High School Youth Group Junior High Youth Group Page
St. Columban Youth Groups
St. Columban’s High School Youth Group is up and running! It is our intent to organize the group focusing on the 3 ways we want to grow: spiritually, socially, and in service to others. Our Sunday night meetings run from 7-8:30 most Sundays (but it’s a good idea to check the bulletin for location) and begin with prayer and a spiritual component…then we move onto social time, and time to plan upcoming activities. This group is run by and for the parish high school youth with some help from adult members of our Youth Advisory Council. This group is open to all high schoolers, so stop by a meeting, or call the parish office for more information. You can also talk to any of the members of the Youth Advisory Council: Dustan Bray, Cissy Eyre, Tom and Tricia Gries, Lisa Hiliker, Amy Maricocchi, Stefanie McKelvey, Scott Mussari, Vincente and Jannette Santamarina. All are welcome!
Our Parish's Youth Ministry Approach This past summer, a diverse group of parishioners gathered together as a committee to examine the needs of the youth of our parish, and to explore how our parish could best serve those needs. After some rich discussions and dialogue, many truths were realized. For example, Youth Ministry is not merely about having one youth minister on staff; but rather involves a full and conscious effort by the entire parish to draw young people into the life of our St. Columban community, and to develop and deepen their spiritual growth.
Youth Ministry does not consist of restricting the focus to only youth of junior high and high school age; but instead necessitates widening the lens to include all family members and especially parents.
Youth Ministry is not limited to a series of unrelated events or programs; but rather is a bridging of the overall life of the parish and her parishioners to a bringing of the mission of the larger Church into the daily lives and activities of our youth.
Our High School group approach is that we want our youth to explore their faith through three tenets: spiritual, service and social. Everything we do will fall into one or more of these three categories. It is the youth's group, and as such it is important that they be an integral part of developing and planning their activities. The teens decide amongst themselves what each session will be and who will facilitate the session. It is the Youth Advisory Committee (adults) that will guide the teens in preparing for each meeting and ensure that our three tenets are met and the basic format is followed.
Currently a job description of a type of Youth and Family Ministry model is being formulated that is based on these value statements. Although this progress has taken some time, the knowledge and the results gained have certainly been worth the effort. We will continue to move forward with the goal of identifying and creating the best possible ministry for and with the youth of our parish. Contact Scott in the Parish Office at 683-0105 for further information about this.