Volunteer Spotlight: Loretta Peck

Volunteer Spotlight: Loretta Peck

Hi my name is Lorretta Peck, I am a volunteer at Radio Maria England.  I work with a group of young people supporting them to produce and present a radio show for young people of faith.

I am a parishioner of St John Fisher Cambourne and Our Lady of Lourdes Sawston.  I have been a catechist in Cambourne for nine years. I have taught the First Communion Class for nine years, something that I feel blessed to have had the privilege to do.  More recently I prepared two groups for the sacrament of Confirmation. This felt very different to teaching eight year olds about the love of Jesus which is central to our faith.  Preparing young people for Confirmation and First Communion has helped me reflect on my faith journey.

Faith has always played an important part in my life.  As a child my direct line to God through prayer helped me get through a sometimes difficult family life troubled by domestic violence. However, attending Catholic Schools throughout my childhood, I was reminded through the work of CAFOD and MISSIO that children round the world were in more difficult situations than myself and by praying for them I felt empowered in my own situation.  In my twenties I was definitely not as involved in the church as I spent a lot of time travelling.  However when I did settle back in the UK – to cut a long story short – I met and married my husband who, at that time wasn’t a Catholic, but agreed to support my faith and bring up any potential  children we had as Catholics.  That sealed the deal and next year we will be married twenty years and have three wonderful children.  Getting married and having children brought me closer into church life as I wanted my children to know and feel the love of God and have the strong faith I have.  The reason being is as a parent I know there will be times when I mess up and we will need Jesus there to mop up! I know Jesus will lead the way and comfort my children and they will never be on their own.

I am currently looking at different ways to be involved in the life of the church. I am stepping aside from my usual role as a catechist as I feel other adults will benefit from teaching the young people of our community.  Through lockdown I have been more involved in encouraging and support a life of prayer in my parish and I am looking forward to where Jesus will lead me next.

One place I was lead was to Radio Maria England. Gail Osmond a very active catechist in the East Anglia diocese put my name forward to RME, I attended a meeting not knowing what to expect or even if I had anything to offer.  Helena the radio editor/ director said she would like to give young people the opportunity to have their Christian voices heard on RME. As I also used to be a youth worker as well as being a catechist, I felt that I would be able to help put something together. I am also blessed to have some of the most amazing young people in my parish who, when asked, jumped at the offer of making a Christian radio show for young people.

So the seed was sown and Radio Maria England Youth Faith Vibe was created! Each week I work with four teenagers, one of whom is my son.  I encourage them to discuss their faith in a way that will reach out and appeal to young people.  To date we have done 31 live shows! I feel this is a great achievement for all concerned, giving young people the opportunity to articulate their faith in a space provide by RME has been such a blessing.  Radio Maria England provides a variety of shows to accommodate many different interactions of faith.  The staff are very welcoming and supportive of volunteers’ ideas.  I would definitely recommend anyone who has the slightest desire to explore what the radio station has to offer either as a listener or a volunteer to get involved as there is something for everyone.

If you are curious about the evangelical work of young people tune in to the live show on Fridays at 5pm or listen again on a Sunday at 9pm.   It would be great to hear your views on RMEY Faith Vibe and if there are any young people out there, we are looking for more volunteers for our show, be it presenting, editing or researching, email the station and we will get in touch.

If you would like to volunteer, please email Volunteers@RadioMariaEngland.uk.