REAL Youth Ministry: Respect ~ Engage ~ Accept ~ Lead

Scripture Reflection for 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

The children of Israel may be the chosen people, but the Lord has invited us all to the banquet. In the parable of the Wedding Banquet, Jesus shows us that those who were originally invited can choose to ignore the invitation. The story illustrates why Jesus did not simply warn the Israelites as the prophets had done. He taught the Jewish people but also reached out to the gentiles, just as the king in the parable invited everyone on the street to attend the banquet!

Read more…

For REAL Youth Ministry reminders and messages:
Text @sfacym to 81010
or click here to join.

For REAL Leadership messages:
Text @leadcym to 81010
or click here to join.

NOTICE: Youth group meetings are in-person again! To ensure you don’t miss anything, please register to receive text messages: GET TEXTS

REAL Middle School Youth Group
Topic: Counter Culture: Love Your Neighbor
Who: All teens grades 6 – 8
Date: Sunday, January 7th
Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Place: School Dining Hall

REAL Peer Ministry
Who: All teens grades 9 – 12
Date: Sunday, January 21st
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Place: St. Catherine Room

REAL Middle School Youth Group
Topic: TBA
Who: All teens grades 6 – 8
Date: Sunday, February 4th
Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Place: School Dining Hall

REAL Peer Ministry
Who: All teens grades 9 – 12
Date: Sunday, February 25th
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Place: St. Catherine Room

REAL Middle School Youth Group
Topic: TBA
Who: All teens grades 6 – 8
Date: Sunday, March 3rd
Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Place: School Dining Hall

REAL Peer Ministry
Who: All teens grades 9 – 12
Date: Sunday, March 17th
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Place: St. Catherine Room

REAL Middle School Youth Group
Topic: TBA
Who: All teens grades 6 – 8
Date: Sunday, April 7th
Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Place: School Dining Hall

REAL Peer Ministry
Who: All teens grades 9 – 12
Date: Sunday, April 14th
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Place: St. Catherine Room

REAL Middle School Youth Group
Topic: TBA
Who: All teens grades 6 – 8
Date: Sunday, May 5th
Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Place: School Dining Hall

REAL Peer Ministry
Who: All teens grades 9 – 12
Date: Sunday, May 19th
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Place: St. Catherine Room

*For REAL Youth Ministry reminders, messages and Zoom meeting info:
Text @sfacym to 81010 or click here to join.

Stay tuned for more events, coming soon!
Or keep an eye on our full calendar @ KeepingItREAL.club!

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REAL Peer Ministry Team Online Planning:

Who: Teens & Adults on the REAL Leadership Team
When: Every 6 to 8 weeks, at 8:00 PM
Time: 60 to 90 minutes
Place: Zoom Meeting (invitation required)

Please contact Brandon Jubar if you’re interested in joining the team or if you have any questions about the REAL Leadership Team.

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We Are the Body of Christ

Youth Ministry is more than simply having fun meetings for teens. It is about integrating teens into the life, mission, and work of the community by building an environment of love, support, and appreciation for diversity.

It empowers youth to work for justice in real ways that exemplify peace and human dignity. It fosters leadership by affirming the diverse gifts, talents, and abilities of young people.

It celebrates and deepens young people’s relationship with Jesus Christ, awakening their awareness of the Spirit at work in their lives.

Keeping It REAL

The overall theme for our high school youth ministry program at St. Francis is “keeping it real.” We do this by respecting, engaging, accepting and living/leading. These are the core values that create the framework we use to learn about and understand what it truly means to be disciples of Christ.

RESPECT is the foundation for everything that we do. We start by respecting each other. We respect our friends, our peers, our parents, all life, and all of God’s creation. If we can’t meet the challenge of showing respect, then we’ll fail the other three challenges!

ENGAGE is what we do in order to move ahead. We don’t disengage from life… we fully participate. We engage with each other and with the activities that are presented to us. We understand that the more of ourselves we put into something, the more we’ll get out!

ACCEPT is a word that’s easy to say but hard to live. We strive to accept each other as we are. We want to accept each other because of our differences, not in spite of them. We believe that God made us all unique and loves us all, so the least we can do is accept one another!

LIVE/LEAD is the final challenge we give ourselves. The best way to share the Good News is to make it part of our everyday lives and lead others in doing the same. It has little to do with your position or title, and everything to do with how you model the other three values to others and use your influence to promote and achieve better outcomes for everyone.

When we start from a place of RESPECT, ENGAGE with the world around us, ACCEPT others as children of God, and then LEAD others in doing the same, we end up Keeping It REAL!

Here are some things we do:

REAL Time

REAL Time meeting are the regular youth group gatherings. They are designed to be fun and engaging, with lots of community building, and they center on a theme for the night. The REAL Time gatherings are mainly led by the teen members of the Team, and they are usually scheduled twice a month.

REAL Fun

REAL Fun events are even more focused on building friendships and community, and they include things like game nights, holiday parties, potlucks & dances, bon fires, and the occasional all-night lock-in!  All of these events are a fun way for teens to make new friends and get connected with our community here at St. Francis. And quite often, the friends they make will end up being friends for life!

REAL Faith (In-Person and Online)

REAL Faith consists of Bible studies, prayer nights, and high school faith formation meetings with focused topics. REAL Faith Online is a web-based faith formation program consisting of short lessons that teens complete on their own, plus optional facilitated discussions when a program is first launched. However, lessons about the Catholic faith are woven into the normal REAL Time meetings.

REAL Life

REAL Life events are those things that we do to help our program, our parish, and the communities in which we live.  These events include service projects, fund-raisers, and anything else that can have a real impact on the world around us.

REAL Leadership Team

The REAL Leadership Team is a group of teens and adults who have made a commitment to plan and lead the regular meetings and special events throughout the year. Team members are selected to serve for a year, beginning in September. Teens interested in participating on the Team can apply in August.

Membership on the REAL Leadership Team is for teens who feel called to take ownership for the life of their parish, school, or organization, but need help developing their skills. The team members learn foundational skills such as balancing leadership roles, understanding group dynamics, facilitating small and large groups, and how to exemplify the servant leadership that Christ calls us to. Members of the REAL Leadership Team plan and run the REAL Time gatherings and help with other special events and parties. When not running events, the team members help with ensuring that everyone who attends feels welcome and included as part of the community.

REAL Leadership Team planning meetings are generally held every 6 to 8 weeks and may include short training sessions.

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For more information on Youth Ministry, please contact Brandon Jubar below or call 540-273-0777

[contact-form-7 id=”7701″ title=”Brandon Jubar”]

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