Who can claim…

• City where Dr. Pepper was introduced at the 1904 World Fair?
• Largest collection of mosaic art in their Cathedral Basilica?
• First kindergarten in the world?
• Nation’s tallest manmade monument measuring 630 feet?
• Resource and Renewal Series?

All of these great claim-to-fames can be found in the city of Saint Louis, Missouri. I recently talked to Liz Buncher at the Office of Youth Ministry and learned about some wonderful programs they offer to their diocesan youth ministers. The Gateway Arch of their office is always open and ready to help youth ministers rejuvenate not only their ministry but themselves as well.

The diocese has over 200 parishes with about 75 youth ministers—some volunteer or part-time but the majority are fulltime staff members. Many different approaches are used to try to meet the needs of the variety of youth ministry workers.

Resource and Renewal

A relatively new program, Resource and Renewal, is held in the evenings each month at the downtown offices. The program offers a variety of topics including managing volunteers, balancing work and home, ask a priest, and community-building exercises. Each presentation, often given by community experts, is concluded with prayer time. While trying to cater to the professional and spiritual needs of youth ministers, the office encourages youth ministers to bring their ministry to Christ with an adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the end of each evening.

REAP

A Catholic Youth Retreat Ministry, REAP (Retreat Evangelization And Prayer) is a group of adults and teens who are chosen and trained to present the Gospel to area teens. They use drama, storytelling, music, games and humor to convey the message of Jesus Christ and to touch the hearts of young people. The team has been doing retreats for over 15 years and has presented around 1400 retreats. The group travels the area with a vast repertoire of topics, and a small fee is charged to help cover the retreat costs. This group is consists primarily of volunteers.

Freshman

Help is available for new youth ministers with this group that is held monthly. New youth ministers gather to learn and share with each other – their successes and ugh, failures. Special topics chosen to help the learners include getting to know you ideas, goal setting, and recruiting volunteers. Each session ends with the group attending Mass together.

Technology

The Office of Youth Ministry in Saint Louis is a with-it group with loads of new tech ideas implemented on their website. {This is why I chose them for this column!} Check out their site to see:

• E-Man: an email newsletter for youth ministers, young adults, parents, and grandparents with a comprehensive calendar, important news, and details.
• Catholic Blogs: Inspirational stories, notes, and comments by area leaders.
  Pod casts: high tech stuff where you can download media files (like on your MP) and listen to broadcasts, music, and more.
• Job Opportunity postings
• Links to sites such as Young Catholic Musicians, Steubenville, March for Life, and Project Service.

Grab your Dr. Pepper and check out their site for yourself, www.stlyouth.org, to see what else is going on in Saint Louis. I even found a link to Disciples with Microphones…

What is your diocese doing for youth ministers? Do you have a professional diocesan organization? Contact Kelly to see your group highlighted and Share Your Bread With the Hungry.