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Article_First they have to feel it

Feature News | Tuesday, February 02, 2016

First they have to feel it

Youth specialist offers new ministry ideas at workshop

Frank Mercadante addresses youth ministers during a training workshop at the Pastoral Center.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Frank Mercadante addresses youth ministers during a training workshop at the Pastoral Center.

MIAMI SHORES | Catholics, here is your quarry: children, teens and young adults in your parish, maybe your household. They're generally conformist, good-natured and comfortable around adults. And they want to belong to something.

One more thing: Without big changes soon, many will exit the church doors and never return.

Such was the blend of promise and warning at "Ready for Generation Z," a workshop on youth ministry. Frank Mercadante, the workshop leader, spoke in terms both of crisis and opportunity — crisis in Catholic numbers, opportunity for reaching the young.

Annabel Sanchez, left, of Prince of Peace Parish, discusses a topic with those at her table, from left: Michael Sanchez, Prince of Peace, Gustavo Mejia, St. Joseph, and Rafael Mendez, Prince of Peace.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Annabel Sanchez, left, of Prince of Peace Parish, discusses a topic with those at her table, from left: Michael Sanchez, Prince of Peace, Gustavo Mejia, St. Joseph, and Rafael Mendez, Prince of Peace.

Stenia Accilieu, a youth minister from St. James Church in North Miami, asks a question during the workshop.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Stenia Accilieu, a youth minister from St. James Church in North Miami, asks a question during the workshop.

Archdiocesan youth ministers listen to Frank Mercadante during the workshop.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Archdiocesan youth ministers listen to Frank Mercadante during the workshop.

Rosemarie Banich, director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the archdiocese, records parts of the workshop on her cell phone.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Rosemarie Banich, director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the archdiocese, records parts of the workshop on her cell phone.

"Often as Catholics, the Great Commission is the Great Omission," he said, drawing chuckles from the 40 gathered at the archdiocesan Pastoral Center Jan. 16. "But every one of us, as baptized Catholics, are called to do it."

Sobering stats

The main purpose of youth ministry is evangelization, said Mercadante, director of Cultivation Ministries in St. Charles, Ill. — adding that yes, evangelization is a Catholic thing. He cited quotes of several popes on the need, including the "New Evangelization" emphasis of Benedict XVI.

That emphasis, of course, is not reflected in most Church life, Mercadante said, offering sobering stats from various studies:

  • Roughly half of all Catholic teens lose their Catholic identity by their late 20s.
  • The average age of a Catholic convert is 65.
  • The median age of a Catholic is 49 and rising -- an increase of four years since 2007.
  • For every person who enters the Church, six leave, an increase of five persons since 2007.
  • About 13 percent of all Americans are former Catholics — and 70 percent left before turning 24.
  • Only 18 percent of all Catholics 18-29 years old, known demographically as Millennials, attend Mass weekly — the lowest-ever rate of that age range.

"This is a serious crisis," Mercadante said. "If McDonald's had statistics like these, they'd change their menu."

How they're different

What's happening is a "general flux," Mercadante said, applying "Generation Theory" — that people born in one generation tend to share interests, beliefs and values.

Generation X, people born between 1961 and 1981, were raised on TV, where they took in programmed entertainment. Concerts, rallies and drama got them to church, and they responded to fliers and mass announcements.

Generation Y, born between 1982 and 2002, are the best-educated generation and the first to grow up under the digital revolution, Mercadante noted. They leap from link to link online, chatting, tweeting, visiting websites, viewing videos.

"Millennials have so much coming at them," Mercadante said. "So we can't be an event-oriented church. They’ll come to an event only if someone they know will be there."

Features of Generation Z, born after 2005, won't become clear for some years, he said. But scholars believe they’ll resemble the so-called "Silent Generation," who lived during the Great Depression and World War II: hardworking, conformist, risk-averse, hoping to make the world better. They and Millennials also value personal relationships.

Church by choice

Perhaps most crucially, younger Catholics attend church only because they choose to do so, Mercadante said. Not because they're born into Catholic families, or because it was the "right" thing to do.

"Previous generations found meaning in their commitments. Younger generations commit only when they find meaning,” he said. “The program era is over. It's relationships, accompaniment, community, that will draw them."

During a discussion break, many participants agreed on the challenge of reaching a different generation.

"I minister to people in their late teens, a time when they question a lot of things about the faith," said Dominque Rojas of St. Matthew Parish, Hallandale Beach. "You have to cope with that, and ask yourself the same questions. You need a strong faith."

But Luz Bird of St. Maurice at Resurrection Church, Dania Beach, confessed that the Church's emphasis on the New Evangelization "puts me off. I've been doing catechism for more than 60 years. The truth of the faith doesn't change."

Part of parish life

Mercadante did offer some ideas on how to proceed. One was to integrate youths into the life of the whole parish. Rather than track the youths into separate activities, parish leaders should simply assign roles —  such as ushering, altar service or Eucharistic ministry — to whomever can fill them.

Such an approach achieves several things, he said. It builds skills in the youths. It gives them a chance to serve. It embeds them into community life. It develops relationships with adult members. It teaches them spiritual practices like prayer and solitude. And it lets them see how people put beliefs into practice.

He also said churches should do more to reach parents. Since Millennials are closer to adults, they can be drawn as the parents are drawn, Mercadante suggested.

He acknowledged that such methods are different from the past, when teaching always preceded commitment. But that approach doesn't work with people who value relationships first.

"Younger people have to feel it; then it will start to make sense," he said. "They're calling the Church to be the Church, not just a set of ideals. They want an incarnational, enfleshed Christianity.

"If we look like Jesus in community, we're going to win this generation."

'Give us a reason'

After the workshop, attendees said it was time well spent.

"It was very accurate about millennials like myself," said Nicolas Villegas, 17, of Little Flower in Hollywood. "The big question we ask is, 'Why do we want to go to church? Give us a reason to care.' "

Villegas, who has helped with catechism for children at Little Flower, said younger Catholics want a chance for "hands-on service, where you can see the effect of your work."

Joanne Lambert said the workshop helped confirm the approach taken at her parish, St. Lawrence in North Miami Beach. She said the church is holding adult classes in a bid to engage older members.

"It takes a village to raise a child," Lambert said. "And when you raise a child in a Catholic village, he'll see the consistency in Catholic values."

At the end of the workshop, Rosemarie Banich, director of the archdiocesan Office of Youth and Young Adults, announced plans for two other youth-oriented events.

  • "Pastoral Care for Kids in Crisis" will be led by Deacon John Clarke, a former law enforcement officer and mixed martial arts fighter. That event is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 27.
  • The other event is a Youth Ministry Team Bootcamp, with intensive training from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 12. Topics will include forming an effective team, identifying areas of need and using the bishops' plan for youth ministry.

Both sessions will be held at the Pastoral Center, 9401 Biscayne Blvd., Miami Shores. For info, write Banich at [email protected] or call 305-762-1189.

Maria Elena Murdoch, right, director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Miami, talks to Siulin Kang, from Little Flower Church, Coral Gables, as others at the table listen.

Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

Maria Elena Murdoch, right, director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Miami, talks to Siulin Kang, from Little Flower Church, Coral Gables, as others at the table listen.


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