Youth, young adults rely on Partners

By Bill Doyle | CFP Correspondent 

Connecting with others has been challenging during the pandemic, but the Worcester Diocese Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry continues to try to make it happen. 

The ministry conducts events and programs for middle school students, high school students and young adults, and provides resources, support and training for youth ministers and youth leaders in parishes. Because of the pandemic, most programs have been conducted remotely, but they have been well received. 

“A lot of it’s trying to offer opportunities for youth to be plugged into their faith in a really difficult time,” said Timothy Messenger, the ministry’s director, “and try to bring as much community as we can, which is tough virtually. We’ve had a couple of in-person things and, this summer, having more in-person stuff will help.” 

A lot of young people depend on the ministry, and Mr. Messenger said his office wouldn’t exist without financial support from Partners in Charity. He said Partners in Charity pays for everything from staff, to a Kahoot! App used for Zoom meetings, to gift card prizes for virtual events, to training for youth ministers, to sports equipment and officials. 

“One of the things that gets lost in all of this,” Mr. Messenger said, “is a sense of purpose and identity when you’re thrown off your routine and not sure when that routine is going to come back, and if it will ever come back the same as it was.” 

The ministry tries to assure the youth and young adults that routine will return. 

“I think faith has to be a central part of that,” Mr. Messenger said. “That’s the goal of our faith – to understand our purpose and meaning and how our relationship with God can steer us toward that purpose and meaning. That’s been, as much as it can be, the focus of a lot of our events in a lot of different ways.” 

The pandemic forced the ministry to conduct most programs virtually, including middle school Bible study and the Trivia & Theology apologetics series for high school youth, both of which are held monthly. 

The ministry does hold a monthly in-person praise, worship and adoration night for young adults at Our Lady of Providence Parish. The high school basketball league was canceled by the pandemic, but Mr. Messenger said the outdoor volleyball league for high schoolers is planned to be held this summer as usual, using the facilities at St. Christopher Church in Worcester and St. Joseph Church in Charlton. 

The ministry’s athletic director left at the start of the pandemic and hasn’t been replaced yet.  

A high ropes and zip line trip is planned for late June and a whitewater rafting trip is scheduled for August, both for middle and high schoolers.  

Mr. Messenger said prior to the pandemic, 400-500 high school students would attend a rally each fall and 100 middle schoolers would attend a rally each spring. During the pandemic, no virtual event has drawn that many students, but Mr. Messenger believes he’s reached about the same number by holding more smaller events. 

During the pandemic, the Theology on Tap events for young adults couldn’t be held at the Compass Tavern, but Mr. Messenger said he saw more faces and names when they were held virtually. 

“Our in-person praise and worship nights have actually grown,” Mr. Messenger said, “because, when we restarted, those people were ready to get out of their houses and do something in person.” 

About 25-30 people attend those events, he said. 

The ministry usually holds three main in-person confirmation retreats each year, but this year conducted a virtual two-hour retreat in March in which more than 100 youths took part. The only in-person, socially distanced confirmation retreat was May 8 at the Holy Spirit Chapel of Annunciation Parish in Gardner and all spots were filled. 

The ministry is also heavily involved in Scouting and many of those programs have been held virtually. 

Most young people had to adjust quickly to learning remotely at school, so taking part in a virtual youth ministry wasn’t foreign to them. 

Mr. Messenger remembers having to explain how Zoom worked for the first five to seven minutes of the initial virtual Theology on Tap gathering in late March of 2020.  

“Once the fall hit, whether it was youth or young adult things, everyone had it pretty much under control,” he said. “I would say for the most part, it’s been pretty easy.” 

Gloria Josephs interacts with the diocesan office as a parish youth minister, and she sees the need to engage young people. She has served at St. Luke the Evangelist Church in Westborough for 15 years. She’s overseen confirmations, retreats and faith formation classes, and helped youths conduct BBQs, Christmas parties for the residents of the adjacent Bridge of Central Massachusetts group home, prepare Veterans Day breakfasts for seniors, and hold fundraising walks and pasta suppers to benefit an orphanage and hospital in Haiti. About 150 youths volunteer each year to travel to Appalachia to conduct home repairs. 

“We’re all passing through this life together,” Mrs. Josephs said. “In one form or another, we’re all different, but we’re very much the same. We need each other. We need to show compassion and kindness.” 

Because of COVID, St. Luke’s is holding its youth group meetings and faith formation classes virtually. The pandemic cancelled the Veterans Day breakfast last year, but the youths were able to rake leaves for local seniors for no charge as they do each November. 

“I round up about 30 kids and we rake all day,” Mrs. Josephs said. 

The Appalachia trips this year and last were also called off, but St. Luke’s youth ministry plans to conduct outside repairs or painting for anyone in need in the community. 

“Youth should be recognized and funded,” Mrs. Josephs said, “because they are at the church right now and we need to keep them there. Because when ‘the gray hairs’ are all dead and gone, who is going to be in church? We really need to engage our young people. It’s super critical.”