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Featured Article: A New Dawn For Haiti - Catastrophe struck the nation of Haiti on January 12, 2010. Scientifically classified as an earthquake, the residents, global aid workers, and others interpreted it as the end of the world. Already without too many resources, proper living conditions, the citizen's despair was overwhelming. News reports of men, women, and children dashing through the streets, scattering in groups among collapsed buildings and dilapidated homes and businesses became rampant. As the remainder of the world looked on in fright, it was difficult to understand a fraction of the terror those in Haiti were feeling. 
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 Black Catholic Young Adults

It's Time to Walk the Walk

Black Catholic Youth & Young Adult Articles

Youth Article Index

Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist: Two Sacred Sacraments and Blessed Acts

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Youth Article Index

It's Time to Walk the Walk ~ Ansel Augustine

"To all of you, dear young people, who hunger and thirst for truth, the Church offers herself as a traveling companion. She offers the eternal Gospel message and entrusts you with an exalting apostolic task: to be the protagonists of the new evangelization." This quote is from Pope John Paul II was said at World Youth Day in 1993 in Vatican City. In it he was addressing youth and young adults from around the world, and he offered the Church as a traveling companion to help them on their journey of faith.

But has the church really been a qualified traveling companion for our youth?

Many times we talk about the importance of having young people involved in our parishes, but many of us don't know what to do when we get them there. For many of our parishes (not all of them) our youth ministries are just having young people come to mass and set up and clean up after events. Many of our parishes youth ministers have had little to no training on what youth ministry really is, thus it just becomes "glorified babysitting." Many youth ministries are operating out of the same model that was used generations ago and do not have the participation of most of the youth in the parish/community. Another problem that many of us face is that after Confirmation is done, the youth disappear.

Most of the youth ministers I talk to always complain about parents not taking church seriously, or that the youth are too busy to be active, but just as our Pope John Paul II stated, "…the Church offers herself as a traveling companion." This means we must be prepared for the journey.

I'm not here to just complain, but offer a solution. Over the past few years I have been given the opportunity to be a part of a wonderful organization, The National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM). This is the Bishop's Conference (USCCB) arm for youth ministry for this country. The mission statement for NFCYM states, "The mission of the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry is to serve those who serve the young Catholic Church." As skeptical as I was when I went to my first meeting, this does include us as Black Catholics. The NFCYM has many resources to help us, as youth ministers (and those who work with them), to help us to improve our youth ministry programs. The NFCYM offers two main conferences. The first occurs in odd numbered years and is the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) which the largest nationally sponsored gathering of Catholic teenagers in the U.S. with over 22,000 participants in Kansas City, MO this past November. The second, which occurs in even numbered years, is the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry (NCCYM). This conference gathers diocesan and parish youth ministers to learn, network, pray and celebrate our profession. The next one will take place in December 2010 in New Orleans. It is important we get our people there so that we can be a part of the "national conversation" about youth ministry so that the Black Catholic perspective is shared. NFCYM offers many other programs, resources, and services that many youth ministers, pastors, DRE's, etc. can benefit from. They can all be found at their website, www.nfcym.org.

When I was asked to write this article, I immediately contacted Dr. Robert McCarty who serves as the executive director of NFCYM. He said that NFCYM is "committed to bringing everyone who touches the lives of Catholic young people to the same table." And this commitment shows in NFCYM's efforts to reach out to various groups, including our own.

Comment on Youth Articles in the forum

But now it is time for us to respond! I know many of us are tired of bringing our youth to gatherings that have nothing that our youth can relate to (ie the music, speakers, environment, etc.) But it is our job as youth ministry leaders to "fight the good fight" and help them to realize the gifts of our community. Yes there will be times we will be faced with ignorance or opposition, but always remember that the work that we do is not about us, but about what Christ does through us. Never forget what our ancestors and elders had to endure for us to be here, and it is our responsibility to make the future better for those coming after us. The first step is to get in touch with the Office of Youth Ministry (or the office that is responsible for youth ministry) in your diocese. Let them know that the Black Catholic church is here, even if you may be the only church in your diocese with any Black Catholic presence. Try to find out what training programs are offered and GO!! Take the time out and pay the money to get the training that that our young people deserve. No one is supposed to be superman/woman that is why a team model is better so that you can divide up the trainings. Second, get the USCCB document "Renewing the Vision" which lays out the plan for youth ministry in our country. Third, plan to get our adults to NCCYM in December 2010 in New Orleans and our youth to NCYC in November 2011 in Indianapolis. The more visible we are on the national level, the more we can help to shape the conferences to be increasingly relevant to our youth and adults that attend. Plan and start budgeting now to get as many people to these events as possible.

I remember after Congress X, many of us that were working in youth ministry were excited and wondering, "What's next?" We had hundreds of youth from around the country in Buffalo. They were excited about their faith. Many of them came from areas that did not have a strong Black Catholic presence, so they were energized to see other Black Catholics. We had a great opportunity, but it fell through due to lack of follow through with the adults. It is very important for us to truly develop a vision and mission for our young church that connects with the larger church so that we can truly be "the traveling companions" that our young people need because if we don't do it, they will "travel" in other circles. I know the work that we do is not easy. We are always fighting adults, youth, ourselves, the church, etc., but I would like to conclude with the statement that I always tell my youth ministers and those that I have the blessing of teaching at Xavier University of Louisiana, "I am truly elated that you are here today because our young people deserve the best."

Ansel Augustine is the Coordinator of Black Youth & Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He was a presenter at Congress X. He is the At-Large representative to the membership of NFCYM from Region V, and he is on the faculty for the Institute of Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana. He can be reached through his website www.holyhotboy.com.

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