"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.
 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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