“Circle
of Hope” (COH) is the name of the St. Raphael High School Youth group. All
teens, 9th grade and up are encouraged and invited to come to any
meeting. “COH” meets weekly during the school year to offer teens a chance to
pray together, play together and just be together. They have fun times
and laugh together, and they have an opportunity to share their faith,
prayers, stories and their lives with each other. Teens should consider the following questions: Do you have questions
about the faith? Are there Catholic teachings that you struggle with? Do you
know what the church teachings are about contemporary issues and do you
understand them? Are you looking for ways to deepen your faith? Do you want
to evangelize? Serve others? Do you like to have fun? Do you like to laugh?
If they can say yes to any of those questions, then they need to check
out “CIRCLE OF HOPE” youth group.
It
is a great opportunity to learn how to respond to tough faith and social
issues as a young Catholic in today’s world! Meetings are held most Monday
evenings during the school year from 7PM-9PM in “Hope Haven” (the youth room,
located in the basement of the Parish Center). Sometimes weekly meetings do
not always work with everyone’s schedule that is why there are several other
opportunities to get involved throughout the year. A few examples of the many
different events offered in the past are parent-teen dinners, Christmas
parties, movie nights, LOCK-In, bible study, picnics, attending “Rainbow” in
Detroit, Youth Masses, Marching in the Annual Garden City Parade, summer trip
to “Cross in the Woods” and the annual Spring Retreat. Any “COH” event is
open to ALL high school teens, whether or not they attend youth group on a
regular basis. Friends are always welcome and they do not have to be Catholic
to attend.WHAT IS ANGELS OF FAITH?
“Angels
of Faith” is the name of the youth group for 7th and 8th
graders. At St. Raphael parish, some of the middle school teens go to one of
the public middle schools in the area and others attend school right here at
St. Raphael School. However, here we have one parish with which there is one
community of believers. “AOF” is a chance for 7th and 8th
graders to connect to others their age in the parish and to have fun and learn
how to keep the faith in everyday life. Meetings are held once a month during
the school year, plus there are other fun events offered like MOVIE nights,
Sleep in the church, Scavenger hunts, Open gym and other parties.WE ARE CALLED TO SERVE…
“Circle of Hope” (COH) and “Angels of Faith” (AOF) are certainly a great way to be part of a community of teenage believers. Here at St. Raphael, we also encourage teens to reach out and serve others. That is why there are several opportunities throughout the year for both groups to join together in service. Some of the projects that have been done in the past are the Rake and Run, running games at the St. Raphael Festival, serving at St. Leo’s Soup kitchen, Free babysitting for parishioners, collecting money for the homeless, St. Vincent DePaul Clothing drive and boxing canned goods for the “Thanksgiving” baskets.
****Please continue to check the St. Raphael weekly bulletin for updates, events and service projects****
Mrs. Julie Ryan is St. Raphael’s Coordinator of Youth Ministry. Her hometown parish of St. Andrew in Saline, MI gave her a great foundation in this field. She began her training in youth ministry as a junior in high school when she attended the Diocesan Youth Leadership Camp (DYLC) in Lansing. She served on the teen leadership team until she graduated from high school. From September 1999-May 2003, she worked as a Youth Minister’s Assistant at St. Andrew to help lead the high school youth group, help teach confirmation, and to head the 7th and 8th grade youth group. While working there, she obtained a basic certification in Youth Ministry in the Diocese of Lansing.
Shortly after Julie and her husband moved to Westland in 2004, she
began volunteering with the high school youth group at St. Raphael. In July
of 2005, she was hired as St. Raphael’s Coordinator of Youth Ministries.
Julie is a Level I Coordinator of Youth Ministry in the Archdiocese of
Detroit. She is currently sharpening her skills and knowledge by attending
classes at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
Upcoming Events:
April 2009:
4 “AOF” Mtg. from 7PM-9PM in Hope Haven: The
A.R.K.!
5 Passion Play practice from 3:00-4:30PM in the church
6 “COH” Mtg. from 7PM-9PM in Hope Haven: Stations for our lives…
10 Passion Play dress rehearsal-10AM
Passion Play
at 12:00(noon)
13 No COH-HAPPY EASTER!
20 “COH” Mtg. from 7PM-9PM in Hope Haven: "Persuit of Happyness"
26 Timothy Awards at St. Edith
27 Confirmation at 7:00PM
(no COH)
Photo
Archive
Circle
of Hope Spring 2009 Retreat (Requires Windows Media Player)
Circle
of Hope Spring 2008 Retreat (Requires Windows Media Player)
Cross
In The Woods
