Engagement

We extend friendly and consistent invitations to all young people in the parish

Context

Today, the average age of a Roman Catholic sister in the United States is 74, The New York Times reports, and in many communities, it’s well into the 80s. Ordained Catholic priests are a bit younger, with an average age of 63 — but that’s up from 35 in 1970, and rising fast. Mainline Protestants such as the United Methodist Church are facing their own challenges, experiencing drops in vocations that keep pastors working longer into their later years.

But if the church is at the terminal end of the age spectrum, Silicon Valley, one of the most vibrant economic centers in our country, is at the other. At Facebook, the median employee age is 28, the Times reports, while at Google it’s 29 and at AOL, 30. As Katie Bardaro, the lead economist at PayScale, told the Times, “The firms that are growing or innovating around new areas tend to have younger workers. Older companies that aren’t changing with the times get older workers.” She could have been talking about the church. Apparently, like attracts like; vitality attracts vitality. (Make Room For Young People by Michael O’Loughlin)

Goal

Effective and comprehensive pastoral ministry with young people calls for friendly and consistent invitations to be offered to all young people in the parish.

Suggested Implementation

Build a Database: From existing parish records, build a database of all registered young people in the parish community. Make sure to be attentive to the various ways that you might be able to contact them and/or their parents. Continue to grow the database as new classes of young people are promoted into your determined age range as well as when young people join into your program. Remember that the answer to the question, “How many young people are involved in ministry?” is “All of them.”
Communicate: Develop a variety of approaches: snail mail, telephone calls, social networking to appeal to young people. In an effort to make sure that the parish is also aware, do not ignore conventional methods of parish bulletin or newsletter under the presumption that young people do not read these.
Creative: Take an opportunity to view a magazine, a college recruitment brochure, or a TV show that is directed at young people. While maintaining a level of dignity and appropriateness, do attempt to make your invitations engaging and attractive.
Engage Young People: Your best allies in developing creative and attractive invitations for young people might be young people themselves.
Get Personal: Make sure that your leadership and those engaged in programming are intentional about inviting friends and others into ministry opportunities.

Methods for Evaluation

Within the same calendar year as you attempt to address this concern, delegate individuals, both young and old, to ask:

Can you name the last three intentional efforts that your leaders have made regarding invitation?
Can you name the last five young people who have participated in ministry opportunities because of invitations received?

We assist our young people in understanding their role in the wider faith community

Context

As young Christians, whether you are workers or students, whether you have already begun a career or have answered the call to marriage, religious life or the priesthood, you are not only a part of the future of the Church; you are also a necessary and beloved part of the Church’s present! You are Church’s present! Keep close to one another, draw ever closer to God, and with your bishops and priests spend these years in building a holier, more missionary and humble Church, a Church which loves and worships God by seeking to serve the poor, the lonely, the infirm and the marginalized. (Pope Francis at Asian Youth Day Closing Mass, August 17)

Goal

Effective and comprehensive pastoral ministry with young people calls for young people to be welcomed into leadership roles within the parish community and that the opinion of young people does count.

Suggested Implementation

Encourage Enthusiasm: Young people offer energy and enthusiasm. We must do all we can to encourage and properly channel the “youthfulness” of our parish.
The National Parish: What opportunities exist for young people to be engaged in national Catholic movements, service organizations, or community projects (e.g., Catholic Relief Service’s Food Fast, local food drives, St. Vincent de Paul food pantries)?
Multi-Generational Ministries: Consider offering opportunities where young people work side by side with adult leaders in ministry.
Beyond the Parish: How are our young people visible in the diocesan church? Are they actively participants in CHOAS, the Pilgrimage, NCYC, Youth Leadership Team, and the Diocesan Commission for Young Adults?

Methods for Evaluation

Within the same calendar year as you attempt to address this concern, delegate individuals, both young and old, to ask:

Is most young people’s experience of the parish limited to youth-only ministry alone?
Is most of the parish’s experience of the young people limited to youth-only ministry alone?

