Sunday Morning Children Faith Formation Needs Volunteers!
We are still in desperate need of volunteers for our Children’s Faith Formation. As of right now, we have no one to teach Kindergarten, so we will not be able to have a Kindergarten class, unless at least one person steps up. Also, Grades 3, 5, 6, and the RCIA/1st Communion Class for 3-6th graders need at least one more catechist or adult aide in those classes. Each classroom requires 2 adults, so if I don’t have two adults in those classes, parents will have to sign up to sit/help in the class during the year. You can volunteer to be a teacher or more of an aide type position. I know many people are little apprehensive about helping in class. Once you get in there, you’ll see it is not so hard. I have teacher guides which lay out how to teach the information. Most of my adult aides start teaching lessons eventually. With 2 adults in a class, you can alternate teaching lessons, so you are not responsible every week. This is a safety requirement set forth by the Diocese and is meant to keep our children safe. Safety Protocol info: Classes will be a mix of in person and video-chat (for those who cannot attend in person). Children will be socially distance in the classroom, temperatures will be taken upon entry, masks will be required for 10 and up, and hand sanitizer/hand washing will be required. Please contact Evelyn Cedrun with questions or to volunteer! [email protected] or (719) 219-2704
Youth Ministry Program Volunteer Opportunities!
I am very excited to begin preparing for our upcoming year of Confirmation and Lifeteen, and am honored and thrilled to have this opportunity to serve the youth here at St. Paul’s! But the truth is that, no matter the hours, effort, and prayer that I may pour in, I simply can’t do it by myself. The reality is that we have many, many teens at our parish, and only one youth minister—praise be to God, I am badly outnumbered!
That’s where you come in.
This is an invitation to respond to your baptismal call to share the Gospel with all peoples—a mission personally given by Christ not to priests and youth ministers, but to all His children! The middle and high schoolers of St. Paul need true models of faithfulness, of trust in God, and of obedience to His Church. They need you!
This is a relational ministry. Volunteers are called to engage the youth and invest in their lives, to bring their unique talents and perspectives to the ministry, to walk with me in planning so that we can facilitate the youths’ encounter with Christ in the most effective way possible, and above all, to be an authentic witness of the faith—to lead by example in seeking Christ, and to share their relationship with Him and experience with the teens in a meaningful way.
You do not have to be a theologian, a Saint, or a trained Catechist; you do not need to be a particular age or have a particular personality. What you do need to have is an openness to the Holy Spirit, a genuine relationship with Christ which you are committed to growing in, and a true desire to help our youth to do the same. God will provide the grace, we will provide the training*—all you need to provide is a love for our youth and a dedication to responding to God’s call to make disciples by helping them to grow closer to Him! The only requirement is that you are called by God, and have a desire to help lead teens into personal, intimate relationship with Christ. It’s as simple as that!
I am not asking anything of you if God is not asking it of you. Not everyone is called to this ministry, and Christ may be inviting you to serve Him in different ways. But the truth is that some of you—and I truly believe many of you!—are being called by the Lord to be His hands and feet at St. Paul’s in reflecting His love to our middle school and high school students. So what I’m asking you to do is to take this to prayer—to intentionally sit down with the Lord and earnestly implore Him to reveal to you whether He is calling you to serve as a volunteer with our Confirmation or LifeTeen programs.
If you have any questions, would like any additional information, or want to discuss the possibility of your response to God’s call in supporting this ministry, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me! Know that I am praying for all of you, for St. Paul’s youth, and for your prayerful discernment. May God bless and guide you.
“It is a taxing mission, today more than ever, to teach men the truth about themselves, about their end, their destiny, and to show faithful souls the unspeakable riches of the love of Christ. Do not be afraid of the radicalness of His demands, because Jesus, who loved us first, is prepared to give Himself to you, as well as asking of you. If He asks much of you, it is because He knows you can give much.”
-Pope Saint John Paul II
*Please contact me ASAP to find out more!
-Amanda Pinterpe, Youth Minister ([email protected])