August2017Youth Ministry Report
" Kindness is the natural fruit of goodness of the heart" Saint Katharine Drexel
Hospice House Meals: On Thursday, July 27th, we served meals at the Burlington Hospice House. This was our second go around and I want to thank Angie Box and April VanHamme for taking the lead on the dinner. With help from their children, the night went very well.Our next time to serve will be on the fourth Thursday of August. Let me know if you would be interested in helping. I believe this is a great way to continue Jesus' mission.
TotusTuus:TotusTuus is Latin for totally yours and is a weeklong series to help our youth foster a relationship with Jesus. The junior high and high school students gathered in St. Paul in the "Upper Room" for a few evenings while the K-6th grade students met at the HTC Elementary School in West Point through the day. Through personal witnesses and discussions from seminarians and college age women, we worked to foster an environment of discernment. Through this discernment, we pray that we have an increase to the Catholic faith and traditions from our young church.
The theme for the week was the Glorious Mystery and the importance if each mystery connected to that day. We ended the week with a huge water fight. This was a great way to beat the heat. I would like to thank everyone that helped with the week, without your support, our parishes would not be able to offer thesetypes of programs.
Young Neighbors in Action: was held on July 23-30th at the Omaha/Winnebago Indian Reservation. This is our third year travelling to Winnebago, NE for a week long experience. Attending this year was Sharon Walden from St. John's,Joseph Hummel of St. Mary's and Rex Brune from St. John's. This year our group joined another group from Columbus, NE. Our task was to help the community prepare for the yearly Pow Wow.
The theme was based on spirituality and culture of the Native Americans. We were blessed to attend the Pow Wow on Thursday evening and witness the various Indian tribes from across the United States. On Thursday, we traveled to Sioux City to tour the Trinity Heights Catholic Gardens. This was a great way to see the Catholic faith in another prospective. There is a 50 foot tall statue of Jesus that is breath taking. Another awesome display is a life sized wood carving of the "Last Supper".
There were groups from Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Nebraska that we worked with. I believe this type of trip is an opportunity for our kids to continue the work of Saint Katharine Drexel with students from around the country. Plans are to return next year with a larger group and to do a road trip to Trinity Heights.
National Catholic Youth Conference: NCYC will be held on November 16th -19th in Indianapolis for our high school students. This is an experience that helps our attendees see a bigger picture of the Catholic church. While at NCYC, we will have an opportunity to listen to national speakers, attend interactive breakouts and attend Mass at Lucas Oil Field with 20,000 other people.
Come and join us as we work to spread the Word of God through our actions!!
Love In Christ,
Mike