April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.

Catholics learn how to attract youth to Church


By MAUREEN MCGUINNESS- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Setting up apprenticeships, hosting focus groups and having creative holy day liturgies were among the suggestions offered during "From Age to Age: Vibrant Worship Has A Youthful Heart," a recent in-service day on the newly released National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry document on worship with adolescents.

The event, held at St. Pius X in Loudonville, drew more than 200 priests, youth ministers, youth, religious educators and others. It was sponsored by the diocesan Office of Religious Education, Office of Prayer and Worship, Continuing Education of Clergy and Catholic School Office.

The day was led by Tom Tomaszek, lead author of the NFCYM document, "From Age to Age: The Challenge of Worship With Adolescents." A campus minister at Alverno College in Milwaukee, he has worked in that Archdiocese's Youth Ministry Office.

Involving youth

Through a series of small group discussions, larger group sharing, presentations and music, Mr. Tomaszek discussed ways to incorporate youth participation in parish liturgies.

A skit at the beginning of the in-service provided a glimpse into the lives and concerns of youth, parish priests, parents and youth ministers.

Jonathan Sozak, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist in Schenectady, who conveyed the concerns of youth in the opening skit, said, "People like to keep youth ministry away from other parish activities. Why do we have to have a separate youth Mass. Aren't we good enough for every Sunday?"

Mr. Tomaszek challenged participants to see youth as part of the current Church, saying: "It takes a millennium thinking to see young people as right now. If a young person is only part of the future Church, they aren't part of right now."

Barriers

Some of the challenges that arise between youth and adults when it comes to Church participation come from having adult expectations of adolescents. For example, Mr. Tomaszek said, adults expect youth to be able to commit to Church ministry in the same way an adult would. But due to the multiple commitments teens have to school, extracurricular activities and jobs, it is difficult for a teen to guarantee that they will be able to show up each week for a meeting or music practice.

He asked participants to think about if it would be better to have youth involved in parish life to the degree that they are able to be rather than not at all. If a young person is a talented musician, could a parish use that talent two Sundays a month rather than each Sunday?

Expecting young people to make adult commitment is a mistake. "We have to honor adolescence for what it is," Mr. Tomaszek said. "As adults, if we expect them to be children, shame on us. If we expect them to be adults, shame on us."

The gifts of adolescents can enliven the whole parish community, he noted. These gifts include vision, questioning, service, enthusiasm and prophecy. "The idealism of young people energizes our own vision," he said.

Blocks

Sometimes, parishes are deprived of the enrichment of youth involvement because of the generation gap. Workshop participants listed several barriers to having youth participation in parish liturgies:

* Teen styles (nose rings, hairdos and clothing) are viewed as inappropriate by some adults for wearing to Church;

* Some teens prefer to stay in the back of the church during liturgies;

* Some teens talk during services; and

* Teens often prefer to sit with their friends rather than family during liturgies.

Mr. Tomaszek did not have solutions to all of those challenges. "Sometimes, it's enough just for them to be there," he said of youth attending Mass. "Young people don't go to things alone. We need to encourage them to attend with their friends and know they are going to talk."

Invitations

Parishes looking for ways to recruit teens to fuller participation were given important advice. "We have to go and invite," Mr. Tomaszek said, "not just post invitations in the bulletin. Invitation is different when it's personal."

Katie Hoose, a 14-year-old from Sacred Heart parish in Gloversville, agreed to the importance of personal invitation, noting: "You have to invite kids. You have to make it exciting so they want to be a part of it."

In fact, she was at the in-service as a result of personal invitation. She had attended Spring Enrichment, a week-long Office of Religious Education program, where she was told of the in-service and invited by Mary Harrison, associate director for youth ministry of the ORE.

In-service

Mr. Tomaszek suggested that young people be invited to learn more about parish work and groups.

"Set up apprenticeships," he said. "Not just `here let me show you what to do' but 'walk with me.'"

For example, he encouraged priests to bring youth with them on hospital rounds, and parish groups like St. Vincent de Paul Societies to invite youth to join. When young people become involved in Church ministry, they are less apt to fall away from the Church later in life.

Go and come

Adults, Mr. Tomaszek said, are often concerned about the numbers of young people who stop practicing their faith during adolescence. When participants were asked to break into small groups, many adults who are now active Catholics shared their own stories of abandoning the Church during their youth.

"We need to tell the stories that we left," he said. "The questions don't stop. Some of the questions we still struggle with."

It is also common for young people not to want to go to Sunday Mass because, they say, they get nothing out of it. "If we didn't get much out of Mass, we have to ask what we put in," Mr. Tomaszek said. "We substitute Mass for the real experience. It's much easier to watch football than to play it. We're a people who like to watch. If we haven't been living the experience, of course, it's going to be boring."

Young people also don't understand that their presence at liturgy can enrich the experience for others. Mr. Tomaszek asked: "Do our young people hear us say, `We're less when you're not with us'?"

Inviting liturgies

To draw people into the lived experience of Mass, Mr. Tomaszek said, parishes must pay attention to music, preaching, visuals and community.

"Music is tough because everyone has their own opinion of music," he said. "It can be multiple styles. It's the sound of music that makes a difference -- the rhythm and the percussion. People will sing more when you sing songs they like."

He encouraged parishes to look to young people's musical gifts. Teens who play instruments should be personally invited to participate in the parish music group with the understanding that they might not be able to commit to every weekend.

In order to preach well, Mr. Tomaszek said priests must listen first. He encouraged holding regular focus groups with youth to get an understanding of what is happening in their lives.

Seeing Church

Visuals are particularly important for youth. "Most young people today have grown up learning with their eyes," he said. "When our eyes are disengaged, our brains shut off."

The importance of visuals was demonstrated at the beginning of the inservice when brightly colored banners depicting the charisms of youth led the prayer service procession.

Another important visual is facial expression. "We need liturgical faces," Mr. Tomaszek said. "If it's `Good News,' you better tell your face."

In discussing the importance of community, Mr. Tomaszek urged "radical hospitality." Radical hospitality moves beyond greeters and communicates the importance of each member of the community. "It is how your life is a part of my life and how my life is different because of it," he said.

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