Youth and Young Adult Ministries
With an understanding that our youth will help the parish grow, this pastoral objective assists parishes in developing programs that will increase youth and young adult participation in the parish: Ensure a vibrant comprehensive youth ministry (addressing all components outlined by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry) that actively engages adolescents and young adults of all cultures by making use of parishes and archdiocesan resources. The following examples show parishes who have implemented action plans around this very important demographic:
To save on costs, Holy Family in Galveston united with five other churches from the Galveston area to share the position of Youth Minister. The Youth Minister will be responsible for developing programs and resources to engage the youth of the archdiocese. The action plan states: “Hire a youth minister.”
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton also developed session modules for Confirmation first utilized during 2013-2014. The parish also implemented an annual Day of Reflection and created session modules for English, Spanish and Vietnamese youth faith formation programs. The parish’s action plan addresses this activity: “Create a "Spirituality of Communion" catechesis module for elementary, middle school and high school faith formation programs.”
The parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Northeast Houston created a plan to increase participation by its youth in the annual re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross. The church extends this invitation to neighboring parishes (Our Mother of Mercy and St Peter Claver). CCE class materials were also developed and available at the opening of the program. By including its youth in this solemn Lenten tradition, the action plan is designed to “Teach youth about the purpose of the Church’s and parish’s traditions.”
With the help of Dung Dinh from St. Mary's Seminary, the St. Justin Martyr Young Adult Community was established in November 2014 with weekly meetings held on Tuesday evenings. In addition to the weekly discussions around "Why Evil Exists?" based on the Great Courses video lecture series, the ministry hosted a small but successful Chili Cook-off & Super Bowl Party and invited parishioners and members of the nearby Holy Rosary Young Adult Community. With the understanding that their parish will grow with more young adult participation, the action plan addresses the opportunity to “Establish a Young Adult Ministry (ages 18-35) and collaborate with existing young adult ministries at nearby parishes. The Plan includes hiring a paid staff member.”
Students at Kingwood High School who attend St. Martha formed a Catholic Club, F+SHS (Father, Son and Holy Spirit Club), with the purpose of sharing their faith with like-minded individuals. The students also had a desire for a day of reflection, which was organized using materials adapted from another Action Plan, where the participants could develop a closer relationship with our Lord.
This all began among a few amazing teenagers with a yearning for a closer relationship with God. Leveraging the successes from the Parish Action Plans allowed the team to quickly develop this follow-on day of reflection. This action plan addresses ways to ”Deepen spiritual experience for the youth of the parish.”
St. Michael, in the Galleria area, put together a comprehensive action plan. The first activity was a Movie Night for parish families held on the sports field at St. Michael. It was a huge success and is now planned to be an annual event. In addition, an annual festival/picnic is being established. Other ideas include an outdoor mass or a "come as you are" mass invitation at the Saturday evening mass. They described this initiative as: “Reformulate both direct and indirect efforts to welcome new parishioners with families.”
St. Michael's Director of Social Justice Ministry established a collaborative approach to invite St. Raphael's youth to St. Michael's Youth Faith Formation programs and events. The annual Christmas Party for children became a joint effort with great success for both parishes. Also, both parishes enthusiastically created an annual St. Raphael Festival beginning in October 2013. While engaging the youth in the community they “Partnered with a ‘sister´ parish on youth/young adult activities.”
To foster greater parishioner participation, young adults who sing or play musical instruments, gather, and create music for the Sunday evening Mass. So, they decided to “Revitalize the Children's Choir and Contemporary Choir.”