|
Easter Song
When love is found
and hope comes home,
sing and be glad
that two are one.
When love explodes
and fills the sky,
praise God and share
our Maker's joy.
When love has flowered
in trust and care,
build both each day
that love may dare
to reach beyond
home's warmth and light,
to serve and strive
for truth and right.
When love is tried
as loved-ones change,
hold still to hope
though all seems strange,
till east returns
and love grows wise
through listening ears
and opened eyes.
When love is torn
and trust betrayed,
pray strength to love
till torments fade,
till lovers keep
no score of wrong
but hear through pain
love's Easter song.
Praise God for love,
praise God for life,
in age or youth,
in husband, wife.
Lift up your hearts.
Let love be fed
through death and life
in broken bread.
Brian Wren
Loyola University Prayer Book |
|
Jason Evert's coming to South Jersey
May 28 & 29
Click here fore more information. |
|
|
Urgency and Openness
Greetings!
Our parishes need to be places where the all generations are nourished at the Tables of the Word and Sacrament. Picture a full church on Sunday of twenty and thirty somethings. In our times, the Gospel message is urgent. Are we open to the change that may need to happen? Who are the young adults of your parish community? I would begin focusing on those who are already connecting.
Remember, they are with you!
Young adults may already be engaged in parish ministries. Begin to list all of the young adults (those who are 18 - 40, single and married) who are involved in parish ministries including:
- Lectors
- Music ministry
- Eucharistic ministers
- Catechists
- Service ministry members
- Children's Liturgy of the Word leaders
- Knights of Columbus council members
- School parents and teachers
- Baptismal preparation teams
- Marriage preparation teams
- Young adult ministry members & leaders
- Recent high school graduates
- Parishioners who are in the military.
- and so many more.
What is your internet presence like?
Can your parish's website or social media presence be found? Does your parish's site contain up-to-date information about parish life, formational resources, and an invitation to belong? Would a young adult want to belong to your parish? Parish ministries must be present online if we are to meet people where they are. The first place many people look for information (including Mass times, sacramental information, and your parish phone number) is online.
Build Catholic Identity in a Positive Way
Building a Catholic identity in a positive way by promoting and supporting individuals in their faith. Make a mark in the lives of young adults as they prepare and celebrate the sacramental moments and invite them to a deeper sacramental living. Weddings, funerals and Baptisms have great potential as avenues for outreach to young adults. Perhaps the parish could occasionally offer a blessing after Sunday Mass for expectant mothers or parents at the Baptismal font. (One may be found in the Book of Blessings.)
Build Better Community
Is our parish building community with young adults? Skills that allow community members to welcome the stranger could include a smile and a simple saying of welcome. May we suggest to our community to begin sitting in the middle of the pew first? Joint service projects, like Habitat for Humanity, quickly break down barriers in order to build homes for the poor. Or what about celebrating a "welcome back" party for young adults returning from college?
Personal Invitation
The most effective way to engage young adults is to use the Jesus method of personal invitation. Bulletin announcements, generic email or flyers are only as effective as taking time to personally invite 20 and 30 something adults. Don't be afraid to invite them to a retreat, parish picnic or a special parish celebration. Young adults, time and again, are very pleased to receive a personal invite from the pastor, parish staff, or another young adult.
Vocation & Discernment
Young adults are challenged with questions like "What am I going to do with my life?" They may welcome opportunities for quiet reflection, prayer and tools of discernment as a way of answering life's questions. Offer opportunities for mentoring within the parish setting, or offer avenues for spiritual direction that help to tackle the questions. A good resource for this is Catholics on Call .
Sieze the day! Our presence and outreach to 20 & 30 somethings is an urgent matter. Reach out and keep creating space for young adults in your parish. I am here to help you. Please contact me at anytime by email or 856-583-6122. 
Peace and all good,
Greg Coogan
|
|
| Strong Catholic Families: Strong Catholic Youth |
 The research is clear: parents matter...a lot!
What can the Church do to engage and support parents in their role as primary formators of faith for their families?
Come to embark on this exciting initiative...
Part I: Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Sample Evening Parent Session; 6:30 - 8:30 P.M.
Location: Christ the Good Shepherd Parish, St. Isidore Church Hall, 1655 Magnolia Road, Vineland, NJ 08361
While parents are the primary audience, the evening will introduce the material to church leaders and provide a preview of a session that you may wish to replicate in your parish or school.
Part II: Thursday, May 2, 2013
In-Service for Local Leaders; 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Location: Christ the Good Shepherd Parish, St. Isidore Church Hall, 1655 Magnolia Road, Vineland, NJ 08361
Audience: Pastors, Parish and School Leaders
This program will identify the new vision, models, roles and relationships required to bring about the change that is necessary to strengthen the Catholic faith of the next generation of believers.
|
| New Jersey State Catholic Youth Rally @ Six Flags | |
 It's almost here! EARLY BIRD SPECIAL -Tickets must be postmarked and paid for by May 1, 2013, and they will include one free ticket for every ten paid tickets.
