April Ministry Moments: Updates From Our Partner Parishes
Thursday, April 18, 2024
"Attending Easter Vigil over the weekend and seeing the joy on the faces of those who were baptized, confirmed and received their First Communion brought me back to when I received my sacraments. It truly is a wonderful moment, and I'm so grateful that I was a witness to it."
"This month we had our retreat for Alpha. A young adult came who said that he was an atheist prior to Alpha. He was incredibly impacted at the retreat. He shared his story at the end that he now identifies as a Christian, and he is interested in becoming Catholic. He is getting more involved in the community, too. He joined the young adult group, and he signed up for the mission trip to Omaha in May."
"At the Easter Vigil this year, one of our young adults was initiated into the Catholic Church through Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. She was so excited and emotional that she was getting choked up when making her baptismal vows. It was beautiful. A friend of hers has inquired about becoming Catholic."
"One of our young adults participated in the feet washing at Holy Thursday Mass. It was beautiful to see him returning to church, as he has been away for a while. He talked about what a humbling and powerful experience it was to have his feet washed. Also, a few young adults who attended the SEEK Conference with me in January recently approached me about wanting to start a Bible Study. We started it a few weeks ago, and they are so eager to learn and grow. This is now our second Young Adult Bible Study running at the parish, which is super exciting!"
"This last month, we have had a young couple begin to attend events and inquire about the Catholic faith. While we have a tremendous amount of people who go to church here and are welcomed in here, there is something special about this young couple. They come from a Protestant background but are very open to the history of the Church as well as how the Church ministers to people today. They are now entering RCIA because of how they have been received by the community here."
"I had the pleasure of interviewing for our young adult summer internship this month and was so blessed to see the fire and joy in our candidate that will be coming aboard this summer to serve in this capacity. Offering a summer ministry internship and a music internship for young adults is our way of forming leadership for our young adult ministry long term."
"Young Adults and Families (English speaking group) planned an outing at the local state park. Attendance was limited, but it was a good start. It was a fun and beautiful day. This group is composed mostly of couples and young adults with young kids at this time. The Via Crucis / Living Stations of the Cross on Good Friday was an amazing presentation of the Passion and many of our Hispanic young adults played parts. I contacted the local newspaper and sent them a photo that was on the front page on Holy Saturday."
"On Easter Sunday, the Spanish-speaking group took a trip together to Tuckaleechee Caverns. Appropriate to visit a cave as we remember that the stone was moved, and the tomb was empty! They also enjoyed some fun on go carts!"
"A blessing in my ministry is the number of weddings that I have this year, 75% of them are young adults, and it is very refreshing to see them excited to enter into a sacrament together and seriously take their marriage preparation work."