The Gold Award
Who is the Gold Award for?
* Students in Year 13 in Northern Ireland
* Students in 4th Year in Republic of Ireland
* Students in full-time education who have completed GCSEs or Junior Certificate
* Students in Transition Year
* Anyone between the age of 16 and 18, not in post-primary education
* The award is non-competitive, flexible and voluntary and requires an ongoing commitment
Gold Award Requirements:
Parish Involvement: 1 hour per week x 20 weeks
Social Awareness: 1 hour per week x 20 weeks
Presentation: See below
Top-Ups: 6 hours
Parish Involvement
When we are baptised we become members of the Body of Christ. This means that we are called to be the presence of Christ in the world. As the Body of Christ, we belong to the community of the Church. We live out this belonging in our parish. For the Church, for the Body of Christ to be fully alive everybody needs to be actively involved. There are many things we can do in our parish.
Examples of activities in the parish that can be done for the Award are:
* Reading at Mass
* Altar Server
* Eucharistic Minister
* Member of choir/folk group
* Church decoration
* Collector
* Composing prayers of the faithful
* Preparing articles for the parish bulletin
* There may be other activities that you are involved in that are not included here but may be relevant, if so please contact the Pope John Paul II Award Committee for approval.
Social Awareness
As members of the Body of Christ, through baptism, we make Christ present by the way we treat others. Our faith is lived out most fully in our actions, that is why it is important to be aware of the needs of others and to minister to their needs. That is why ‘Social Awareness’ is such an important aspect of this Award.
Examples of activities in the area of Social Awareness that you could do for your Award are:
* Member of St. Vincent de Paul
* Spread
* Faith and Light
* Working in a youth club
* Ongoing fundraising
* Regular visitation of residential homes
* Faith Friends
* There may be other activities that you are involved in that are not included here but may be relevant, if so please contact the Pope John Paul II Award Committee for approval.
Gold Award Top-Ups - 6 hours
Award Top-Ups are given in recognition of the extra activities that young people are already involved in. Top-Ups will go towards the total number of hours an individual has to complete.
Top-Ups can be achieved in a number of ways, for example - helping with the sick pilgrims at Lourdes or working on behalf of Children in Crossfire. These activities will gain participants Award Top-Ups:
Gold: 6 hours
There may be other activities that you are involved in that are not included here but may be relevant, if so please contact the Pope John Paul II Award Committee for approval. Participating Diocese may also have suggestions.
Preparing the Presentation
When the participant completes the Parish Involvement and the Social Awareness sections of the Award he/she prepares a presentation. This presentation may be written (approx 1500 words) or through an interview (interview conducted by the Award leader, recorded, then transcribed).
The Presentation is to include:
* An answer to the question - What does it mean to be a baptised member of the Church?
* A personal reflection and evaluation on your parish involvement and social awareness work
* Your reflection on how the teachings of Christ are relevant to your chosen activities
* Conclusion
Through the Presentation, the participant will show a knowledge and understanding of what they did within the context of the Church. Their role within the Church will become more apparent. Click here to download a copy of the presentation guidelines.