Youth Ministry

Terese of Ávila 
by François Gérard

One of our favorite prayers is from St. Therese of Ávila :

Christ has no body now but yours;
No hands, no feet on earth, but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
He looks with compassion on this world;
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good;
Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Through our Youth Ministry Program, teens come together to form friendships and build a strong Christian community.  We offer many opportunities for service in our church and community. We strive to put our faith into action.

Don't miss a thing! Sign up to receive all notifications of service opportunities, events, and meetings, here: Youth Group

For more information, or if you wish to join our Youth Ministry, please contact
Debbi Ziegler at  [email protected]
 

(Dates will be planned throughout the year.)

Every other Month on Fridays, 4:30pm 
Worcester, MA

St. Luke's Youth Group has been asked to help serve dinner at the Mustard Seed. 
As you may be aware, St. Luke Parish provides meals once per month to The Mustard Seed on Piedmont Street in Worcester. Parish volunteers cook batches of chicken, rice, veggies, and desserts; then deliver the hot food to the home of Sue and Joe Black. The Blacks load up their truck and bring the meals to the Mustard Seed to serve to the community's hungry.

This is a great way to give service to our community! You can cook or help serve dinner.
Keep an eye open for the next sign-up.
 

Brendan McGrath

Being a part of youth ministry was a big part of my life during high school. Youth ministry helped me discover new experiences that I learned to love, service, and also allowed me to do things I already knew I was interested in, such as hanging out with friends at a monthly youth group meeting. While being a part of youth ministry gave me lots of service I did with my friends, I was also able to meet lots of new people along the way. For example, my freshman year I went on a service retreat with around 10 kids and a few adults to go washing windows. While some of those kids I was friends with before, I found that everyone was talking to each other and having a good time. Through that experience I learned that serving others can be fun and decided that it is something I want to continue to do throughout my life.

Also during my high school years I was a catechist for religious education. A friend and I instructed a class of third graders. This was an experience I’ll never forget, as I was able to share my experiences with younger kids. As a child going through the program I had always hoped to have a younger teacher and I hope I was able to make some of their Sunday mornings meaningful and fun for them to learn about our faith.

Overall, youth ministry has been an experience that was able to give me certain experiences that I never would’ve had otherwise.

Dylan Connors
 
Youth Ministry to me was more than a source of community service, it was a family. The first time I met the wonderful group of people making up the Youth Ministry, was when I was a little freshman during the freshman retreat. Little did I know I was going to embark on a journey with the people that stood around me, a journey of service, faith, and kindness.

Soon after this first retreat, I found myself working hand in hand with my fellow Youth Ministry members raking leaves for the elderly around Westborough. The first lawn we were tasked with, beheld a monstrous number of leaves, but our group of dedicated service members did not flinch. I looked over my shoulder and saw an elderly man walking towards us with a tray of cookies and a jug of orange juice, and a smile as wide as ever. This was what Youth Ministry taught me, the power and the true meaning of giving back to the community. As we all stood there we all quietly came to an understanding of the power of community service and we recognized that our faith had brought us together to help members of our community. It was the Youth Ministry that had provided us with an easy way to give back to the community that had given so much to us. Leaf raking was not our only endeavor, we held wonderful Christmas parties for the Bridge where my friends and I jumped out of our comfort zone and sang for everyone there.

Youth Ministry provided me with other opportunities as well, the opportunity to mow a member of our Churches lawn. Every time I set out to mow his lawn I thank God and Youth Ministry for teaching me the importance of helping others. My entire family has been reached by the Youth Ministry. My father and I worked hand in hand during the hours of leaf raking, hours of my life I will never forget.

Working hand in hand on community service projects with your friends strengthens the bonds between us. The Youth Ministry has provided the grounds for these friendships to grow. Youth Ministry was a place through high school where I could always find God, friendships and joy, a place and a group of people that I will never forget.

