Being part of a community is a necessary component of our spiritual lives. The need for community is even more important for our youth, who seek answers to their questions and look for like-minded friends. Here at St. Monica, our youth have the incredible opportunity to find community, learn about the faith and have fun, all in our Youth Ministry program.
Gara Schommer helps out with the Youth Ministry program in our parish.
“I know how important my faith life is to me now and how important it was to me when I was in high school,” she says. “After COVID, I noticed during a few Mass times that I didn’t see many youth attending. I felt the call to assist with the youth meetings at this time.”
Gara enjoys helping out with the ministry and seeing the youth connect with one another.
“I know that even in the awkward moments with bonding, they are reaching out of their comfort zones and being part of a community,” she says.
The Youth Ministry usually meets on the first, third, and fourth Sunday of each month at 6:00 p.m. with schedules arranged around school vacations and Parish events. Check the parish website for the current schedule. The group is open to any high school students seeking to grow in their relationship with God and with one another. The ministry consists of three elements — fun, faith, and service.
“We seek to integrate all three of these areas into youth group gatherings and activities,” Gara says. “We create space in all of our meetings to welcome Christ into our lives by praying at each opening and closing.”
In January, a new room was created in the Parish Youth Center building— Gara says they haven’t used it much, but she looks forward to using it more in the coming new school year.
“The students helped with ideas and we have some artwork that they created,” Gara says. “It will be nice for them to have a place that they can personalize and feel safe. We have added a TV, bean bag chairs, free weights, a foosball table, and bringing back in the ping pong table. Hopefully soon we will bring in a gaming system of some sort.”
Students from several different schools now attend the youth group and the group is open to all high school students. eRegistration is on the parish website, and more information can be found in the parish bulletin.
For more information, or to register, www.stmonicaindy.org/formation.