ESPIRITUS Youth Group

Youth group meets Wednesday evenings from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. in Our Lady of Hope school gym. Our time is spent in learning about faith and important issues in the lives of teens, but also growing closer to God through experiences of faith and prayer. Some of the topics for the year can be found on the back page.

The group welcomes anyone and everyone, striving to be a community where the love of Christ is lived. Much of what we do is focused on helping youth build relationships with other faithful teens and adults. Towards that end, we have a trained and committed group of adult volunteers and student peer ministers. We also have time for community building activities, and time just for teens to chill out.

Social

Social events are important both to form a community and also purely to have fun. And we have fun in abundance! Some of our past activities:

We also participate in activities sponsored through the Diocese, such as the Teen Rally and Kings Dominion trip. Its always good times with us!

Retreats

Our high school weekend retreat (February 10-12) gives teens the opportunity to go deeper in their relationship with Christ through the Sacraments and an experience of close Christian community. We also run a Lenten reflection day, a shorter experience designed to engage the teens in walking with Christ. As our ministry grows, more opportunities will be offered.

Service

In order to live our call to love and serve others, and because we see the face of Christ in those in need, we have served by writing letters to our troops, visiting a homeless shelter, etc. This year, we will serve those in need close to home, through Falcon’s Landing, by working with mentally challenged in Sterling, and volunteering at a soup kitchen in DC.

The most intense service experience is the  Diocesan WorkCamp. There our teens join with others from across the Diocese, forming friendships and building community while spending a week in June repairing and renovating homes for those less fortunate in southern Virginia.

Funding

We need support for our activities, and we get it by fundraising. Past ideas have been: a car wash, yard work for hire and Mother’s Day flower sale.

Volunteer Ministers

Our ministry is entirely dependant on volunteers. Their relationships with teens form the basis of our ministry, providing fertile soil for the rest of our endeavors. Their efforts make possible our meetings, trips and events, and without their ideas, our ministry would soon be stale. If you feel a call to help minister to our youth, please contact Ed at the number on the back page.