As the saying goes, ‘a family that prays together, stays together’, and so we knew that we had to find a way to continue praying together in this time of home-confinement.” Daily prayers are also posted every morning for reflection by the young people before starting their day.

The youths of OLL then joined the Bingo bandwagon on Instagram, a current trend among teenagers, by completing the ‘OLL Sunday School’ Bingo game on their profiles. OLLYM also hosted a ‘24-hour Ask Us Anything’ on their page, where they answered the doubts and queries of the youths with humour, wit and most importantly, the Word of God.

OLLYM Advisor Damian Prakash, who is also the PPC Chairman said that this way of social-media evangelisation is surely a way forward in engaging with the young people especially the ones living on the periphery of their faith life. Many young people have been practising “social distancing” when it comes to Church and faith, and we hope and pray this initiative by OLLYM will reawaken and rekindle their faith. --OLL Youth Ministry