Our Lady of Guadalupe Youth Group Re-organizes
By Eleanora Bazile, Youth Minister
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The vision for the Youth Ministry of Our Lady of Guadalupe is to have young people who are engaged and called by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel and sacraments to full partnership in the community of the Catholic faith by allowing them to express their faith through activities focusing on their spiritual and social development while encouraging them to nurture their growth as people of faith through service to their community.

Our Lady of Guadalupe's Youth Group has recently re-organized and has a core group of faithful young members who are seeking to expand the group and grow its membership. The group recently participated in a half-day retreat at Notre Dame Seminary. The retreat was led by Devin Boucree, a youth minister at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church. Mr. Boucree focused on the "Principles of Youth Ministry". The young people who participated left the retreat with a renewed commitment to encourage other youth in the Parish to join the Youth Ministry at Our Lady of Guadalupe. Following the retreat, members of the Youth Group enjoyed pizza and swimming at the Seminary.

In addition to the retreat, Our Lady of Guadalupe youth have been quite busy with activities. During spring break, several members of the Youth Group traveled to Brownsville, Texas where they were hosted by Fr. Michael Amesse, a former pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe. While in Brownsville, the group visited a nursing home and prayed the rosary with the residents of the nursing home. They also met other young people from two other youth groups in Texas. They exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses and shared memories that will last a life time.

On Saturday, June 19th, our young people provided lunch at the St. Jude Community Center for about 130 homeless men and women. They served them chili dogs, chips, soda and cake. They have agreed to provide lunch at St. Jude on the 3rd Saturday of each month during the summer.

The group has also been very busy with fund-raising. They have sold religious artifacts after Mass, held bake sales, and raffled off Mother's Day and Father's Day baskets in addition to participating in the Church's "Super Sale".

The Youth Group hosted the annual Easter Egg Hunt for the younger children this past Easter Sunday.

The Youth Ministry at Our Lady of Guadalupe is already gearing up for a number of activities that focus on their commitment to developing holistic life skills through spirituality, social and service oriented projects. Three of the members of the Youth Group will be undergoing training to become Eucharistic Ministers. The Group will be visiting St. Margaret's Nursing Home and will be raffling off a Back to School Basket filled with school supplies. Additionally, the group is planning a visit to Blue Bayou Water Park.

Several members of the Youth Group serve as altar servers and lectors and they have expressed an interest in having a Youth Mass once per month that will be totally led by the Youth Ministry.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Youth Ministry is alive, engaged and glad to be in the service! For more information on joining Our Lady of Guadalupe's Youth Ministry, contact us at 504-525-1551.