Ministry Updates from Our Partner Parishes
Cassie Schutzer
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
"In July/August, the parish offered a 'Walk through the Mass,' particularly focused for young adults, but open to other parishioners. Soon after, we also had a workshop on hospitality with the same target audience. We had more than 60 people present for each, including good representation from our younger parishioners. Lots of good discussion. Currently, we're running a two-part retreat on stewardship. While open to the whole parish, we still have good young adult participation. It seems they are taking a 'rightful place' in the life of the parish."
"We have a group called Discovering Catholicism for those who are interested in becoming Catholic. It is our pre-RCIA group. We currently have 12 young adults in the group. It's amazing to see so many young people. There is one person named Jay who is particularly amazing. She is originally from China, and she didn't grow up with a religious background. After attending Mass one time, she knew that she needed to explore the Catholic faith more. It is inspiring to see her journey, and I am excited to watch her grow."
"We have a young woman who has been involved in our parish and our young adult activities the past couple of years and recently has stepped up as a new leader. She wants to take on coordinating monthly service projects for young adults, as well as begin a Women's Group during our Parish Family Formation on Wednesday evenings. It's been really beautiful to see the fruits of our Young Adult Ministry and how accompaniment is empowering them to feel equipped to become leaders and volunteer their time in ministry."
"Our young adult leadership team learned a valuable lesson in scheduling events that are convenient for them versus scheduling events that better accommodate the young people they want to include. Sometimes it takes moving beyond our own scope of convenience to meet the needs of a greater number of people."
"Two of our young adults are leading a weekly viewing and discussion of the first season of 'The Chosen' for around 8-10 young adults. It is great to see young adult initiative (no pun intended), leadership, and passion in growing in our relationships with Jesus Christ and one another."
"We have just received our Echo apprentice for the next two years, Janet. She will be working in the young adult office alongside me, and we got to introduce her this past week. Our core leadership team, which is made up of about 20 young adults, are so excited to have her along and she seems to be a great fit so far! We are eagerly anticipating how much more we can accomplish for the Kingdom with her help here."
"Our young adults have really been stepping up lately! Our planning team is doing a great job trying to keep things moving in our Young Adult Ministry, and we had a couple of young adults lead at our Confirmation Retreat this month. It is truly wonderful to watch our Young Adult Ministry grow and thrive outside of my efforts."
"Weddings, weddings, and more...weddings! It is always so refreshing when young adults come to the Church to receive formation for the Sacrament of Marriage in an age when many either forgo marriage or elope. That being said, of the 14 couples I'm working with for marriages in the next year, six of them are couples who have participated in our BGCatholics Young Adult Ministry in some way. They have found their faith strengthened and the relationship and support of other young adults to be wonderfully encouraging as they strive to live the faith out. Seeing them on fire for their faith and a desire to become saints together is always inspiring and enriching for my own vocation."
"We were able to provide some English classes for the month of July for our many Spanish speakers. We had 5 - 15 participants each week. It was great to see that two of our bilingual members of the group came to most sessions to assist their friends with the English lessons, practicing pronunciation, etc. In August, we had a Family Festival. Many ministries decided to prepare and sell food to benefit the parish. The young adults decided to make beautiful and delicious fresh fruit cups. They raised $670 for the parish!"