We encourage young people to see the parish as a place of opportunity for service, ministry, and education

We invite young people to be connected to the diocesan church

We celebrate milestones in the lives of young people

Context

Throughout the historical life of Israel, at times when the people of God have an encounter with God, they pause to build an altar to honor God’s movement in their lives. For instance, after Jacob has a life-altering experience of wrestling with God and receiving a new name, Jacob/Israel builds an altar in remembrance of what God has done in his life. Similarly, in many of Paul’s letters he refers to his faith life as a race. On every track, there are mile-markers (or milestones) that allow the runner to know how far along they are in their journey. The runner can pace him or herself, change speed based on remaining distance, and push on toward the end goal. Along the sidelines at mile markers, crowds of people gather to cheer on the runners as they race, providing energy and support to the runners. Combining these ideas—Israel’s use of altars as memory markers and Paul’s language of running the race—our community developed what we call “faith milestones.” These milestones act as a concrete map of hoped-for faith development that fuels parents’ and the church community’s involvement in the lives of kids.

Goal

Effective and comprehensive pastoral ministry with young people recognizes that milestones in the lives of young people are to be celebrated.

Suggested Implementation

Discern the Moments: In your community, what are the milestone moments for young people that hold significance for young people? Consider some of the potential possibilities: Turning 13 (teenagerdom), Turning 16 (Drivers Licenses), Class Rings, Turning 18 (legal in some ways), College Acceptances, Departure for College. How can the parish community commemorate / celebrate these moments?
Proms/Dances: How can the Parish Community assist young people in meeting both their weekend Mass Obligations as well as participate in formal school dances?
Return to New School Year/Graduation: In what ways can the community engage in prayer at either end of the school year?
Spring Break/Senior Week: How can these breaks in the school year be maximized as opportunities for service or evangelization (especially in beach communities)?

Methods for Evaluation

Within the same calendar year as you attempt to address this concern, delegate individuals, both young and old, to ask:

In what ways did the parish community connect into the lives of young people? Do we bless our new drivers? Do we bless our graduates? Our athletes? Our First Communicants?
How was the parish community in their efforts “to cheer on” young people’s faith lives?

We create and maintain intentional pathways that foster inclusive dialogue and opportunity for partnerships between parishes and and schools

We give care to minister appropriately to those from different cultures

Context

The Church’s ministry seeks to… promote an understanding of and respect for people who are different from the young people—different cultures, different languages, different faiths, different ages—and develop the attitudes and skills for overcoming racial and ethnic prejudices as individuals and members of society. (Renewing the Vision)

Goal

Effective and comprehensive pastoral ministry with young people calls for care to be given to minister to those from different ethnic or language groups appropriately while avoiding a “one size fits all” approach or “Parallel Church” configuration.

Suggested Implementation

Survey: Research and understand the diverse ethnicities within your parish community as well as within and around your parish boundaries. Is your parish community presently serving these groups? How? Where do they gather, shop, and go to eat?
Recognize, value, and respond to the diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds and experiences that exist among young people. A fully multicultural approach to pastoral ministry with young people views ethnicity and culture as core features of identity and behavior. It helps youth identify and explore their own ethnic roots and cultural expressions in order to understand their own and others’ ethnic practices. It recognizes that the specific content of tasks and competencies varies by culture, such as the way young people attain individual autonomy. It also recognizes the impact that family ethnicity has on the development of young people in areas such as decision making and social relationships.
Develops culturally responsive and inclusive programming to address these needs. Pastoral ministry with young people helps develop their identity by affirming and utilizing the values and traditions of their ethnic cultures. Specifically, it welcomes and empowers all young people; it develops leaders who reflect the ethnic characteristics of participants; it prepares all staff to be competent culturally; it includes young people and their families on advisory councils; and it develops program content that is culturally appropriate and relevant to the needs of participants. In stressing with our young Catholics the importance of multicultural awareness, and awareness of difference and diversity, we should take care to balance this awareness with the concept of their belonging to a universal Church, that is, with the concept of unity in diversity that characterizes the universal Church.
Incorporate: Second, all ministry with young people needs to incorporate ethnic traditions, values, and rituals into ministerial programming; teach about the variety of ethnic cultures in the Catholic Church; provide opportunities for cross-cultural experiences; and foster acceptance and respect for cultural diversity.

