Issued by the Catholic Center for Studies and Media - Jordan. Editor-in-chief Fr. Rif'at Bader - موقع أبونا abouna.org
Every year, the Christian youth in Jordan celebrate the feast of Jesus Christ the King through several celebrations for different age groups, culminating in a major celebration during which the new logo and the members of the general secretariat committee of the JEC, which is responsible for the activities of all the Christian youth in the parishes of Jordan, were revealed.
Overview of the celebrations in Jordan
1. The youngest group (primary school)
At the Our Lady of Peace Center, on Friday 28th, October 2022, Fr. Wajdi Twal, the spiritual guide of JEC Jordan, celebrated Mass with the youngest youth group. The day was filled with activities, during which a number of kids acted a scene about a "robot" searching for a character in history who loves children. The children shouted, "it is Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, who is always with us, wherever we go we can find Him in our churches, homes, in the Eucharist and even during our youth meetings!"
2. The second youth group (secondary school)
On Friday 4th, November, 2022, at the Terra Sancta College in Jabal Al Weibdeh, Fr. Wajdi Sahawneh celebrated Mass with an older youth group (12-15 years old). The Mass was co-celebrated by Fr. Marcio Calais and Fr. Wajdi Twal. Through a theatrical act, the youth presented the traits of Jesus Christ the King, which was followed by a spiritual discussion led by Deacon Abdallah Dababneh, entitled "What if Jesus was born today?". Then, in a fun atmosphere, a group of youth participated in a series of competitive games on stage. The meeting ended with Fr. Wajdi Twal's blessing.
3. The third youth group (high school)
Also at the Terra Sancta College, on Friday, November 11th, 2022, Fr. Salam Haddad celebrated Mass along with Fr. Wajdi Twal and Fr. Wajdi Sahawneh with high schoolers. A spiritual talk, "The three keys of happiness", was then given by Fr. A’ref Sahawneh, director of the JEC social committee, about the ways we could live a joyful life. Then the youth enjoyed themselves with fun and games, before the meeting ended with a summary about the plan of the committee responsible for the high school youth group, presented by Fr. Wajdi Twal.
4. The oldest group (college and working youth)
On Friday, November 18th, 2022, at the Rosary Sisters' school, 28 Christian youth groups gathered from all over the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to celebrate the feast of Jesus Christ the King and end the Liturgical year together with 470 members from the Chaldean Youth Union (CYU). The day started with a Mass, presided by Fr. Saqer Hijazin, and co-celebrated by a few priests from different parishes.
Osama Shatara, secretary general of JEC Jordan for the year 2022, presented an overview of the accomplishments of the group in the past three years. Then, Ibrahim Musalam, secretary general of JEC Jordan for the year 2023, addressed the youth group of Jordan for the first time in a speech during which he presented the plan of the JEC committe for 2023.
Then the General Spiritual Guide for all the groups, Fr. Wajdi Twal, summarized the spiritual idea behind this year’s slogan "Rise and bear Witness" (Acts 26: 16) and announced the 2023 slogan "Filled with joy" (Acts 13: 52).
During the celebration, the singer Galina gave a performance, and then the meeting ended with Mr. Anton Boualsa and Ms. Nevin Andraos being honored and thanked for their service in the JEC during the past couple of years.