A journey of trust
I still remember my first meeting with Mr Emanuel P. Delia, chairperson of APS Bank at the time. We had spoken about ‘the idea’, or if I could refer to it more accurately, ‘the calling’ to work within the youth pastoral sector. This discussion took place in 2012 when I had expressed my desire to carry out field work abroad in order to gain experience in youth service with a Christian approach. APS Bank endorsed this idea and in fact sponsored my first journey in Italy and the UK where I spent some time learning about the rehabilitation service and its effect on the people. I was not surprised when I came to realise that the Christian faith was perceived with respect in a secular culture such as that of the UK.
If we look around us and our surroundings, we can see that the services offered by the Church are the foundation of our civilization and make a significant difference in many families’ lives. During this meeting with Mr Delia, he asked me “but what will happen next?”. It seemed like he was asking me for the return of investment. In 2015, the opportunity to begin a pastoral service in Valletta in the form of ‘Teen Klabb’ arose. We began to operate in a building that was in an alarming state and immediate work needed to be carried out to ensure the safety of the place. We had appealed funds to arrange parts of the ceiling and the dangerous areas.
Building and Equipping
These funds allowed us to begin the necessary works and made it possible for the building to be completely restored and equipped with all the essentials of a modern pastoral youth centre. APS Bank also supported the last phase, which facilitated the installation of air conditioners – very useful for our pastoral service at Teen Klabb and Faith Formation as we keep offering our services even in summer.
Several studies have confirmed that there is a lot to gain from investing in today’s youths. If we look at our history, we see that the Church was there to provide pastoral services for the youths’ formation from the very beginning and even on a continued approach. We are committed to integrating the faith with the lessons that we offer and the time we experience with youths because we know that it is only Jesus who can give rest to every individual’s heart:
”You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.
St Augustine
We link these words of St Augustine to Pope Francis who considers restlessness as having three dimensions:
”the restlessness of spiritual seeking, the restlessness of the encounter with God, and the restlessness of love.
Pope Francis
In other words, this restlessness is found in every person, and each one of us longs for God and His image that is carried in our being; God, who is patiently waiting to be given space in everyone’s life.
Every service has its own difficulties and supporting youths through pastoral service faces its own financial challenges. While we thank God for His generous providence, we also thank the APS bank team for their support in contributing to the new branding and website, music lessons, and training and development of our volunteers.
