Our annual Mission Conference took place at Leighton Buzzard on Saturday March 14 2026. People gathered from around the Diocese with Mission Northampton, Caritas and the Northampton Youth Ministry Team (NYMO) to celebrate all the mission that is happening in parishes and schools across the Diocese.
Fr. Simon Penhalagan, Episcopal Vicar for Mission, opened the day with an overview of the centrality of mission in the vision of the Diocese. Maria Heath, Director of Mission then shared all the things that have been happening across the various aspects of Mission Northampton since September to encourage parishes and schools to embrace their missionary calling.
The highlight of the morning was when people from parishes and schools shared testimonies of their own involvement in Mission:
Marielle, Kacey & Beth who have moved into the St. Elena House of Mission & Prayer in Northampton shared their calling to the house and the value of living in community. They are hosting an Alpha Course for young adults at the moment and are running a monthly open evening of worship.
Nuala told us about her experience of being on the Bethsaida Catholic Leadership Course last year and how it helped her to grow in confidence and develop her leadership skills to take on new projects. She shared the joy of being asked to be part of the team running Bethsaida this year for a new cohort of people, and how much she is enjoying it and learning so much at the same time. More information: https://northamptondiocese.org/courses/bethsaida-leadership-course/
Loralie Rodrigues who has recently been appointed as Strategic Lead for Caritas shared the good work that is happening. She described many different activities including a new project she is working on with prison chaplains, and the use of funds given to buy an ambulance to send to the Ukraine with much needed supplies such as baby supplies for maternity hospitals, much needed medical supplies, and handmade blankets to help people know they are loved and valued.
Rebekah Gray who works for NYMO shared about the online Learning Communities which they have been developing to support those in parishes working with young people, for example, confirmation catechists and youth leaders. More information here: https://nymo.org/youth-leaders-online-meetings/
John shared his work with Street Pastors. This is an ecumenical project which provides a presence in town centres weekly on Saturday nights. Their work is wide-ranging, for example, from ensuring people get home safely by using proper taxis, to giving out water, providing a space to take some time out, answering people’s spiritual questions and praying with people.
Raj shared about the blessings of working in a Catholic School and running a youth Alpha for the children to help them come to know Jesus more deeply.
Luca shared his experience of going to the LUX weekend run by NYMO and how it has helped in his faith journey. He is also in his first year of The Ascent, a three-year discipleship process for those in school years 10 to 12, run nationally, which the Diocese of Northampton is partnering with. Luca is only 14 and was able to confidently share how important his faith is to him and how these events are supporting him as a disciple.
Chika told us about her involvement as a catechist in the Holy Communion programme at the Cathedral hub. She shared how their parish has recently embraced the model of family catechesis, where the child and parents come to the session together. The parents are empowered to be the first teachers of the faith for their child, and the catechists provide the materials and support. She shared the difference it has made in her own life and that of her family when she was involved as a parent in the process rather than dropping off her children to be taught by the catechists, and how this inspired her to be a catechist and help other families discover the joy of knowing Jesus.
Alex Heath who works for Mission Northampton co-ordinating school chaplaincy and catechesis shared about the support offered to school chaplains and the training course he is offering to help people to start out or grow as a catechist. More information here: https://northamptondiocese.org/catechesis/
Nicky shared about the work a team of them have been doing in Aylesbury around mission, including an evening with creative prayer stations to help people enter into different kinds of prayer experiences, an outreach day where people from the Church went out and invited people into the Church to light a candle and pray and other projects for mission.
The testimonies were very inspiring and helped everyone gathered get a sense of the great missionary work that is going on across the Diocese. People who came were able to share with each other what they were up to as well and get ideas for what they might do in their own parishes moving forward.
After lunch, where we were able to get to know others in the room a bit more, we heard from Jenny Baker, who inspired us with great talk ‘Mission Matters’. She shared her own calling to be a missionary disciple and her ministry. Currently she runs an excellent National Conference for families, called Celebrate Festival. More information here: https://www.celebratefestival.org/
Jenny encouraged us all to be guided by the Holy Spirit in our call to mission. She reflected on why mission matters to God, to those who do not know Him and to us. She concluded by reminding us that our life is not just a journey, but an adventure with God, and we prayed for the Holy Spirit to fill us anew for the mission he sets before us.
The day concluded with a celebration of Mass where we were nourished at the table of the Word and the table of the Eucharist, and sent out into the world to share his love with all those we meet.
To find out more about courses and events on offer by Mission Northampton please visit: https://northamptondiocese.org/courses/
