By Father Paul Kam Po-wai
Organised by the Diocesan Committee for the Development of Children Ministry, a Children’s Faith Life camp for the 2025 Jubilee Ambassadors of Hope was held from June 20 to 22 at Caritas Ming Fai Camp in Cheung Chau. It gathered around 120 participants, including over 70 children from 19 parishes, more than 20 catechists and volunteer parents, and over 20 volunteers and committee members.
The camp offered a faith experience. Besides morning and evening prayers and Mass every day, each moment was a journey of encounter with the Lord. On the first night, participants reflected on Jesus’ words: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” [John 8:12], and that we are all called by Jesus to follow him and become the “light of the world” [Matthew 5:14].
A pilgrimage to Our Lady of Fatima Church was held on the second day. Afterwards, participants engaged with nature through their five senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste) to appreciate God’s creation. In the afternoon, they learned to make “ping on buns, a traditional food for peace and safety. In the evening, they had a walk and then evening prayers, reflecting on Jesus’s saying that he is the light of the world, and that we are too.
On the third day, children wrote cards for prisoners, offering them blessings. The nine groups of children also created short videos blessing the elderly, hoping to share them on July 27 during the fifth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. To conclude the camp, they were invited to write down their prayers.
We are grateful to Cardinal Stephen Chow S.J. for visiting us in Cheung Chau to celebrate a Thanksgiving Mass for the children and parents. He then joined a rich lunch arranged by parishioners with us.
The entire journey was filled with God’s blessings, as every participant—whether children, catechists, parents, volunteers, or committee members—gained many insights. Two sharings left a deep impression on me:
From culture to faith: a mother shared with me her appreciation for the programme, noting that her child learned about traditional culture through making ping on buns and had recognised the difference between the peace given by Jesus Christ and worldly peace through guided reflection.
Through the night walks and evening prayers, a child shared his insight during the candlelight ceremony. Observing candles being extinguished by air conditioning drafts and reignited by different people, he said he began to understand Jesus’ message, “You are the light of the world.” He noted that although Jesus Christ is the light of the world, darkness and sin obscure this light. Yet, Jesus calls us to keep reigniting this light so as to encourage people to see and experience the love, peace, joy, hope, and life Jesus brings to the world.
In the camp, I saw children with profound faith qualities. Besides God’s grace, such qualities are from the nurturing of parents and catechists, which affirmed the establishment of the ministry in our diocese. Faith formation must begin with children and families, aiming for them to realise that faith and life are inseparable—faith is not just a part of life, but our whole life. We aim not just to live a “life with faith,” but a “faith life.” Or put differently, not just to be “people who pray,” but “people of prayers.”
