How to reach youth

When it comes to connecting spirituality and religion in the lives of young people, Maureen Smith believes it's all about balance and example.

"It's very easy to say that we don't see teens in church so they don't care," said Ms. Smith, the youth minister at St. Ann's in Fort Ann and Our Lady of Hope in Whitehall. "That's certainly not the truth. Young people have a lot of spirituality."

She said that "Getting to the Heart of It," her course at Spring Enrichment in June, will ask, "What is the connecting factor between spirituality and religion, and how do we tap into" the spiritual desire "they have in their hearts right now and bring it around to their faith?"

Connections

It's important for Church ministers to offer a wide variety of faith experiences to teens in order to open up different avenues of living out a Catholic faith, Ms. Smith said. Some teens respond better to service, while others are more prayer-oriented.

"We need to talk to teens about why it is important to go to Mass regularly," she said, and address "how that is also a part of spirituality; how it's not just between you and God, but between you, God and the community.

"A lot of young people may think of themselves as spiritual but not religious because they have a lot of questions about what the Catholic faith teaches."

Example

One of the youth minister's methods of helping teens to make that connection is to be a faithful example herself. Teens respond to role models who live out the values that they preach in their everyday lives.

"You can't fool them," Ms. Smith said. "They know if it's in your heart or not. When they see that it's in your heart, they respond to that."

Another method is simply getting to know the teens better, she added. A lot of the important part of ministering to youth is to answer questions they have about their faith.

"A lot of times, we need to be not talking at them, but listening to what they are saying and responding to that," she explained. "I'm not going to know what the other person is thinking or in their heart until I get to know them, have a conversation with them, and find out what they are thinking."

(5/12/05)