Methods for Evaluation

Within the same calendar year as you attempt to address this concern, delegate individuals, both young and old, to ask:

Has your participation grown more diverse?
How are our young people more aware of the variety of cultures around them?

We encourage young people’s participation in all our parish’s liturgies, being careful not to relegate them to a separate celebration

Context

The parish is where the Church lives. Parishes are communities of faith, of action, and of hope. They are where the Gospel is proclaimed and celebrated, where believers are formed and sent to renew the earth. Parishes are the home of the Christian community; they are the heart of our Church. Parishes are the place where God’s people meet Jesus in word and sacrament and come in touch with the source of the Church’s life. (Communities of Salt and Light, p. 1, USCCB)

Goal

Effective and comprehensive pastoral ministry with young people notes that young people reflect a distinct age group and “culture” within our society. Their language expressions, musical styles, and ways of life are often quite different from those of older generations. Those who prepare the liturgy need to find appropriate ways to incorporate the world of young people into worship, remembering that the “pastoral effectiveness of a celebration will be heightened if the texts of the readings, prayers, and songs correspond as closely as possible to the needs, religious dispositions, and aptitude of the participants” (GIRM no. 313) (Renewing the Vision)

Suggested Implementation

Liturgical Catechesis: Our liturgy is both beautiful and steeped in tradition. For us to expect the next generation to appreciate and pass it along to their children, we must take the care to explain it and celebrate it fully.
Training and Engagement in Liturgical Ministry: Invite young people into service in liturgical ministries. This is the most public witness of the parish being an opportunity for engagement by young people.
Model Behavior: Ask adults to serve alongside young people to model appropriate behavior in liturgical ministries.
Advocate for their Inclusion: Work towards ensuring that young people find a place within the many ministries of the Eucharistic Liturgy as well as ensuring that it speaks to them and the culture in which they are growing.
Scripture Resources: Provide resources to assist young people in understanding the Lectionary as well as to prepare and to celebrate the Liturgy of the Word.

Methods for Evaluation

Within the same calendar year as you attempt to address this concern, delegate individuals, both young and old, to ask:

Do we see more young people at liturgy?
Can young people see themselves as part of our Sunday liturgies?

We give young people skills and opportunities to pray together

We understand that adult leaders are conduits to ministry opportunities for young people, not gatekeepers

Context

Mission is not a trip or a youth activity, a silent cousin to evangelism, or an optional model of youth ministry. Mission is the business that congregations are in. Christ views young people as participants in God’s mission rather than as targets of ours. (Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church, Kenda Creasy Dean)

Goal

Effective and comprehensive pastoral ministry with young people reminds us that we are all youth ministers – from scout leaders to coaches to principals to catechists – and that we all engage in an important role as a youth ministry leader. We are meant to be inclusive rather than exclusive.

Suggested Implementation

Limited: Avoid only programming to the interests/spirituality of the adult leaders. Does the adult leadership represent only one segment of parish life, one style of spirituality? Train/“stretch” adults to extend themselves outside of their own interests.
Comfort Level: Is there programming options available to the parish community in which the present leadership expressed discomfort? Are there concerns which need to be addressed regarding these programs or might the leadership be expanded to include those who might find such programming matching their own interests/style?
Review the Components: In Renewing the Vision of Youth Ministry, components of a comprehensive pastoral ministry with young people are identified. Are there areas in which the parish can discern strengths and address a component? Are there areas of weakness? What might be done to address the weaknesses?
“Special”: Regarding child and youth protection, we always take great concern when programming is only offered for “special” participants. All programming should be open and transparent.

Methods for Evaluation

Within the same calendar year as you attempt to address this concern, delegate individuals, both young and old, to ask:

Have young people become reflections of the adult leaders or are they reflections of Christ?
If our adult leaders leave, will ministry continue? If not, why not, and how can we change that?

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