Ministry Apprenticeship

Beginning with the 2017/2018 school year, we are introducing a new way to help our young people grow in their faith and connect with the parish through what we are calling the  “Ministry Apprenticeship”.  The “apprentices” are asked to participate in a ministry of the parish during the year with a “mentor”. The mentors will be responsible for training the apprentice as well as communication and scheduling.  Not only will the young people learn about a specific ministry, each person will have additional contacts in the community to help them in their spiritual and personal growth.

Goals for Ministry Apprenticeship
“If the parish proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be ‘the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughter’.” Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium # 28
  • Create a heart for service within our youth: The youth come out of this experience with a love for serving others not only within our parish walls but also beyond in our community.
  • Learn what it means to practice our Faith:  The youth gain a deeper understanding of their Catholic faith and what it means to truly practice and share our love for Christ. 
  • Understand the importance of coming and participating in weekly Mass:  Mass is more meaningful if we open ourselves up and participate fully.  We want our youth to feel welcomed and valued when attending Mass.
  • Be visible to the parish:  We want our parish to see the unique qualities of our youth.  To experience their kindness, understanding, wisdom and love.
  • Foster relationships: Lay the ground work for a mentoring relationship between our ministry leaders/parish “veterans” and the young people of our parish.

The Specifics
“Even if it is not always easy to approach young people, progress has been made in two areas: the awareness that the entire community is called to evangelize and educate the young, and the urgent need for the young to exercise greater leadership.” (EG #106)
  • This would be part of the regular high school CRE program for freshmen and sophomores.
  • Sometime during their freshman or sophomore year, each young person would pick a ministry they are already involved in or want to learn more about and commit to at least five hours during the year to that service, including training time.
  • Because this is the first year we are launching this, sophomores who have completed their retreat requirement are exempt from participating in this program. Sophomores who still need to complete a retreat requirement have the option to participate in a retreat or the Ministry Apprenticeship program before their Junior year.
  • The teen is responsible for tracking his or her hours and submitting a final reflection to the Youth Ministry office. The ministry leaders will sign off on the form when hours are completed.
  • Options for the Ministry Apprenticeship include things such as: servers, ushers, lectors, choir, instrumentalists, summer CRE aids, Human Concerns and others. More details on the various ministries are described below or are available here.
  • You may sign up for whichever ministry you are interested in based on your schedule and availability at the time of year that works best for you and the ministry mentor. But do not wait too long! (We cannot have everyone trying to usher the same weekend in June!) To begin your apprenticeship, complete the interest form here and someone will contact shortly.
  • If you already participate in a parish ministry such as an altar server or in the choir, you will just need to complete a short reflection and have someone in the ministry (Deacon Tom Surges, or Mr. Tim Handle for example) sign off. The reflection sheets are available here.