Participants in a recent AGAPE retreat gather for a photo. (Courtesy Geri and Al Simbahon)
By Celia K. Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The AGAPE Youth and Young Adult Ministry has been active so long, its participants now include the grandchildren of some of its earliest members.
AGAPE — “Almighty God and People Encounter” — was established at St. Joseph Church in Waipahu 35 years ago, and it continues to be a vibrant ministry that serves all ages and contributes to many aspects of parish life.
Geri and Al Simbahon are the married founders of AGAPE. In 1987, the couple established the ministry with the blessing of La Salette Father Alphonse “Larry” Larochelle, then the pastor of St. Joseph.
The Simbahons, who jointly responded to emailed questions from the Hawaii Catholic Herald, said the ministry’s name was inspired by the Greek word for God’s unconditional love, “agape,” and was also an effort to distinguish itself from other groups that include the term in their names.
AGAPE is far from the only youth and young adult ministry in the diocese, but it is one of the few that is homegrown.
“The AGAPE Ministry was developed with a local approach for our island youths and their faith journey,” the Simbahons said.
“Our goal has been and is to see our young people and their families become bonded in their faith and become good stewards of Jesus Christ in a very positive way,” they said.
Another aim is to connect young people with God’s calling, “which also means to be involved in their parish as well as the local community,” the Simbahons said.
In that light, AGAPE members participate in many other ministries at St. Joseph, such as the faith formation program, Sunday and children’s liturgies, OCIA and the Parish Outreach Food Program.
Retreats — which are the calling card of youth and young adult ministries and how they gain and retain members — are held regularly. The Simbahons said AGAPE has been invited to hold retreats and workshops on other Hawaiian islands and in the Marianas, on Saipan, Rota and Guam.
The ministry sponsors activities for members as well as friends, family members and people who might be interested in joining — including sports, praise and worship sessions, choir and band. AGAPE’s planning committee comprises teens and young adults active in the ministry, while older adults volunteer as instructors, mentors and leaders.
Two seminarians from Hawaii, Preston-Jay Castro and Edgar Pobre, are members of AGAPE and St. Joseph parishioners. Both are students at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California; Castro’s diaconate ordination is scheduled for Dec. 14.
Castro and Pobre offer examples of the impact that AGAPE and other youth and young adult ministries have on members: No matter where a person ends up, he or she will always have the support of the ministry and friends made there.
“We have experienced generations, where a good number of our youth and teens are children of our older ministry members,” the Simbahons said. “There are also a few grandchildren.”
Because the Simbahons have helmed AGAPE for several decades, they have seen how society and people have changed as the years go by.
“There are social and moral challenges that we all experience intermittently throughout the years,” they said. “We are very fortunate to be among the age gaps here at St. Joseph where we can find understanding in each generation and bring (them) all together to worship under one roof and one God.”
The Simbahons said that AGAPE has also given them a way to remain grounded in their walk with Christ. They are longtime St. Joseph parishioners who, in addition to leading the parish’s youth and young adult ministry (Al), also work in religious education (Geri is the director of St. Joseph’s program).
AGAPE has been “a blessing and a great way to collaborate in giving the young people of our parish community the best possible Christ-centered journey, which continues to bless their families and homes as well.”
When asked how long they would lead AGAPE, the Simbahons said simply, “It’s all in God’s hands.”
“We will continue to share Christ’s ‘agape’ if it’s what he calls us to do,” they said.
The Simbahons added that they are grateful that the ministry “does have a future with young leaders to carry on the AGAPE Youth and Young Adult Ministry’s mission (and) work.”
“Our youth are not just the future of the church; they are the church today as well.”
