Youth Ministry Offers Fun Summer Opportunities for Our Junior and Senior High Students

For youth, summer can offer a much-needed reprieve from the busyness of the school year. But the fun continues for junior high and senior high students through the Youth Ministry’s summer program.

Using the Lifeteen program, Tayler Culbertson facilitates the Youth Ministry activities catered to freshmen to senior students. In June and July, Tayler will host two miniseries for weekly Monday night meetings. One session will be on the issues facing Generation Z (6 to 24-yearolds) and another will be on the lies we often tell ourselves. The sessions will begin with a meal and discussion will follow.

“Lifeteen and youth groups are about making friends and finding community with those who have the same foundation as you,” Tayler says. “It is really helpful to our faith to have a community that believes the same things as you.”

In July, Tayler will lead a group of ninth through 12th-graders on a trip to the Steubenville Youth Conference in Atlanta. The conference was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so Tayler is especially looking forward to introducing youth to the universal church and experiencing the power of a large, Catholic conference. There will be virus mitigation procedures throughout the conference.

“This allows teens to realize the Catholic Church is so much bigger than our church,” Tayler says. “There are amazing talks, great praise and worship, and a really powerful Eucharistic Adoration component. Steubenville allows us to praise Jesus in the Eucharist with people from all over the southeastern United States.”

Throughout the summer, there will be additional opportunities for senior high youth to attend social activities, like going out for ice cream. There are also various social events and service projects planned for the fall. Tayler also makes sure there are continuing opportunities for confession and Eucharistic Adoration.

“We want the youth to be able to spend time together and see Christ in those we serve and spend time with,” Tayler says.

Middle School Religion Coordinator Molly Andorfer will be leaving her position in midJune, so summer events will be on hold until a person is hired in her place. Molly has enjoyed being a part of this program with the approximately 100 students who have been participating in the various events. She says that middle school is an important time to develop good friendships with others who practice the Catholic faith. Youth ministries can help by offering a time and place to explore the Catholic faith while also having fun.

“Middle schoolers need the opportunity to be active at youth group, as well as take time to sit and talk to each other about the faith in their small groups,” Molly says. “Small groups are where the students are guided by a core leader and answer questions about what they have learned that night that help them dive more into the faith.”

Molly will miss working with this program and is thankful for all the relationships she has made.

“I really enjoy walking with each student, and seeing how they grow in their faith lives,” she says. “It also makes me feel good knowing I’m playing a role in their faith lives and growth as people. I get great joy in teaching them and showing them through my own actions that there are adults who care about them and their faith lives.”

Beyond the summer activities, Molly and Tayler invite all youth to stay tuned for events and join whenever they can!

If you would like to learn more about junior high events, please email Molly Andorfer (and her future replacement) at middleschoolcoordinator@saintphilipneri.org — for senior events, please email Tayler Culbertson at youthandyoungadultcooordinator@saintphilipneri.org.

Tayler Culbertson led a group to the Steubenville Youth Conference in 2019.