Best Practices, PARE – Youth Minister Collaboration
Please summarize in one to three sentences how you or a PARE you know are collaborating in specific, fruitful ways with the parish youth minister. (We’ll distribute these practices after a brief discussion; follow-up will also be in order.)
Our youth minister sends out e-mails to teens needing service hours. These youth volunteers have taught in our preschool religion readiness program, helped with parish events, and done volunteer work to help prepare for Easter. Ideas from a teen prayer buffet were used for a Stations of the Cross parish RE event.
Joy Burianek
St. Barnabas
Youth Ministry and Faith Formation collaborate on Confirmation, JR High Religious Education.
Generally talking about each of our programs and how to support one another.
Discussing resources and communication through our individual means of mediums.
Youth Ministry has supported us by soliciting and supervising volunteers at parish events.
Echo apprentice works closely with Youth Ministry.
Theresa Roberts
St. Barnabas
Communicate!
Keeping in constant contact re: calendaring before finalizing events
Sharing minutes of Youth and Faith Formation Commission meetings
Promote all youth events in RE programs and parent meetings
Rosalie Hawthorne
Nativity
This year Father invited the 100+ confirmation candidates to the sedar. They were asked to bring their sponsor. Jessica, our youth minister was new. So we simply divided up the tasks and got it done – both of us using different pools of volunteers. Hope to do more going forward.
Father also invited the youth to get more involved in Holy Week. Giving them liturgy roles and making them part of confirmation.
Annette Calloway
St. Jude
The youth minister is very cooperative. She came to me to ask if she could teach 8th grade RE. We meet regularly to talk over issues, go over calendars, etc.usually as an informal basis.
We have talked over many ways to involve the 5, 6, 7, 8th graders in youth activities. I think we have a good relationship.
Becky Cope
Our Lady of the Greenwood
Confirmation: Both plan/organize/etc.
Me (PARE) – Catechesis: materials, catechists: take turns with lessons
YM – Retreat: Youth leaders, talks, activities, service hours, tracking of service hours,
both facilitate
Bill Unruh
St. Mary-of-the-Knobs
812-923-2459
Youth participated in IBDC mission
Used same youth as RCIA companions/sponsors
Theresa Shaw
Holy Family
We do not have a paid youth minister at St. Charles yet. However, a lovely, lively, young woman who is an I.U. student serves in that capacity on a very part-time basis. Our relationship is built on trust – which is engendered by mutual prayer and respect. Her gentle perseverance is edifying and has born much fruit in the last three years. I give her the space to design retreats and service opportunities and she is there for me as a facilitator in our confirmation program.
Janice Dopp
St. Charles Borromeo
Pray together and for one another
Meet with each other, one-on-one outside of staff meetings to brainstorm and review the parish vision – plans within the context of both ministries
Support one another by “Synergy” to see how “cross-over” and a sharing of resources (people, materials, locations/areas) could be utilized and shared.
Positive communication with one another!
Lisa Whitaker
St. Joseph Hill, Sellersburg
I make sure youth in the parish are aware of youth activities that are being offered at St. Michael’s Church as well as in the deanery and archdiocese. They are encouraged to attend at least one activity.
Anne Robertson
St. Bernard, Frenchtown
The Religious Education staff and the Youth Minister meet monthly to share ideas, gain feedback, and help with various programs, for example:
-Promise to Keep
-Rel. Ed./Confirmation end-of-year Mass and brunch
-Service projects
-High school religious ed.
Future Ideas:
-Theology of the Body
-Soup and bread supper for RCIA, put on by youth group
Alex Sifuentes
St. Pius X
We discuss our ministries about once a week. We help each other as needed.
Jonathan Chamblee
Holy Name
Share resources
Respect each other’s ministries
Communicate common goals
Send consistent messages
No signature, etc.
Batesville Deanery offers YM training in Fall, retreats to bring youth and newsletter. We have resources on line for convenience. Last year we ordered legal issues with Joe Peters and Theology of the Body at training.
Nancy Fahringer
Batesville Deanery
Father is our Youth Minister and there are two adult volunteers (one teaches TOB, one teaches T3 bible timeline) as the CRE meet with Father to plan the schedule for the year. I order the materials, prepare mailings, buy the snacks/refreshments, set up/clean the youth room. I also help plan confirmation prep sessions and service projects.
Jessica Gorman
`St. Joan/St. Magdalen
8th graders help to set up SPRED space bi-monthly, labor intensive and difficult for working catechists to accomplish in the short time between work and group. Students receive credit for service hours and gain insight into SPRED program (future catechists)!
Roni Wyld
St. Malachy
Practical Way: we set our Sunday School faith formation calendars together (K-8) so parents know we meet/or don’t meet/on some Sundays. We make sure big sacramental events and retreats for students are not on the same day so parents can attend/assist at them. We are veryaware of each others programs so we can support and answer questions when asked by parishioners.
Mary Jo Thomas Day
St. Monica
For junior high students, we have RE on Sunday evenings three times a month. On the fourth Sunday the students come for Edge night – it’s a way of linking religious ed to the youth group, linking catechesis to fun, fellowship, and an emerging Catholic community.
M. Barber
St. Barnabas
614-738-1283
DEPTFILE/Reled/PARE/YM Best Practices, 2009
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