Junior youth group strengthens younger kids' faith

While many kids have busier schedules than adults, young people at Holy Family parish in Albany squeeze in one more activity: a monthly meeting of the parish's junior youth group.

"'Junior' means 'young.' A plain old youth group is for older kids," explained member Therese Giordano, a fifth-grader at Guilderland Elementary School.

Therese and about nine others, 10-13, get together to watch movies about the life of Christ and events in the Bible, and to get to know one another and God.

Making a difference

The group was started a year ago by a woman at Holy Family who turned over the reins to Maeve Smith. She is spending a year at Holy Family as a LAMP (Lay Apostolic Ministries with the Poor) missionary.

Mrs. Smith said she was eager to continue the junior youth group because her own youth group experiences in high school "made a huge difference" in her faith.

Besides, she said, "the focus of LAMP ministries is to evangelize."

Across cultures

Last year, the group spent a lot of time on "icebreaker" activities, since many members hadn't met before. Holy Family is a multicultural parish, and the junior youth group includes Spanish- and English-speaking children.

Mrs. Smith, who leads prayers in both languages, noted that although all the members speak English, prayers may be more easily recited in one's native language.

That's okay with Therese: "I kind of know Spanish a little bit," she reported. "I can follow along."

For Emely Fabian, a sixth-grader at Thomas O'Brien Academy of Science and Technology in Albany, Spanish comes naturally: Her father, Miguel Fabian, is the parish's deacon and serves its Hispanic population.

Learn about God

Emely, 11, describes the group as "learning more about God and what He's done for us."

"It's really fun," said 10-year-old Therese. "What we normally do is learn about God and Jesus; and while we're doing that, we eat something."

At one meeting, the group dyed Easter eggs as they talked about new life in Christ; at another, they watched a movie about the crucifixion.

The kids also held a Mother's and Father's Day luncheon in May as an effort to make families feel a part of the group, since Holy Family focuses on whole-parish catechesis in its "Generations of Faith" faith-formation program.

Kids and Christ

Mrs. Smith said, "I want them to develop a relationship with Jesus, to talk to Him. I also worry about their morality and values. I wasn't taught about Catholic morality very well growing up. I want [faith] to be a real stronghold for them."

To that end, the group is planning a retreat for the kids and their parents in January.

Until then, Emely is happy enough with the junior youth group's usual activities, noting: "It's about God, and I like learning about God."

Fun and prayer

Therese enjoyed a recent movie about Jesus' healing a centurion's daughter. She told The Evangelist that not only did it present the miracle in a way she hadn't understood when she heard the Gospel at Mass, but it also was done with claymation figures, so she got to learn more about that animation technique.

Basically, she said, kids in the group "sit and pray. It's not as complicated as other youth groups. [But] it seems very fun, and it's very exciting."

(Read a previous story on Maeve Smith at www.evangelist.org by searching for, "Woman's LAMP-light brightening parish.")

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