Local youth pray during the Mass for Diocesan Youth Day, 2016, at St. Ann Church in Kaneohe. Parishes around the diocese are exploring ways to better engage Catholic youth in parish life, vocations and spiritual growth as part of the comprehensive youth ministry requirement for the Original Order transition. HCH file photo | Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz
By Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz
Hawaii Catholic Herald
When Bishop Larry Silva announced in 2015 that the Diocese of Honolulu would embark on the “Original Order” sacramental initiative, one of the biggest concerns pondered by parishioners, parents, ministry leaders and catechists was how the shift to administering Confirmation to young children would affect faith formation for Island teens.
Local tradition for most Hawaii parishes has been that keiki are baptized in infancy then prepared for first reconciliation and Communion around age 7. Religious education classes would continue until young Catholics entered high school. Teens would then be prepared for Confirmation with a two-year program of catechesis, community service, activities and retreats culminating in receiving the sacrament.
Many questions arose as the bishop proposed to change this sacramental timeline. Original Order would take Confirmation out of youth ministry — would doing so leave a void afterward in teens’ parish involvement? How would parishes provide support for the pivotal time Island youths face in their high school years? What are some best practices for keeping young Catholics consistently connected to the faith.
As part of the Original Order transition, Hawaii parishes are required to implement “comprehensive youth ministry.” According to diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry director Lisa Gomes, sacramental prep “is one ‘thing’ under the umbrella of youth ministry;” there is so much more that Island parishes can do even when Confirmation is no longer the anchor for its youth programs.
“Comprehensive youth ministry is one where youth are empowered to live as true disciples of Christ,” Gomes said, “where youth are welcomed and invited into participation in the life, mission, and work of our faith communities, and where we are authentically concerned about our young people and walk with them on this journey of faith.”
Gomes shared her insights about comprehensive youth ministry with the Hawaii Catholic Herald Jan. 18. She also offered local youth ministry leaders a chance to discuss how comprehensive youth ministry is taking shape at their parishes. The Original Order initiative, they all said, gives the entire community a fresh invitation to bear new fruits in the faith of the diocese’s youths.
‘Renewing the Vision’
“Youth ministry takes place in a number of places — in the family, in the parish, in our Catholic schools, and in peer groups,” Gomes said. “In each of these areas, we’ll have to be creative in our planning if we want to keep young people engaged in parish life, but also in meaningful conversations of faith.”
Guiding the process is “Renewing the Vision: A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry,” a document written by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1997.
“Renewing the Vision” outlines three major goals, seven key themes and eight necessary components for a ministry to effectively address the needs of young Catholics.
“Too many communities do not provide the economic, social service and human development infrastructure necessary for promoting strong families and positive adolescent development,” the U.S. bishops noted. “These new challenges can point to new opportunities for ministry.”
The three goals of comprehensive youth ministries are:
- To empower young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today.
- To draw young people to responsible participation in the life, mission and work of the Catholic faith community.
- To foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person.
Empowering Catholic youth to live out their faith, the U.S bishops said, involves partnerships between youth ministries and diocesan vocations programs for discernment, as well as solid catechesis for youths to apply Catholic values and teachings to daily situations and decisions.
Drawing youth into the faith community emphasizes healthy relationship-building, communication skills, and developing “a spirit of commitment” to parish and Catholic school activities.
Fostering holistic growth, the U.S. bishops explained, means addressing obstacles young Catholics face such as poverty, racial discrimination, social injustice and the influence of secular media.
“Renewing the Vision” states that comprehensive youth ministry is underscored by seven themes.
Effective youth ministry must be age appropriate, family friendly, intergenerational, multicultural, employ community-wide collaboration, supported by coordinators and teams with strong leadership, and creative with “flexible and adaptable programming” based on ever-changing societal needs.
The eight components of a comprehensive youth ministry are: advocacy, catechesis, community life, evangelization, justice and service, leadership development, pastoral care, and prayer and worship.
“The comprehensive approach is not a single program or recipe for ministry,” the U.S. bishops said.
“Families, parishes and schools cannot work in isolation if the Church is to realize its goals.”
Island progress Comprehensive youth ministry in Hawaii has been approached in many innovative ways.
Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry director Gomes said she has spent much time consulting with and training pastors and youth ministry leaders.
“One challenge has been transitioning our middle school religious education into youth ministry,” she noted. “The other is helping leaders of high school youth programs, primarily preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation, understand what comprehensive youth ministry is, and isn’t.”
Marie Ho of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Honokaa on the Big Island reported that the parish has a newly formed youth ministry as part of their efforts to implement Bishop Silva’s diocesan pastoral plan, “Stewards of the Gospel.” She said they are working with religious education teachers “to incorporate more youth into our parish activities,” including a monthly “Youth Mass” organized by young parishioners.
She advises other parishes who are embarking on comprehensive youth ministry to “find leaders who are creative and patient. And enthusiastic too.”
At St. Michael Church in Kailua- Kona, Rick and Amy Fellner said that they have experienced a drastic increase in the number of youth Confirmation candidates for 2018.
“We went from six youth who were confirmed last year to over 50 to be confirmed this year,” they noted in an email.
Their youth ministry gatherings feature food, singing and praying, catechetical instruction, small group discussion, retreats, vocation discernment and seasonal community service opportunities such as visiting the elderly on Valentine’s Day.
“One of the reasons for the increase in the number of youth, we believe, is because the youth themselves are evangelizing other youth at their schools, telling them that they are doing fun things while learning,” the Fellners said. “Kindness and recognition are a huge thing.”
At St. Damien of Molokai Church in Kaunakakai, Rose Brito said the transition to comprehensive youth ministry was “not difficult since we already had an active, ongoing youth ministry in place.”
Parental involvement, however, is a hardship, with families on the Friendly Isle facing economic challenges.
On Oahu, Jonahlynn Sabado from Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Honolulu said their youth ministry meets twice a month in small groups. They cover topics such as Mariology, the saints, scripture and team-building. They also hang out for movie or game nights and participate in service projects.
“The youth were still eager and happy to continually meet postconfirmation,” Sabado said. “They continue to express interest to know, love and serve God.”
At St. Anthony Church in Kailua, Nikki DeWitt reported that their youth ministry “requires an integrated school and parish effort.”
To keep everyone on the same page, they regularly talk to parents after Mass and have included parent/family surveys in the parish bulletin.
“I believe we are better positioned to welcome young people into parish ministry,” she said.
Laurie Muñoz at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Pearl City said one of the biggest challenges has been “changing the mindset of parents and youth, that Confirmation is not the end of faith formation.”
They’ve created a middle school ministry by separating youth in grades 6-8 from elementary religious education. They moved high school ministry to Sunday evenings.
A multifaceted communications network with in-person meetings, after-Mass announcements, meet-and-greet sessions with volunteers, and continuous updates through the parish website and social media has formed the parish as a “united front” to approach youth ministry goals.
“The bond of our school and parish is stronger,” Muñoz said.
