Dear Youth of 2008/09,
I am very excited to tell you this week about what’s happening in Youth Ministry. Even though we are still in a period of transition, and our search committee is still reviewing resumes and interviewing people in the hopes of finding the person who is perfect for the job of Youth Minister, Fr. Bill Korpi, our new priest at St. Mary, is very busy with the program in the meantime. Father, who is serving as interim Youth Minister, has years of experience in the Youth Program at Nativity Parish in Burke, VA, and will be implementing a lot of ideas right off the bat this fall. Nativity is the third largest parish in the diocese; we are the fourth.
That’s important, because we estimate that there are about 1,100 of you in the parish and we want a program that can grow really big as soon as you and your parents realize what we are capable of doing here at St. Mary. A program that provides real opportunity for leadership and well-supervised activity, a chance to grow in knowledge of our Faith and a real sense of ownership in your Catholic Church and responsibility in service to your community. A home for you where you know you are welcome. I’m not sure that St. Mary has even known a really great Youth Ministry program for many years. And in building mode, we can design a program to make room for all. It will be as great and as alive as you make it.
The problem is, you still need to register.
The program can be incredible if you’re here, so we are asking you to get involved. Watch soon for instructions from Fr. Bill to learn about calendar planning. Our Sunday 5pm Youth Mass will get started again on 14 and 21 September this year, if you come on the 14th, plan to join us at the Ice Cream Social at HCA after Mass and catch the last couple of hours. Youth Night 2008 will be 28 September beginning with the Mass at 5. We’re looking into forming a serious Youth Mass Music Ministry and we want you to join if you can contribute. We’ll need to organize a Communications Committee with a rep and an alternate rep from each of our 14 local high schools to start coordinating news. The Youth Board will develop as we get to know each other; representation on the Parish Council will follow in the Spring.
Growing in the Church and in God doesn’t end with Confirmation! On the contrary, this is the most important time to continue, and faith needs to be applied to life situations in a way that begins to have real meaning. We have far too many adult Catholics who have grown indifferent to religion now because their eighth-grade understanding of God doesn’t cut it anymore in the challenges of life. Of course it doesn’t (it was never meant to be all people got)! Many don’t have it because they didn’t stick with it in high school and beyond.
We have a chance to do something amazing here. Please, let’s begin. God bless you.
