Responsibility and service: Youth Ministry Leadership

1. Responsibility and service:Youth Ministry Leadership Recently, in my lifelong faith journey, I have come to greatly appreciate the value of youth ministry in order to bring young people closer to Christ. September 2005, Holy Martyrs of Japan Catholic Parish in Bradford received a NET team. (www.netcanada.ca) I began to attend various events at the parish and soon became overwhelmed with the amazing blessings that God was poring into this parish and into my own life. Mission Statement: Life Teen is an international Catholic movement that serves the Church by providing resources and faith experiences that help lead teens closer to Christ. This is accomplished through a vibrant Eucharistic spirituality and by creating widespread opportunities for teens to grow in their faith. In the beginning... Once it was time for the NET team to leave, the parish was looking for strong Youth Leaders to come forward to continue the ministry. I felt called to serve in this Life Teen youth ministry, as a CORE Member. www.lifeteen.com Parish Ministries: The Life Teen program offers structure to a parish's youth ministry. Offering support, valuable resources, and trainings, the Life Teen Parish Ministries staff feeds and helps foster life into the constantly changing world, but keeping the views of the Church in its prime. By trainingthousands of youth ministers, priests, music ministers, CORE members, and parents in the Life Teen model of youth ministry, every element of a church shares the same vision. What started out as a youth group at St. Timothy's in Mesa, Arizona, has grown into the most prolific youth ministry in the Catholic Church. Every Sunday, 120,000 teenagers attend a Life Teen Mass. 1080 programs stretch around the globe into 23 countries.

2. Planning and Leading… • As a CORE member, one of my responsibilities is to co-lead Sunday life nights • with one other member of the CORE team. • CORE members are also present to help set up the environment, participate in dramas or give talks or testimonies. • These life nights follow the Sunday evening mass and can either be : • issue nights (such as abortion, love, self-image, respect, faith ect.) • social events (such as bowling, baseball ect.) or • catechetical nights (such as truth, the Bible, Saints ect.) • Here is a sample of a life night I co-lead with another member of the CORE team. The theme of the night was cliques and some of the activities came from life night planning guides supplied by the Life Teen program. • Pick a Clique Life Night Plan CORE team! • The life teen ministry at Holy Martyrs of Japan often puts on large parish events/fundraisers for items such as Catholic Youth Bibles for the teens or raising money for conferences and retreats. For instance, we have planned Oktoberfest, Spaghetti dinner and Christmas and Easter dramas for many years. • As a part of the CORE team, we are now in the process of planning a Men’s and Women’s retreat for the youth. Personally, I will be responsible for planning and implementing one session on the forth cardinal virtue of Fortitude. Holy Martyrs of Japan Church NET team, CORE team, priests and more! Community and Service… • Throughout my commitment to this ministry, I have had the privilege to be able to build strong faith-filled relationships not only with the teens, but also with their parents and with the parish community. It is these relationships that bring strength, support, encouragement and love to the ministry. • For instance, promoting at the local high school and elementary schools is fuel for the ministry.

3. Leading through Christ’s example… I have attended many different retreats, conferences and training since being a part of the Life Teen ministry at Holy Martyrs of Japan. The following is merely a highlight of the many ways I learned how to lead through Christ’s example. • The Power of Prayer • Being part of a group of young, Catholic youth leaders has given me the opportunity to grow as a faithful Catholic woman. One of the most important ways in which I have personally grown is my ability to communicate, especially through prayer. I have decided to begin my teaching career with a prayer, not only on my first day of teaching, but every single day of teaching thereafter. This daily prayer may take the form of a traditional prayer of the Church. The prayer may be a silent prayer of contemplation. It may also be an open prayer whereby the students and/or I speak directly from our hearts conveying messages of peace and respect through the love of Christ. OCY (Office of Catholic Youth) Rallies of 2006, 2007 and 2008 Attending a retreat with the teens is such an uplifting experience. I’ve learned that when teens are able to witness other youth love the Lord with all their heart, they begin to feel like a part of a larger Catholic community. As a CORE team, we have participated in many different training retreats. These retreats have taught us about the ministry, but more importantly, they have brought us together as a strong Catholic team! In a very special trip I took to Meza, Arizona, I discovered what it meant to love God with all of my heart. This three day conference changed my life forever by giving me faith in the power of God. “God is Good” Reflection CMU (CORE member University) retreat (2008) Life Jesus Higher Rally in Toronto (2006, 2007 and 2008) Fire and Ice Retreat at Mt. Alverno