The Ministry of Liturgy with Adolescents FOR AGES UNENDING The Ministry of Liturgy with Adolescents

What is this document? Collaborative effort between the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) and the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions (FDLC) Partly a follow up to the 1997 NFCYM document From Age to Age: The Challenge of Worship with Adolescents Not intended as an exhaustive document, but rather as a conversation starter among “pastors, liturgists, liturgy committee members, leaders in music ministry, and youth ministry leaders.”

So, where do we begin? Sacrosanctum Concilium, Pope Paul VI, Dec. 4, 1963 “This sacred Council has several aims in view: it desires to impart an ever increasing vigor to the Christian life of the faithful; to adapt more suitable to the needs of our own times those institutions which are subject to change; to foster whatever can promote union among all who believe in Christ; to strengthen whatever can help to call the whole of mankind into the household of the Church. The Council therefor sees particularly cogent reasons for undertaking the reform and promotion of the liturgy.” (SC 1) The Problem Where are the young people?

So where are they? Why don’t we see more young people involved in our parish ministries? In a meeting with active young adults: No sense of feeling welcomed No sense of feeling appreciated NOBODY ASKED!!! No intentional outreach to the next generation

How do we change this? First and Foremost, HOSPITALITY! Our parishes need to be churches and communities where not only the young, but all people feel welcome. Start small Find opportunities for young people to get involved Greeters Handing out bulletins Let them be seen as active members of the community

Build them up Liturgical Preparation Reach out to those who you see are talented in various ways and ask them to get involved as a lector, cantor, musician Once you get them interested, help to form them Lectors workshops Music ensembles Give them the tools they need to become active members of the community

Use Them! Liturgical Participation You’ve got them interested and prepared, now put them to work! Scheduling can be tricky, work with them Put them in the rotation, but try to be flexible If you have people that are particularly talented in an area, use them to help train others Have a musician? Maybe this is the opportunity to mix it up a bit! Work with music ministers to incorporate new pieces highlighting this young persons talents

Speaking of Music “Liturgy with youth, not for youth” “Would service within the liturgical assembly not be a viable and admirable method of spreading the faith, both by word and deed, as true witnesses of Christ?” (FAU 32) Rather than separating the youth from the assembly with a “Youth Mass”, make them part of the assembly! They have just as much to offer as older members of the community. It’s time to move away from the Seven Last Words “We Have Always Done It This Way!”

Active participation fosters authentic vocations! Incorporating young people into the liturgy builds authentic discipleship and “Liturgical Living” We are training our youth to be active, vibrant Catholics who are being sent out into the world All of your hard work allows them to be beacons of hope in their college communities By forming our young people today, we’re planting the seeds for their growth into active Catholic adults who live their faith