Many of you have seen me wearing the very big “Audio-Visual Hat” throughout the pandemic. However, I am pleased to be able to once again dust off my “Youth Minister Hat” as we return to in-person Youth Group starting September 12th.
Youth Group (Grades 6th – 12th) 2:30 – 4:00 PM Youth Center Basement
Youth Group is one of the access points into our wider community. Students are busier, overbooked, and often dealing with quite of bit of anxiety. Youth Group is a soft place to land at the end of the week and a great way to begin a new week. It is a place to be refreshed, a place to share experiences and feelings, and most of all it is a place that welcomes all students, no matter who they are or where they are on their spiritual journey.
Youth Group structure changes depending on the Sunday, but typically we have:
Group Check In: we talk about the “Highs and Lows” of the week and share our experiences.
Wacky Game: It’s not Youth Group without a fun game! It gets students out of their comfort zones – safely– and builds community.
Opportunities for Prayer, Worship and Silence: Part of what makes Youth Group tick is giving students space to pray, engage in worship, but most importantly, have an opportunity for silence. So much of our world is loud so this space for silence and spiritual contemplation is vital to student spiritual growth.
Projects: Another part of Youth Group is to empower students to engage in their communities and learn how they can change the world around them for the better. To that end, we have a number of projects that we do to empower students to do this. Stayed tuned for more on these projects!
Volunteers: We need Youth Group volunteers! Part of the work of a Youth Group is that junior high and high school students have opportunities to interact with people of all ages. We need adults who may have an insight on how a student might be feeling or who can give advice on a particular subject. I am looking for any adult that (21+) that would be interested in giving a couple hours a week to help with Youth Group. Please contact me (Gabe) at GabeVR@COSEpiscopal.org or (626) 230-2297.
I am blessed with this wonderful work, and it is a joy to work with our students every week!