This Sunday, February 1 sees the launch of The Year of The Child at Truro Cathedral.

Bishop Roy Screech, the Bishop of St Germans, will commission the new Diocesan Youth Officer, Sarah Welply, at a special service starting at 2,30pm, to be attended by over 400 children and their families, drawn from all over the Diocese, which covers the whole of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

This year the Diocese of Truro has dedicated much of its work to supporting 2009 - the Year of the Child. This is a national initiative to mark the 30th Anniversary of UNICEF’s International Year of the Child, but here in Cornwall all parishes are being asked to focus on their work with and for children and to look at new ways of celebrating their contribution to their communities.

The Diocese will be holding a number of key events, throughout the year, the first being this special Launch Service which will also welcome children from over 30 of the Church of England’s 44 Primary Schools, who will be coming together to mark this occasion. All 225 parishes, from Morwenstow on the Devon border to Sennen in the far west have been invited to send representatives to receive a special candle which will be lit in the home parishes during the year as they all focus on their work with children, young people and families.