At the November Diocesan Youth Mass, Teresa McNamara was formally farewelled and thanked for her ministry.  We share below the words shared by Mico Padilla, currently the youngest member of the Auckland Catholic Diocesan Youth Ministry team: “Tonight we formally farewell a leader, a mentor and a friend who has served as team leader for Auckland Catholic Youth and Young Adults Ministry for the past 8 years.  For those who know Teresa, she loves asking the youngest person in any group to speak first – so to keep up with that tradition, my name is Mico and I am currently the youngest member serving on the ACYM team.  One of Teresa’s many gifts includes putting people on the spot and out of their comfort zone, so we thought we can only do the same. In February 2011, Teresa McNamara answered ‘yes’ to the call to youth and young adult ministry in the Auckland Diocese and since then has selflessly shared her gifts, accompanied many in their faith journey, both young and young at heart and made the ministry a place for young people to feel welcomed and loved. In 2017, Teresa travelled to Rome and returned not only feeling passionate and renewed but called to inspire our young people with two phrases: ‘Take a risk – and – Be courageous”. As Christians, being called to Holiness takes risks and courage and in hindsight, Teresa has been living this out throughout her ministry.  We take this time to thank you Teresa
Read More