Children and Teen Ministry Information for COVID-19
For the duration of the current pandemic, I will be posting some weekly thoughts here for our community, especially the parents involved in our children and teen ministries.
We will try to keep you up to date on what's happening in our ministry during this time. Please contact Kate at Kweber@buckeyecatholic.com with any thoughts or questions you might have about the new ways we are carrying out our ministry despite being able to meet up in person.
We will try to keep you up to date on what's happening in our ministry during this time. Please contact Kate at Kweber@buckeyecatholic.com with any thoughts or questions you might have about the new ways we are carrying out our ministry despite being able to meet up in person.
The Cenacle (The Last Supper) with Miss EmilyThe City of Jerusalem with Miss EmilyMiddle School Group
Middle School Group still meets on the same day, just a new location! See you on Monday evenings at 7:30 on Zoom!
This week we tried out everyone's first virtual Rosary! Prayers were offered for those suffering from COVID-19.
High School Youth Group
High School Youth Group is hanging out on Zoom on Sundays from 11:15- 12:30. Please join us! Email kweber@buckeyecatholic.com if you need an invite!
The Parable of the Leaven with Miss Emily |
Easter Season in Quarantine
Praying this Easter Season is filled with moments of great light and joy! It feels really good to rejoice about Jesus this Easter and to shout out a hope-filled “Alleluia!” Our world needs it! I have become addicted to trying to predict the future the past few weeks. I want to know when school will go back, what the “new normal” means, how long I will need to attempt to wear a mask in public, when the vaccine will come out for COVID-19, what Dr. Amy Acton and Gov. Dewine are going to say in the press conference this week about easing restrictions, etc.The current article up on my phone is, “The Coronavirus in America: The Year Ahead.” I. want. to. know. This article disappointed me, as they all have, because none of them actually know for sure what our future looks like. It feels so out of control to not know, to be stuck in a place of waiting. There are so many things I want to plan for- like our summer trip to visit my inlaws- and I can’t. Our Church is in the Season of Easter, the Celebration of all Celebrations, but I would venture to guess many of us feel like we are stuck in Advent or Lent. If there’s one thing I have been able to practice repeatedly, it is waiting. Ask anyone who has had a baby. For close to 30 months in the last 5 years, I have been waiting. Waiting to find out if the baby growing inside me is healthy, if it is a boy or a girl, if it will come on early or late, and on and on. Somehow, I still have not perfected the art of waiting. It is not that I was doing nothing during those periods of waiting. In fact, my body was creating fingers, toes, a brain, and vocal chords that would soon be greeting me with endless sound! But at times, it all felt in many ways, out of my control. The things I could do during this period of waiting seemed small, barely significant. Take a prenatal vitamin. Avoid weird cheeses. Don’t lift heavy boxes. And for most of us, these current and future times are not fully in our control either. Unless we are a politician, scientist, doctor, nurse or someone directly involved in fighting this pandemic, we are doing very little things during this period of waiting. Sew a mask. Call and check on a neighbor. Wash your hands. Stay at home. God knows us and he knows that we don’t enjoy feeling out of control, it is in our nature to try to plan ahead, solve problems and think about the future. Jesus gives us the perfect imagery to remind us, quite poignantly and lovingly that He has a plan and he will provide. He asks us to consider how a bird lives or how a wildflower grows. Matthew Chapter 6: 26- 34 Dependence on God Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear? All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Yes, thank you God for these words. God is working through each of us today, and asks one thing of us in the present, to seek first the Kingdom of God. He promises that if we do this, other things will fall into place. What does seeking the Kingdom of God look like for you today? I don’t think it is bad or wrong to worry about the future. In many cases it is an important work. It is prudent. But it is easy to get wrapped up in it. To stress out about it. To let it control us, our feelings, our emotions, the mood of our day. Since my yard is far from well-landscaped,we have ample opportunity to find the true spring wildflowers when we are outside playing. I have seen them slowly emerge in the last couple of months. The first time these flowers reveal their beautiful colors to the world, genuine joy bubbles up from deep inside of me. It never gets old to see this miracle take place. It is no coincidence the flowers are revealing their beauty and the birds are bursting out in song at this time, God is offering us a gift. There is no question, I do have a lot to learn about the way the wildflowers grow. God asks little, but He gives much. - Saint John Chrysostom You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them. - Saint Therese of Lisieux May you know how much God cares for you, your family, your loved ones, and this world. May that knowledge bring you peace in this time of unknowing. You continue to be in the thoughts and prayers of all of us from the Newman Center. Please reach out if you want to talk or need assistance in any way. We want to support you as much as possible! Sincerely, Kate Weber Coordinator for Children and Teen Ministry |
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
2019-2020 Sunday Calendar
Registration is now closed. Please contact Kate Weber for more details.
