We forget that our local parish is experienced by our youngsters primarily in the religious education setting. Those gatherings are the small-group experiences of church for our young. If the setting is strongly “schoolmodeled,” then the experience of church is going to be an experience of a place they have to go to learn—and from which they will eventually graduate and be free. If it is a setting where they develop close personal relationships with the other youngsters and the teacher/mentors; a place where they have the opportunity to experience the inner joy and peace of reaching out to help others; a place where they are free to be themselves, ask any question, and enjoy interacting; if it is a place where they can dance, cut up, socialize—as well as reflect, study, and learn; then, maybe, it becomes a community that is important to them and feeds them. It might very well become a community they want to be a part of for the rest of their lives.
REACHING
TEENS
We have over 800 students attending our ChrisTeen (grades 7–12) religious education program each week. That number in itself would cause any pastor to boast, but I have seen our youngsters do amazing things. ■
Each summer, the list closes out to participate in two mission trips we offer to help those living in rural areas and in need. The teens return year after year to again experience the satisfaction of helping others and to rekindle friendships and spirit with other Catholic youth working at those sites. They come back with fresh enthusiasm that inspires our adult community.
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At Christmas, the kids give up precious holiday free time to deliver gifts to nursing homes and shut-ins. They staff shelters and food lines at Christmas and during the “ordinary” times of the year. They gathered medical supplies for Haiti and bought a new furnace and washing machines for a local shelter where they often prepare food for the guests.
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Retreats fill up here as fast as ski trips—or faster. Having had a deeply personal experience with Christ and their community on retreat, they come back to us determined to reach out to other teens and pull them into the “ChrisTeen” community here at our parish.
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I have watched as they thought through current moral and political issues and had lively debates with older mentors. I have watched them carefully considering the church’s teachings and prayerfully trying to understand while rightfully maintaining their right to form their own opinions.
7 C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
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