MUNSTER – The best way to get something done is to begin. That maxim, universal enough to be credited to “anonymous,” is the common belief of a few resolute volunteers looking to launch a youth group for high schoolers at a large church.
At St. Thomas More’s Monsignor Robert B. Weis Center, two young adults and one senior citizen gathered to discuss topics prior to a come-and-see meeting hosted at the parish’s activity hub. The volunteers brought video resources to spur thought, and tacos and soft drinks to satisfy hunger of the teens to whom they look to minister.
“Teens seem to be left out,” said Bernadine Barrett, Munster resident. “If you look in parish bulletins and the different ministries … It's like a desert. And we wonder why they don’t come back.
“I think it is important to have something, so if they want to, they can partake. It’s always there and that makes a big difference in how you view something,” she added.
Joining the spry 80-year-old were 35-year-old Veronica Fuertes, a mother of two young girls, who is expecting in June, and 25-year-old John Zamora, a hospital technician, who moved back home to help care for his ailing mother. They are the leadership core that hopes the new Teens Gather In Fellowship (T.G.I.F.) will get off the ground.
The concerned Catholics gather facing a strong headwind of various sociological and psychological dynamics that have developed in recent decades which show that teens, who carry around far more computing power in their smartphones than that aboard Apollo spacecraft that landed on the moon, yet are increasing isolated, anxious and lack meaningful connectedness with peers and adults, according to recent studies by IBX Insight.
Today’s teens spend an average of four hours and 15 minutes on social media, according to the Business of Apps, and their attention span has slipped below that of goldfish – by one second, clocking in at eight seconds, due to what Time Magazine reports as “the effects of an increasingly digitized lifestyle on the brain.”
Fuertes and Zamora know from experience that youth ministry in the Catholic Church is not evenly available for the 24% of American youth who identify as Catholic (Pew Research). Through the decades, St. Thomas More has hosted youth groups, some led by parent-volunteers and others by priests.
Prior to the pandemic, the Munster parish had redeveloped a youth group, under the leadership of an associate pastor. After his re-assignment and with the restrictiveness of pandemic protocols, a teen club had effectively been shelved.
So, with the blessing of Father Michael Yadron, pastor, the small group of volunteers have begun to meet to turn sentiments and talk into action for T.G.I.F.
“I’ve always wanted to volunteer more. I was very thankful that my family was very strict growing up, so I never swayed in those teenage years,” said Fuertes, who practiced the faith during college, attending Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas New Center for Catholic Students at Purdue University in West Lafayette.
Fuertes said despite her busyness as a mom and tax professional, she just had to become a part of the nascent effort to forge a sustainable connection between the 3,000-family church and its many teens.
“I’m (volunteering) also for my sake, so I can learn, so that when my children become teenagers, I’m prepared.”
Zamora was at the door of the Weis Center on Jan. 12 to welcome teens. There he greeted 13-year-old Ezekiel Gelbolingo, a Munster High School freshman.
Zamora wishes to be a good example to young people, knowing that he was impacted profoundly by the faith of his grandmother, who recently passed away. He teared up when he mentioned the cross that she gave to him during her last days.
“I’m praying more and since that was my grandma’s (emphasis), this is like me paying homage to her,” he said, “to ensure that someone keeps the faith alive in our family – and to not forget to give back, to volunteer."
Barrett, who is an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist and lector at St. Thomas More, spoke with Ezekiel, letting him know that a taco stand was up and running in the main hall. She also told him they were set to view and discuss a video in which Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota, discussed the relationship between faith and science.
When she moved to Munster about 30 years ago, Barrett said she was in a spiritual wilderness, a disconnect that started when she attended a public high school and did not have many options for Catholic fellowship in her young adult years. A friendly invitation from a neighbor and hospitable greetings at Mass had her returning regularly to “St. Tom’s.”
Fascinated by the topic of the compatibility of faith and science, Gelbolingo shared a more personal account of his journey.
“My parents and I decided that it was a good idea to try this out,” said Gelbolingo, who heard a T.G.I.F. announcement at church. “I would like to have companions in the Christian faith.”
An initial logistical issue, followed by wintry weather conditions may have been contributing factors in low attendance at early monthly meetings, where only a couple of visitors checked into the T.G.I.F sessions. Barrett is optimistic that the creation of flyers, testimonies read after Mass, posts on parish social media outlets and the most statistically most effective outreach – the personal invitation – will help draw teens to meetings that emphasize real human interaction and friendship-making potential.
A goal articulated at the recent meeting concerned expanding the ministry to junior high school youngsters once the program for senior high school teens has taken root. Gelbolingo answered those great expectations with prayerful wishes.
“I wish good luck to all who are trying to start these programs and hope that they may succeed,” the teen said.
That’s an order the T.G.I.F. crew hopes to be satisfied. In a lighter moment, they wished to distinguish themselves from the restaurant chain as they hope teens, “Come for the food, stay for the faith.”
For more information about Teens Gather In Fellowship, call (219) 781-1608.
Caption: Volunteers John Zamora (left), Bernadine Barrett (center), and Veronica Fuerte (right) gather at the Monsignor Robert B. Weis Center during a Teens Gather In Fellowship (T.G.I.F.) meeting on the campus of St. Thomas More in Munster on Jan. 13. The coordinators of the youth group are hoping to get the club for high schoolers off the ground and establish a sustainable ministry. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)