CGS is religious formation utilizing a Montessori approach. We call the space where our children learn and pray the atrium.
Sessions are held Sunday at 9:45- 11:15 a.m. and 11:45-1:15 p.m. Classes are 90 minutes from September through early May.
The atria are divided into three levels:
Level I: ages 3-6 ( preschool through Kindergarten)
Level II: ages 6-9 (1st-3rd grade)
Level III: ages 9-12 (4th-6th grade)
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Parent Handbook 2019-2020
CGS Frequently Asked Questions
CGS Family Volunteer Roles
Learn more about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: CGS National Website
More CGS Information for Parents:
For Your Baby
Silence
Art and the Child
Observation as a Tool for Parenting
For more information contact Kate Weber at kweber@buckeyecatholic.com or (614) 291-4674 x113.
Middle School Faith Formation Group
2019-2020 Calendar
Registration is now closed. Please contact Kate Weber for more details.
The cost is $135 per teen.
We will be using small groups as our main form of faith formation this year. Our small groups will deepen your teens' relationships with their peers and a trusted college student or other catechist. They will delve deep to learn more and share more about our faith. Find out more about Chosen HERE. Find the parent packet for Confirmation HERE.
Religious formation for seventh and eighth grade teens includes peer discussion and prayer, service opportunities and snacks! We offer one session on Monday evenings from 6:00-7:30 p.m. from September through early May.
For more information contact Kate Weber at (614) 291-4674 x113 or kweber@buckeyecatholic.com.
Religious formation for seventh and eighth grade teens includes peer discussion and prayer, service opportunities and snacks! We offer one session on Monday evenings from 6:00-7:30 p.m. from September through early May.
For more information contact Kate Weber at (614) 291-4674 x113 or kweber@buckeyecatholic.com.
High School Youth Group
2019-2020 Calendar
Registration is now closed. Please contact Kate Weber for more details.
Registration Information: The cost is $50 per teen. This cost will help to provide food during meetings and a parent guide for this year’s faith formation program: Theology of the Body: YOU.
Our group meets on Sunday after the 10 A.M. Mass, 11:15- 12:45 P.M. September through early May. Please join us! For more information, contact highschool@buckeyecatholic.com.
Sacramental Preparation
First Reconciliation and First Eucharist preparation are available through CGS Level II to all children grade two and above. Additional materials and retreats are involved with a small additional fee.
Confirmation is celebrated every other year at the Newman Center. The next date will be in February of 2021.
Middle School Confirmation: For preparation information contact Kate Weber at kweber@buckeyecatholic.com or (614) 291-4674 x113.
Adult Confirmation: For preparation information contact Kelly Sollinger at ksollinger@buckeyecatholic.com or (614) 291-4674 x116.
Confirmation is celebrated every other year at the Newman Center. The next date will be in February of 2021.
Middle School Confirmation: For preparation information contact Kate Weber at kweber@buckeyecatholic.com or (614) 291-4674 x113.
Adult Confirmation: For preparation information contact Kelly Sollinger at ksollinger@buckeyecatholic.com or (614) 291-4674 x116.
Volunteer
Children & Teen Ministries can only happen with the help of our wonderful volunteers. If you feel called to help with youth faith formation, please contact Kate Weber at (614) 291-4674 x113 or kweber@buckeyecatholic.com.
Our program currently needs volunteers to act as CGS Catechists, aides in the atrium, middle school and high school group volunteers.
All volunteers, per diocesan policy, must comply with the following requirements:
Our program currently needs volunteers to act as CGS Catechists, aides in the atrium, middle school and high school group volunteers.
All volunteers, per diocesan policy, must comply with the following requirements:
- Volunteers must complete a “Protecting God’s Children” Course, which outlines our safe environment protocols for our diocese. Courses are offered throughout the year at various parishes. To see the course offerings or to register, please go to:www.virtus.org
- All volunteers, who have lived in the state of Ohio for at least the past five years, must submit a background (BCI) check to the Diocese of Columbus. Any individual who has lived outside the state of Ohio within the last five years will also be asked to submit an FBI background check. These background checks can be completed at Fast Fingerprints, and results should be sent directly to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus, Attn. Regina Quinn.
- Volunteers should fill out and submit a Newman Center Volunteer Application, and review the Diocesan Code of Conduct and Harassment Policy for Volunteers.