Youth Ministry Standards & Needs

Didn't summer just start, and now we are about three weeks from the beginning of the school year? How did that happen already? Enjoy these last few weeks and I hope you are looking forward to the start of an amazing new year in Youth Ministry. Whether you have been a member for years, or are just attending  your first meeting, we want you to know that you are welcome here! I want to fill you in on a few important things in Youth Ministry, and I apologize for this lengthy email. Many of you are new, and we want to just review some information with you. 

Have you ever squeezed too much toothpaste out of a tube of toothpaste, and then tried to put it back into the tube? Impossible right? That is the same thing that happens when hurtful or unkind words are said or done to someone else. Youth Ministry is a safe place to be, and we want to keep it that way. We will NOT tolerate any forms of bullying. If we do not hear something that is said to you, or see something that is done to you, we ask that you please tell any adult in the room immediately! Please let us know so that we can address the situation. Even comments that  you may not think are hurtful, like "you are so annoying" (and yes, it counts if you say that to a sibling too) or "I don't want to be on your team" and so on, can be hurtful. And we know there are words that are far worse than this. As we have said many times, ALL are welcome here! Parents, please be sure to share this with your teens and have this discussion with them.

Parent volunteers are welcome AND NEEDED at every meeting. Our group size is large and growing every day. We really need the extra set of hands to help serve pizza, set up dessert, scoop ice cream, "judge a competition" etc!  We understand that teens don't always like their parents present, but you won't be working together with your teen, so please consider signing up to help at any and all meetings.  We really can not do it without your help. Please note that to help, you do need to be Virtus trained for the safety of all our children. The training is online and can be done at your convenience, and does not take very long to complete. If you are not sure if you need Virtus training, please let me know and we can check our list.

We ask that you please sign up for every program using the link provided in the weekly newsletter, the church bulletin, or on any of our parish websites. This helps tremendously with our preparation and planning, and of course, if your teen wants to invite a friend to join them, they are welcome at any meeting at any time, just be sure to sign them up too. This is especially important as our group continues to grow. We need to know how much pizza to order, how many supplies we need for a certain service project or game, prizes, how many marshmallows we need for our bonfire evenings, how many chaperones we will need, and so on. Please make every effort to sign your teen up in advance for any meeting/program using the links provided.