Ways For Adults To Get Involved

NEW CLUSTER WEBSITE

We are transition to a page on the cluster website. After June 2014 this site will no longer be maintained.

Ways For Adults
To Get Involved

Get on Colleen's Email Distribution Lists

The best way to know the upcoming opportunities is to get on the community helpers email distribution list. Send an email to ColleenTrevYM@gmail.com

Community Helpers at Teen Time

Interested in helping out at Teen Time Gatherings? A very important part of our gatherings is passing on the faith of the community. I can't do that. I'm not the community! They need a constant rotation of community members willing to spend some time with them, showing them with action the value the community places on its faith. We need you!! Get a flyer with all the information you need to become a community helper.

Complete The Permission and Health Form

Every youth who participates in a Youth Ministry-sponsored event must have a Participation Permission and Medical Release Form on file. This includes events on church grounds, such as Teen Time or Lock-ins, and events off church grounds, such as service opportunities or field trips. Print the Participation Permission and Medical Release Form, complete it and send with your child to Teen Time or mail to your parish.

St. Mary's Mass Youth Ministry

Interested in spending one-on-one time talking to your parish's youth? Assisting them while they babysit at Mass is a great opportunity for parents to get a chance to talk to other youth in the parish, be a resource for them, and enjoy the process!! Get a flyer telling you how to get involved in St. Mary's babysitting ministry during the Sunday morning Mass. ----If there is interest in restarting this ministry - please let me know.

St. Mary's In His Footsteps Youth Ministry

In His Footsteps, St. Mary's year-round faith formation program for elementary-age children and their families, needs child care for the younger kids so parents can participate. St. Mary's high school youth will be providing this, which creates a wonderful opportunity for an adult to partner with them. The once per month session is from 11:30 AM till 1:00 PM. Support the youth by providing companionship and support while they babysit. Trust me, the "Youth Ministry" will naturally flow from that. ----If interested contact Colleen.

Offer Youth Rides

The parishes do not arrange rides for youth to attend youth ministry events because if the youth minister arranges car pooling, all drivers must be diocesan approved. Therefore, it is up to individual parents to arrange car pooling for their child.

But you can help!! For every event your child attends, ask your child to see who needs a ride and offer that youth a ride! Talk to to other parents ahead of time and discuss car pooling opportunities. Every event has youth who miss it for lack of a ride. Ask your child to let their friends know to call and ask! Together, we can create a community where youth expect that more than just their own parents want them to attend parish events!! The simple act of offering rides and asking who needs one conveys that the life of the community, in Christ's name, is one that extends beyond our own family boundaries.

Manage the Bottle Collection Fund Raiser

The Youth Ministry bottle collection fundraiser is managed by parents, one at each parish for a six month interval. Don't underestimate the value of bottle collection!! For fifteen hundred years, the faith of the Christ was handed on without much access to a Bible. A simple act of kindness or a kind word spoken on behalf of Christ models the Christian life. In order to model it, we need to be present in the lives of our youth.

The volunteer coordinator's responsibilities are to advertise bottle collection to parishioners, set the sort date, organize the youth as they sort, and arrange pick up. If you're interested, Alana will send you detailed instructions with all the steps explained and the contact information for reaching people. It's easy, and it's fun!

Participate in CASE Training

The Diocese of Rochester has a training program required for volunteers who work with youth at our churches. I wholeheartedly agree with this training. By our willing cooperation in it, we dis-empower those who seek access to youth to exploit them. It is not the policy that protects youth; it is our willing cooperation.

Policy 2.8-1 reads:

Volunteers who work with children, youth, or vulnerable adults are required to sign a Diocese of Rochester Volunteer Code of Conduct, complete the Criminal Record Check process and participate in Creating a Safe Environment training.

All volunteers must participate in a renewal of training as determined by the Diocese of Rochester.

Who needs training?

Volunteers who attend youth activities.
Volunteers who provide youth ministry through shared activities, such as babysitting.

To help keep the financial impact to the parishes down, please register for CASE training in a timely matter, so that we do not face choosing between expensive, personal training or no volunteer! You may receive your training at your own parish or any other parish in the diocese. To schedule your training, contact Alana. She will schedule you and send you information regarding what to bring to the training.