Youth ministry was an incredibly important part of my life during my 4 years of high school. Upon entering my freshman year of high school Youth Ministry provided me with a place where I can express my faith, help serve others, but also stay in contact with kids who I may no longer see on a daily basis at school. During junior and senior year Youth Ministry also provided me with opportunities to be a leader in the parish community through programs like the Freshman Retreat or a night called “Pizza, Prayer, People expressing their Faith” that I began this year as a way to bring people together in a relaxed atmosphere to talk about whatever it is they need to talk about.
Youth Ministry provided me with numerous opportunities to help and serve others in the St. Luke’s community. Through programs like leaf raking, the Veteran’s Day Breakfast and so many more I was able to not only help out lots of people, I got the chance to interact and make many new friends while doing so. I often accredit Youth Ministry for playing a large role in shaping who I have become as a person. Eventually I was able to take my love for the programs at Youth Ministry and translate that to the Campus Ministry at my high school where I would end up becoming very involved with the faith life. Had it not been for Youth Ministry I never would have discovered this passion that has helped shaped me into the person that I am today.
Finally, Youth Ministry has been a place for me where I can practice and express my faith. During high school it can be very easy to get lost in the everyday shuffle of school, homework and after school activities so it was very helpful and comforting to have something like Youth Ministry there for me. In the midst of lots of craziness Youth Ministry was always a calming and reassuring presence. While I am now off to college and have graduated on from Youth Ministry I hope to continue to help out in all the ways that I can and I hope to never forget the valuable lessons it has taught me.

Keegan Ernest

St. Luke’s has been a major part of my life, ever since I was a baby. I have been going to Sunday mass at St. Luke’s for as long as I can remember; when old enough, I also went to CCD; and then my family started going to the Family Program up until I made it to 9th grade. Then that all stopped, because now it was time for the Confirmation Program, with Youth Ministry. 

Being part of Youth Group and attending all the great confirmation classes is what really cemented my faith in God and the church. Those classes were the first time I had really thought deeply about the way that Catholicism impacts our lives, the small miracles through which God addresses our problems, the several examples Jesus set for us so long ago (that are incredibly still relevant today), and the call each of us has to serve God and the world He created. I gained new insights about love and compassion, hope and compromise, sacrifice and peace. All the confirmation teachers were fantastic, and the classes stayed open and refreshingly honest―it was a real treat to go to those classes, and enter a world where life began to make a little bit more sense. The ideas we normal high school students tackled were simply profound, as if we were budding philosophers rather than just teenagers trying to make it to confirmation. But it turned out to be so much more than simply being confirmed. After every class, driving back home from the parish center, I felt so alive and enlightened. The confirmation program prepared me to think about the world as God wants us to: with determination, joy, and wonder. 

However, those thought-provoking classes were not the only benefit that came with high school church―Youth Group had a major effect on my spiritual life as well. Helping others is really the best way to bring church into the real world, so that is exactly what we did. Whether I was raking leaves or setting tables or blowing up balloons, the work I did for Youth Group felt more justified than any work done for school or money. It all just seemed so genuine, and the causes were absolutely worth the effort. When I worked for the church, I was serving God in the most direct way possible. But this Youth Group service also helped me see that we can serve God even if we aren’t doing anything with the church: whatever is done for those in need is also done for God and Jesus. Learning this truth encouraged me to help out more and do a variety of volunteer work, both religious and secular. Overall, Youth Group service made me feel so good that I grew to love service and continue to volunteer my time for God even after Youth Group has ended. 

Lastly, I was extremely affected by the weekend retreat done in the final year of the Confirmation Program. While away from the fast-paced hysteria of society, I found that I was able to focus on what was most important in life. I got to meet and befriend new people, and I grew to know them even better than I know some of my regular friends―the retreat was also a time of complete honesty. I experienced the best reconciliation I’ve ever had, since the mood was so loving and trusting. I came closer to God by simply letting myself feel His presence. And, most importantly, I found that I was able to appreciate life so much more without any stress or commotion; while I at first believed that the retreat would be boring, it turned out to be relaxing, refreshing, and even a little fun. God is not hard to find, as long as we can spare a few moments to just put aside our lives and look. 

