In last week’s column I discussed seven changes that will occur in September at St. Mary:
(1) Religious education classes for grades 1-6 will be held on Sunday mornings at St. Mary’s School beginning Sept 8th,
(2) The 9:30 AM Mass will begin on Sept 1st,
(3) The adult choir will sing at the 11:00 AM Mass and the Contemporary Choir at the 9:30 AM Mass,
(4) There will adult enrichment programs on Sunday mornings before the after the 9:30 AM Mass,
(5) There will be a coffee bar at the Parish Center before and after the 9:30 AM Mass,
(6) There will be new traffic patterns that are explained in the insert of today’s bulletin,
(7) There will be a new religious education/youth program for out middle school high school teens.
Today I would like to describe the program for middle and high school students.
Edge and Life Teen: In September we are introducing a new Religious Education & Youth Ministry program called Edge, for our seventh and eighth graders, andLife Teen, for those in high school. Both programs provide opportunities that lead teens and middle school children closer to Christ through the Eucharist.
When will the groups meet? Edge will gather on selected Sunday evenings from 6:00 PM−8:00 PM in the parish center. Life Teen will meet on alternate Sunday evenings from 6:00 PM−8:00 PM in the parish center.
Are masses for youth part of this program? Yes. One of the key elements of this new program is bringing our teens closer to Christ through the Eucharist. On selected Sundays, a youth Mass will be celebrated at 5:00 PM prior to either Edge or Life Teen nights.
How will the Edge and Life Teen group nights work? When Edge and Life Teen groups gather, students will study the teachings of the Catholic Church, the Bible and the Mass, which help build Christ-centered relationships that help to explore their faith. All students will meet in the Parish Center. The Edge and Life Teen nights will be structured as follows:
Gather
Welcome / Opening Prayer / Introduce the nightly topic or session Proclaim
Present and Discuss the Nightly Topic (could include a video, movie, etc.) Break
Break into small groups for discussions Send
Students come back together as a group for a closing prayer
These programs provide an exciting, non-classroom, youth ministry model that catechizes while it energizes our youth. We have an incredibly motivated group of adults who make up our Core Team of catechists.
Are all high school students invited? Yes! The Life Teen program is mandatory for confirmation preparation (grades 9-10) but students in 11th and 12th grade are invited to attend any or all Life Teen events. Life Teen is designed to be a Youth Ministry program for all high school students. The issues that we discuss will be relevant for all our high school teenagers.
Who do I contact with Questions or if I have not yet registered? Please contact Jeannie Carpenter (658-5919), or [email protected] if you have any questions. Use the link on our website to register your child. You must re-register your child each year and the registration will not be complete until full payment has been received.