By Penni Cannova
From the palpable joy of the priest holding a beautiful baby aloft above the baptismal font to the hushed expectance of the Easter vigil, we as a church find renewal and pour our passions into our parish. But, we as Christians well know that for the moments of heightened awareness, also experience many moments of waiting. We wait to feel God’s presence again, to feel or discern the way forward.
Our youth, and those who love and support them, are in a bit of waiting period. Our Connect Youth Ministries, under the leadership of David Heimann, with the support of Father Jim and our priests, completely flourished in reaching the hearts and lives of our teens. You have hopefully witnessed or read in the Harvester how our teens found solace and comfort during times of struggle with Christ through their group meetings and classes.
David recently left our parish, after discerning that his personal path forward meant taking a different position closer to his home. He will remain active in the next Kairos and Confirmation retreats.
Our parish now looks to the future for its next leader and a search is underway. Meanwhile, supportive lay leaders have stepped up to carry the program forward. The kids, grateful for this leadership, still focus on the growth and stability that will come with the next Director of Connect Youth Ministries.
One member of Youth Advisory Council said that YAC is talking about working on different aspects of youth life: retreat and events. They still meet monthly; John Valene, who has been very active and instrumental in youth ministry, led their meeting last month. Another teen, active in Youth Ministries also, said that David’s departure has given them a big challenge to fulfill. She spoke of each year bringing the youth new challenges; last year, they moved into a new space and made that their new home.
She said the youth feel a bit lost, with attendance going down at certain meetings and classes recently. She yearns for more youth attendance in this interim time, to keep the momentum gained moving forward.