SPY was begun in 2006 to give a platform to young people of the Parish of the age group between 17 and 35 years. St. Peter’s Youth intends to tap the potential of young people of the Parish, giving them a space in which to feel more at home and a launching pad to contribute to the life of the Parish and of society.
SPY has been organizing a Youth Mass every Sunday at 7.00 pm in the Church, with guest priests who are attuned to the wave-length of young people, in order to give them a more relevant and meaningful liturgical experience. This has not yet been revived after the Lockdown.
Along with this, there are various other activities taken up by the youth and they are as follows:-
Unwrap – For Christmas 2023, SPY organized a 5-day celebration for the Parish entitled, “Unwrap” including a nostalgic fun filled night for the Elders, an evening for people of other faiths, a barbeque night around a crackling fire, a super cool Retro-Nite, a programme for children and a Christmas party. Nostalgia, family and community building and spreading love and happiness. This is one of the biggest events organized by the SPY, in which every member took up a role to help with the smooth functioning.
Paper Drive– It is conducted once a year, in which youth from different zones come together to collect newspaper from their respective zones. There are youth volunteers who daily settle and arrange the newspapers, during the course of the drive. This drive is conducted for a week, with a well in advance notice for parishioners. The funds are given to our mission station at Ashagad. This activity brings the youth to engage with their zone members.
Stationary Drive– This activity too is conducted once a year, in which the youth come together to collect stationary after every mass on a Saturday and Sunday. This drive achieves great success, thanks to our generous parishioners. It is conducted for 2 weeks with a well in advance notice. The stationary gets delivered to the children of Ashagad, our twinned mission station.
Inter Zone Football tournament – Football is the medium through which we bring our community together, we organize a zonal tournament on our parish feast. These matches take place on the turf and teams from different zones come together to play against each other. This activity is the most engaged activity as a lot of people come to support their teams. Nothing beats a friendly atmosphere and competitive match, a complete community building event. This event is supported by the Y4Y by providing the sound system as well as the YSS providing equipment.
Tele-games – Our parish tradition, Tele-games have been carried out for ages. With the help of Y4Y, the SPY carry out the Tele-games, inviting youth, kids, elders from different parishes. This is open to everyone and not restricted only to people who belong to a parish i.e. it is an invitation also to people from other religious communities. The Tele-games are held on a Saturday-Sunday which attracts a crowd to support their teams. This is one of the most awaited events as it brings great joy as well as unites the community.
The Treasure Hunt – The Treasure Hunt is an annual event in which youth form teams of their choice. The clues are placed all over Bandra; this event focuses on creating an awareness of our surroundings, as well as it is enjoyed a lot by our youth. Each team gets their own cycles for local transport as private vehicles are not allowed as a part of the game. One year the clues were focused on the names of the road and by the end of the hunt the youth were enlightened with the history of how the roads got their names.
The Crib– The construction of the crib holds a very special place in the hearts of the youth. Every year the youth focus on a message to deliver to all the parishioners; it could be to highlight something that the youth think need more awareness.
Trek – The annual trek happens during the rainy season and attracts different age groups of our youth. We go to different locations every year. Our goal is to get more connected to each other as we have different bonding experiences such as sharing lunch, traveling through local transport, helping each other in different ways. This brings us closer to each other as a youth group.
Camps– The youth annually have a camp, to free their minds from studies, work, and life. During the camps they go hiking, have games, sessions, mass and different activities. This camp is a reminder of God’s beautiful nature and how we need time for ourselves. This activity is to boost the mental capabilities of the youth and help them calm themselves from the usual stressful schedules.
Easter Mission – For Easter the youth get together to make Easter eggs for the housebound. They also conduct the Holy Hour on Maundy Thursday and the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. The hard work has always paid off as many people appreciate the creativity of the youth as well as how they believe in living through the message of Easter.
Social Activities– Beach cleaning, animal safety activities and many more are held in our parish with collaboration with the Care for Creation group. These activities are planned together and activities are decided on to meet the current needs of society.
Platform – SPY teamed up with “Take Charge” – an Archdiocesan group mentoring young Catholics for more effective career choices, to launch, “The Platform”, a series of monthly Sunday sharing sessions for Catholic youth in the Archdiocese, by some of the leading Catholics in the professions and in industry, including well-known names like Glen Saldanha of Glenmark, Anthony Heredia (Finance), Josy Paul of BBDO, Vanessa D’Souza of Sneha and Merlyn & Rhys D’Souza (Entertainment). These were stimulating sessions of more than two hours each, with audience interaction, followed by fellowship.
Manna on Weels – Members of SPY formed part of the team of Manna on Weels, which went around the streets of Bandra and beyond for a month and a half, distributing about 40,000 food packets and beverages a day, in 12 cars, during the Lockdown of the city for stemming the spread of the Corona Virus.
Inter Parish football tournament for catechism kids – The inter Parish football tournament has been in play for the last 7 years, and till date is a most awaited event. The main reason for this tournament is to get together different parishes, giving the young an opportunity to showcase their sport (football) talent. This tournament is not only for boys but there have been extremely talented girls who have won many hearts. Parishes all over Bandra take part and irrespective of how heavy the rains have been we have always got a good number of participants and a crowd. Players look forward for the Highest Goal scorer, Best Goalkeeper, Best Girl player and Best Boy player.
For any information regarding youth activities contact:
Calista D’Souza – 9920278506