Youth ministry has meant so much to me. It has shown me the beautiful sides of life; the completeness of God; the benefits of service; the goodness in others; and the sheer greatness of Christianity. Now that it is over, I can take all of those insights with me as I brave the unknown away from home, away from St. Luke’s. And it will be fantastic. What Youth Ministry has Meant to Me. 

Jack McLarnon 

After four years as a member of the Youth Ministry Group at Saint Luke's Church, I have grown to recognize how my faith brings me closer to the others around me through the light of God. It is this light that brought me to help others and make a difference in my community these past four years. Through events including visits to the Hope Lodge as well as to the Dismas Farm, I recognized that my sharing my faith with other people in need not only allowed me to gain confidence in my relationship with God, but also brought light to their lives and encouraged them to become closer with their own faith. By strengthening my relationship with God through becoming closer to my faith, I have grown to see and worship God as an incredible support system in my life. Doing this has brought me gratitude for my life and satisfaction in myself, even in rough and troubling times. Such recognition has motivated me to continue to help others in need and share my faith with them too, in hopes that they will find similar gratitude and satisfaction through times of struggle. 

Youth Ministry has also allowed me to grow relationships with many wonderful and loving people. It has brought me countless fun and enriching experiences that have opened my eyes to what goes on outside of my life here in Westborough. This experience has prepared me greatly for my years to come in college and soon for the years I will spend in the "real world", as some call it. I believe that my time in Youth Ministry has motivated me to continue working with a ministry in college. I cherish the moments that I spent working with the people of the ministry, and I look forward to coming back and helping out during the summer as well. Overall, Youth Ministry has made a mark in my life that has shaped who I am as an individual. I feel that I have become more approachable and welcoming, as well as gained a sense of pride in my heart to help those in need, make a difference in my community, and most importantly share my faith with others. 

Youth ministry has definitely opened the doors to some of my most favorite and meaningful high school experiences. As a young person surrounded by questioning and experimenting peers, it was often difficult to figure out where I wanted my faith fit into my life. Did I want it to be represented by the weekly ritual of mass, or did I want to grow in my faith, and let it become more a part of my every day life? While it sometimes seemed like it would be easier to follow the current and do what everyone else seemed to be doing--finding entertainment through drama, viewing the number of parties attended as currency of popularity, or comparing experiences with boys to other girls' experiences-- I decided to invite God to take me into his hands and set me on my way lead by the pull of His current. What I came to learn by submitting myself to God instead of to the social norm was that the joy and reward felt living a faithful life was so much more fulfilling. Youth ministry posed opportunities for me to work with young parishioners at Family Fun Days, spend time at summer barbecues and Christmas parties with members of The Bridge, meet other incredible youth group members making meatballs for spaghetti dinners, listen to talented performers at St. Luke's talent shows, and share my faith with fellow high schoolers as part of the 2013-14 Confirmation Retreat Team. Through these experiences I have come to better know God. Youth ministry has opened my eyes to the ways God is present in people, music, food, and discussion, and has led me to choose a life where God is part of my every day. My faith has become a very three dimensional thing for me...it is not just represented by the weekly ritual of mass, rather it is represented by the service, love, and relationships that make up every second of my life. The readings in mass aren't just stories any more because Youth ministry given me ways to apply the lessons of The Word to my active life, and has introduced me to people and experiences that have taught me about the power of faith. My high school years have not only been enriched by the experiences Youth Ministry has exposed me to, but have been guided by the mold of faith that Youth Ministry made so real for me. Gloria and Co. , please know that the work you do is invaluable and, little by little, changes the lives of young people! Thank you for everything.