Hello Youth Ministry Families
First, before the update, I want you to know that I, Father Mario, Father Joseph, Reed, and Eleanor are all praying for you. Prayer is powerful and helps us align our hearts and actions with God's will. In our community right now, we need to pray more than ever; as a family, as a community, and as the Body of Christ. The unity of our Church through Jesus Christ is the strength that will allow us to weather this storm.
On to the update. You probably have a lot of questions. We have some answers and will do our best to answer those questions and to serve your teens and your whole family in the weeks to come.
Mass and Private Worship
At the request of Bishop Knestout, all public Masses will be cancelled until further notice. The Church will remain open during normal hours for personal prayer. At this time, the Eucharist will be moved into the main worship space to allow for safe distance between worshippers.
Confirmation PreparationLife Teen will be moving to an online format detailed below. All Confirmation students are expected to participate in the online format each week. At this time, end of year Confirmation interviews will not be scheduled. Please continue to follow your timelines for paperwork etc.
Confirmation MassAt this time, all Confirmation liturgies have been suspended until further notice. We are not sure at this time what that will mean for our Confirmation Mass, but we will let you know as soon as we have concrete information.
Online ResourcesYouth ministry without in person interaction is a new field. Together with Fr Joseph, Fr Mario, and a whole community of youth ministers, we will work to provide you with resources, ongoing faith formation, and community in a virtual environment. We hope that you will both encourage your teens to participate, and that you will join them as a family.
Life Teen and Edge: Both Reed and I will be releasing weekly videos with discussion questions following the same curriculum your teens would have experienced in Life Teen and Edge. These videos are designed to be watched and discussed together. As parents, we are the primary catechists of our children. But even as a professional in ministry, sometimes I find that role a challenge with my own son. It is our hope that these videos support you in that role, and that they provide opportunities to grow in faith together. We will email these videos out on Sundays.
Lectio Live: On Wednesday evenings at 8pm, we will stream our Lectio Live series on Instagram. If you don't yet follow St Thomas Aquinas Youth on Instagram, our handle is sta_youth. Make sure to follow us to stay up to date.
We'll be in contact as things progress. Please feel free to reach out if you need anything.
Peace,
Karl