Consider joining the five dioceses from New Jersey in this day of fun and faith on Sunday, May 19, 2013. The Diocese of Metuchen is hosting this year's Liturgy.
The NJ Catholic Youth Rally Package includes:
*Admission to Six Flags Great Adventure
*Opening ceremony (9:30 A.M.) & closing Liturgy (6 P.M.)
*FREE Admission and catered buffet for ages two and under
*FREE Parking vouchers
*FREE Return ticket for every person who visits the catering area
*Private All-You-Can-Eat Buffet from 12:00-4:00 P.M.
Total Package per person - $45.00
Click here for an order form.
There are a limited number of scholarship tickets available based upon economic hardship. Please email Greg Coogan or call at 856-583-6122 with any questions. |
|
| Summer in the City - Down the Shore |
 The Summer in the City Experience is a week-long immersion project based on four pillars: Service, Community, Spirituality and Social Justice.
When: Sunday, August 11, 2013 - Saturday, August 17, 2013
Where: Holy Trinity Parish (St. James Church Hall) Ventor & Portland Avenues, Ventnor, NJ
Who: Open to high school students from graduating classes 2013 - 2016
Registration on a first-come, first-served basis - limited to 35 people
Registration fee: $100 includes meals, lodging and program materials
|
|
Diocesan Youth Congress - Faith Alive! |
 | | Bishop Sullivan with youth from the Parish of the Holy Cross, Bridgeton |
On Palm Sunday, March 24, 2013, over 270 youth and their adult leaders gathered at St. Simon Stock Parish in Berlin. Thirty parishes and schools represented all six counties of the diocese.
The goals of the Congress were:
- To help participants connect with God, specifically to deepen one's relationship with Jesus Christ
- To provide participants with a healthy, positive experience of Christian community
- To help participants know and live their Catholic faith more fully
- To help participants grow in personal wholeness and holiness
- To provide opportunities for participants to evangelize and be evangelized
The young church experienced their peers leading the Congress in a prayerful experience of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Teens also witnessed to their faith through small group experiences.
One question asked of the teens was: "How can your parish, school or youth ministry help you on your faith journey?" Some responses were:
- Provide opportunities to serve the parish and the poor
- Continue allowing teen altar servers through high school
- Have more engaging and upbeat music at Mass
- Have happier celebrations
We continue to pray with and for the young church! |
| Resource Register |
 | | Where's the Body??? |
For Year of Faith, announced by Pope Benedict XVI, the Diocese of Wheeling - Charleston is proud to introduce the Video Catechism for Teens. They believe that in order to effectively reach this generation of teens with the richness and beauty of our Catholic faith, it must be done in new and relevant ways. It is estimated that a teenager consumes a staggering 10 hours and 45 minutes of media content each day. Of that content, 4 hours and 29 minutes is spent watching videos. (whether on TV, Internet sites such as Hulu, YouTube, etc.)1
VCat's videos are:
- Relevant: The videos use cultural analogies, creativity, humor, and will always try to answer the question, "Why should a teenager care about this?"
- Focused on God's Love: The beginning of the Catechism states, "The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends." (CCC 25) Every doctrine is a new way in which God reveals His love for us. The videos strive to focus on that message.
- Driven by the Catechism of the Catholic Church: At the heart of each video is a point (or points) articulated by the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Since the language used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church wasn't written with the intent of communicating the faith to a teenage audience, key points may be paraphrased or re-worded in an effort to make it more understandable.
What it includes:
- Monthly Video
- Discussion Guide for Catechetical leaders, teachers, and youth ministers
- Family Discussion Guide
1 "Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8 to 18-year-olds" from the Kaiser Family Foundation Study, January 2010
It is FREE!
|
| Emerging Adulthood |
 Margaret is 22 and single. She is not too sure what to do after college, but she has a strong desire to help people. In an online job search, she stumbles on an ad for a long-term service program designed to help the poor and marginalized. An opportunity exists to move across the country from her "homeland" on the West Coast to the East Coast to work on behalf of the poor and live in community with other long-term volunteers....click here to read more. |
| Resource Register - 2o's & 30's Ministry |
How young-adult responsive is my parish community? Please find a toolkit on Harvesting Gifts designed to help your community look at ministry with young adults.
Click here for more information. |
| Looking for Youth & Young Adults Who Write Songs |
Pontifical Mission Societies Launch Song Contest
Celebrating mission in the Year of Faith, the Pontifical Mission Societies have launched their first-ever song contest for young Catholics. Contestants will be asked to create original songs (lyrics and music), in either English or Spanish, with content drawn from, but not limited to, both the themes of the Year of Faith and World Youth Day. Two divisions are featured: Adolescent (grades 9-12) and Young Adult (ages 18-29).
|
|
|
