Holy Family New Albany

Welcome to the home of the Holy Family Youth and Young Adult Ministry!

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Hi, my name is Rose Lehman and I am the Coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at Holy Family Parish.  I have been at  Holy Family for the past 10 years, having spent 4 of those years as Parish Secretary and the last nearly 6 years in my current ministry.  I truly believe in the goodness of our youth and that all of us are youth ministers!  The most important ministry that we can give to our youth is the gift of being fully present to them.  This is what I try to do!

What is Youth and Young Adult Ministry? 

The Youth and Young Adult Ministry at Holy Family is centered around the eight components of youth ministry as laid out by the United States Conference of Catholic Biships in their publication Renewing the Vision, A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry.  Those eight components include the ministries of Advocacy, Catechesis, Community Life, Evangelization, Justice and Service, Leadership Development, Pastoral Care, and Prayer and Worship.  Each summer our Youth Commission and T.H.A.T. (The Holy Activities Team) attend a retreat to bond as a team and to brainstorm ideas for youth programs for the year.  The Commission and leadership team then meet once a month to plan and facilitate these programs for the youth of the parish.  The youth work in committees with the adults and share the responsibilities and duties for each program assigned to them.  In the Spring, applications are accepted for new members to join the youth team and adults are invited to share their gifts by serving on the Commission.  If you are interested in learning more about these very important and rewarding ministries and about serving the youth of our community, please call the parish office.  All youth of the parish in grades 8 through 12 are invited to be a part of the team, and adults of any age are an asset to the Commission.

The following information attempts to explain each component and gives a partial list of programs offered to and for our youth in order to provide a complete youth program.

Advocacy

The ministry of Advocacy affirms and protects the sanctity of life, stands with and speaks on behalf of young people, empowers young people by giving them a voice, and creates partnerships to develop a shared vision and strategies for building a healthy community.  Our program provides opportunities for youth and young adults to be a voice for young people through our Youth Commission and T.H.A.T. Our Parish Website speaks to the community about the many works of our youth.  The annual Pro-Life March for Life Youth Rally in Washington DC allows our high school students and young adults to voice their opinion about the abortion issue to the United States Supreme Court and the country.  The National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) held every other year in various cities around the country brings our parish youth together with more than 20,000 other youth from across the country to be the voice of the young Catholic Church!

Catechesis

The ministry of Catechesis recognizes that faith development is a lifelong process, teaches core content of the Catholic faith, integrates knowledge of the Catholic faith with the development of practical skills for living that faith in today’s world, involves group participation, promotes family faith development and explicitly invites young people to explore the possibiligy of a personal call to ministry.  Our program offers youth a variety of opportunities for faith formation.  Middle high and senior high youth are invited to join us for Faith Formation classes on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 – 8:00 pm.  Confirmation preparation classes for sophomores through seniors begin in October and culminate in the celebration of the sacrament in March or April.  Young adults are invited join Brother Bob Baxter, a Conventual Franciscan from Mount Saint Francis, on Monday’s at the  Hob Knobb Coffee Shop to discuss the Sunday scripture readings.  All ages are invited to join us for Cross Training which provides training for youth in the ministries of the Eucharist to integrate them more fully into the celebration.  Our parish and deanery Retreats provide additional opportunities for youth to learn and grow in their faith.  The One Bread One Cup Liturgical Training week at St. Meinrad teaches our youth all areas of the Mass and encourages participation in the planning of the Liturgy.

Community Life

The ministry of Community Life builds an environment of love, support, appreciation for diversity, and judicious acceptance that models Catholic principles; develops meaningful relationships; and nurtures Catholic faith.  Opportunities to build community with middle school students in our parish include Teen Scream Dances, an Hawaiian Luau, Ice Skating, and our Summer Daze Service Program.  Senior high youth are offered Ski Trips, Spook Run, Kings Island Trip, Archdiocesan Youth Rally and the National Catholic Youth Conference to be part of the larger Catholic community.  These are just a few of the programs that provide our youth with a sense of community.

Evangelization

The ministry of Evangelization incorporates the essential elements of witness, outreach, proclamation, invitation, conversion and discipleship.  It invites young people into a deeper relationship with the Lord and empowers them to live as His disciples.  The responsibility for this ministry falls to all of us to be a presence in the life of our youth to help them on their journey of faith.  Our programs at Holy Family include the mailing of brochures and flyers to youth to make them aware of what is offered; personal invitations from youth and adults; lunch visits by the youth minister to the local high schools; college visits to keep that faith contact with our young adults and mass attendance with our middle school students.

Justice and Service

Our faith calls us to work for justice; to serve those in need; to pursue peace; and to defend the life, dignity, and rights of all our sisters and brothers.  Programs offered for our youth include March for Life Youth Rally, 24 Hour Food Fast/Shantytown, Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen, Salvation Army Bell Ringing, In Heaven’s Eyes, St. Vincent de Paul, Ding Dong Ditch and Run (3DR) Nativity Delivery, Baby Bottles for Life, Summer Daze Service, Mission Trips and Faith In Action Home Mission Week.

Leadership Development

The ministry of Leadership empowers all young people for ministry with their peers – in schools, parishes and civic communities – by affirming their gifts, equipping them with specific skills for leadership and ministry, and by placing them in leadership roles.  Our parish, deanery and archdiocese offer many opportunities for leadership development in our youth.  Some of those opportunities include serving on the parish youth leadership team (T.H.A.T.); on the commision as youth representatives; on the deanery and/or archdiocesan youth leadership teams; as retreat leaders with an annual training day; attendance at One Bread One Cup Liturgical Training Conference; Cross Training and Youth Ministered Masses; as Peer Leaders and through our annual planning retreat.

Pastoral Care

The ministry of Pastoral Care is a compassionate presence in imitation of Jesus’ care of people.  It promotes positive development by caring for adolescents and families; providing guidance for life decisions and challenging systems that are obstacles.  Pastoral Care is most fundamentally a relationship – a ministry of compassionate presence.  The most important aspect of this ministry for our youth program is letting the youth know we care and that we are there for them.  In return, we give them opportunities to care for others through Nursing Home Visits, Cards and Letters to Shut-Ins, Cookie Runs to parishioners and secret delivery of Nativity Sets to elderly parishioners.

Prayer and Worship

The ministry of Prayer and Worship incorporates young people more fully into the sacramental life of the Church and nurtures the personal prayer life of young people.  Opportunities include Youth Ministered Masses, Retreats, NCYC, Youth Rallies, Silhouette Stations of the Cross and Prayer at every youth event.