January Update, TEC Info, Spring Ideas

Brother and sisters in the Lord,

I hope the holidays season and new year have been a blessing for you.  I am writing you from Manresa, where I am with Bishop Fabre and my brother priests this week for our Presbyteral Convocation.  For me, the past month has been very full but very rewarding.   First, with Junior High Faith Experience, which was a huge success. I look forward to continuing to serve our middle schoolers. Additionally, March for Life and some college vocational formation and recruitment have been bearing great fruit. I am thankful to God to be able to share that we now have 6 young men in the application process for the seminary. 
 

As I am now getting back from March for Life, I am grateful to share that I enter into a new chapter in the Diocese, as we have established the Office of Parish Support. The Office of Parish Support was officially established on  January 1, 2018. Please see full list of the Office of Parish Support Team, that should help you understand their roles and how we can each serve you.   To point out, the newest member of our team, we have hired Joe Klapatch as a Parish Liaison for the Office of Parish Support. Joe has recently moved here from Omaha, Nebraska with his wife Kristen. Joe’s focus on the team will start with adult formation and eventually he’ll transition to focus on Sacramental preparation and major life moments.
 

As you know, your pastor and parish implementation team is currently in the final lap of finalizing a tailored strategic plan for your parish.   In the midst of this process, we recognize that more intense support with pastors and parish teams, including more support for  you is our priority.
 

As a newly established office, still building our team, we would like to focus our resources on that which will help get your transition with youth formation off the ground.   And, that which will bear long term fruit for the parishes. I know that we had hoped there to be a TEC retreat in February, as we weigh our all the needs within parishes, we feel that we would probably serve the parishes better by foregoing TEC for this year and committing these weeks to best empowering parishes in the process understanding the new vision, recruiting adults, and forming core teams.
 

As we approach Lent, there is a particular abundance of grace that is communicated during this holy time of the liturgical year. I would encourage a couple of things that can be effective in the absence of TEC for the next couple of months.

• Firstly, the most impactful style of ministry today for high school students is small group formation (as we have presented). I suggest to begin some sort small group study that will allow for their connection with each other and growth in faith. In particular, OREMUS (https://shop.ascensionpress.com/collections/oremus-a-guide-to-catholic-prayer) is a great resource that teaches the fundamentals of prayer.
• Secondly, Abbey Youth Festival is being hosted on March 23, 2019 at St Joseph Seminary College. It is a beautiful one day event that can serve the youth very well as an encounter moment. You can register your group here: http://www.abbeyyouthfest.com.
• Thirdly, I would suggest having some sort of parish mission night or event around the pinnacle of our liturgical calendar, the Holy Triduum. I have known some groups to do youth Way of the Cross reenactments/plays, visit local parish Altars of Repose on Holy Thursday night, have a youth holy hour, host a youth Bible Study with the Easter Vigil readings, etc. If you need ideas or suggestions, we are here to help you.
• Fourthly, Steubenville on the Bayou has registration open and active. You can register your group here: https://steubenvilleconferences.com/events/otb/#!/register.
• Lastly, in April we will be communicating to you all about claiming your spots for teens to attend CLI. Throughout the month of April, parishes will be able to claim two spots per parish. (If all parishes claim their 2 spots, that will be 80 students and registration will be full. If not all are taken, then general registration will open on May 1 for any other students.) There are also some funds that are available to assist students who may find themselves unable to pay for the retreat, but I ask that the parish be the first in assisting and when not possible, we can then step in to help. More information will be coming in the next month.

Thank you for your patience with this process as we are learning what our parishes need. We will be in touch over the next few weeks as we plan to meet and further assist you in the planning process of our youth formation.
 

Please let me know if you have any questions.
May God bless and keep you.
 
Pax.