by Renee Tapon and Will Wilson, Year 11
The day began by waking up at 4am; despite being extremely early in the morning, it was all part of the Flame experience. Then commenced our 8-hour journey to Wembley Arena. We then proceeded for the Morning Prayer, in which we sang the song “Here I am to Worship”, and heard a scripture reading from the second letter of St. Paul to Timothy. It was a fantastic thought that the whole Church is united in prayer and praising God with one voice.
Once arriving at Wembley, we heard music from Guvna B, who is a UK-based urban contemporary Gospel rap artist. This was eye-opening since his music was not like the somewhat ‘dull’ hymns at church, yet it was upbeat and modern, nothing like I’ve heard in Christian music.
We also listened to a YouTuber called Girl Got Faith. Being a teenager and a Catholic at the same time is difficult. Nevertheless, she taught us our true value, our true self-esteem… in God we find our true significance.
Up next came Robert Madu, a preacher who flew all the way from Texas, USA to speak to us! What made Madu so great was his excellent, relatable humour and his ability to make the whole arena laugh really engaged everyone who was there. During his talk we learned the vital lesson that we need to “Stay in our lane and keep our eyes on Jesus”. This heavily inspired the courageous Christians in the audience and Robert Madu certainly made the day a lot more excitable; as he left the stage to a huge cheer, we took on his message.
There were many other speakers in attendance, sharing life stories and lots of powerful messages that we’re sure we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. The key theme of “Flame 2019” was Significance and it was very well presented throughout. The day ended with a dramatic play about Jesus and a liturgy which brought us all together one final time before rocking out to another song as we left.
Overall for me it was a very enjoyable experience and the powerful messages and lessons we learnt, I will take with me throughout the rest of my life. The most enjoyable part however was spending time with my friends and meeting new people from across the country! I felt very inspired by the end and I know that everyone in attendance was very proud to be part of such an amazing event and family; so am I. Everything about it, the bus journey, the atmosphere, the jokes, the speakers, all fulfilled my expectations for the day and I would recommend going to anyone.
Photo credits: ‘Catholic Church England and Wales’