Faith in Action: inspiring youth groups awarded for efforts

Wednesday 19th November 2025

The Faith in Action Award recognises and celebrates young people’s service to God, the Church and their communities, and empowers them to continue on their faith journey.

As part of the award, there are four levels of achievement which encourage young people to strive for continued growth, and an emphasis on self-reflection invites participants to engage more deeply with God’s message and their own faith.

Today we are proudly highlighting the achievements of two inspiring groups of young people from within our diocese, as they have been given special recognition for expressing their faith through active service.

The Parish of St Ambrose Barlow

St Ambrose Barlow’s youth group has been instrumental to parish life in the five years since its initiation, and Volunteer Youth Coordinator Charles Magee has expressed his sincere gratitude to all those involved for their contribution and support during this time.

Using their creativity and faith, the group have continually found ways to add value and provide service to their community. Responding to Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical, Laudato Si’, the group decided to educate themselves on gardening techniques and used this knowledge to create an “eco garden” at St Charles Church in Swinton. In so doing, they have provided the parish and wider Salford community with a place to commune and reflect, and have contributed admirably to sustainability efforts.

In particular, five young people within this group have gone above and beyond in demonstrating their faith: Ava, Enzo, Angelo, Alexandre and Amaris have all recently been presented with a Faith in Action Award for their extraordinary efforts.

The dedication and leadership of the five is to be applauded as they have attended every single group meeting, and according to Magee, when it comes to serving their parish and community, “they never let you down.”

 

Students from St Thomas More RC College, Denton

Also to be commended for their participation in the Programme are a group of students from St Thomas More RC College. These students have been working tirelessly to make an impact within their community through numerous initiatives, such as raising money for causes including The Christie Hospital, Willow Wood Hospice, and CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) .

 

The students have also taken great care in cultivating their school’s green spaces, for example constructing a polytunnel and installing raised plant beds in which to grow produce. Through their careful stewardship of the school grounds, the students have made a lasting positive impact which will be felt by future pupils for years to come.

Discussing the impact of taking part in the Award, member of staff Jen Hague said: “The Faith in Action Award is a truly wonderful way for pupils to live out Gospel values. Pupils are empowered to express their faith, and to see and act out Catholic Social Teachings.

The team enjoys the award and its members grow from being involved – they grow as individuals, in care and compassion and indeed in faith or respect of faith. They see belief as a positive and as something that supports parish and community – local, national and global. The Bible is not just read and quoted but lived, giving more relevance, appreciation and importance to the Word in their lives today.”

 

We offer our congratulations to all the wonderfully committed and passionate young people that have been given awards, and extend our thanks to them for the time and effort they have put into our diocesan communities.

For more information on taking part in the Faith in Action Programme, please contact Lorraine Leonard in the Formation Team: Lorraine.Leonard@dioceseofsalford.org.uk