(Diocese of Youngstown Synod Surveys Summary, Part 1) The Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Diocese of Youngstown created six distinct but related online surveys to gather information for the Synod as well as additional information to help guide the work of our local ministries. The surveys were intended for the following audiences (with the number of respondents for each category in parentheses): · Catholic Youth of High School Age (123) · Non-Catholic Youth of High School Age (7) · Catholic Young Adults (101) · Non-Catholic Young Adults (5) · Parents/Families (170) · Staff at parishes and schools (73) The office sent the Preparatory Document with survey instructions to each pastor and Catholic High School Principal, emailed the survey links to contacts for youth ministry and directly to young adults, and used social media (primarily Facebook and Twitter) to publicize the surveys. The surveys were posted on the Diocesan website for three months over the summer. A total of 479 people responded to the surveys. In addition, seventeen people participated in listening sessions at their parish, for a total of 496 people providing input. In addition to the input from these surveys, the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry and the Office of Vocations provided answers for some of the questions. In an effort to highlight the direct experience of youth, these surveys were filtered to only include youth who are 16 to 29 years old, as defined by the Preparatory Document on page 8. A total of 155 responses were in this age range, consisting of 94 High School Youth and 61 Young Adults. The numbers throughout indicate direct responses. If people gave multiple responses to one question, their input was counted for each category of their response. Synod Question 1: In what manner does the Church listen to the lived situations of young people? Unfortunately, a significant number of responses were negative, either that they were not aware of how the Church was listening or that the Church was not listening This was the case for 44 parents/families as well as 15 staff at parishes and schools. A common positive response was there was youth ministry at the parish or listed some youth ministry activities (45), although few of these responses specifically mentioned listening to teens. There were ten responses of youth active in liturgical roles, but again not tied specifically to listening to youth. Eight responses included the participation of youth on Parish Council, which would imply listening to youth as one aspect. Forty-one responses focused on a person that was working directly with the youth – youth minister, CCD teacher, priest, or other caring adults. In the building of relationships, key adults are able to connect with the youth on a personal level and listen to their concerns. Significantly, eleven people cited the pastor or priest as someone who listens to youth. Many people responded that the leadership of the parish was an important factor for assessing whether or not they felt the parish listened to youth. In response to a question about what the Church should do for young people, ten youth stated that the Church should do a better job of listening to the input, suggestions, and opinions of young people. From the perspective of parents/families, staff at parishes and schools, and the youth themselves, the Church can do a better job of listening to the situation of young people. A sign of hope in this endeavor is the adults who are committed to ministry to young people, especially priests, youth ministers, CCD teachings and other caring adults. +++++++++++++++++++ Let us pause here to take a moment for prayer: Lord, Jesus, thank you for the gifts that young people bring to our Church - their energy, enthusiasm, questions, new ideas, criticisms, fresh perspectives and love. We ask that you help all adults in the Church to take more time to listen to the youth, and pro-actively invite them to opportunities for engagement and discipleship. We also thank you for the priests, youth ministers, campus ministers, catechists, mentors, coaches, and other caring adults who have taken the time to listen to and reach out to the young people. May they continue to do so and to inspire others to follow their example. We ask all this in your holy name, amen!
0 Comments
As I began to write a blog post about the October 2018 Synod on "Youth, faith and vocational discernment," I saw that CMD beat me to is, so I will share their thoughts: What do you think? By the way, those of you on my YM email list should have received the link with the Letter to Youth from the Holy Father. Thank you for sharing that with teens. Here is it again, in case you missed it: The Preparatory Document (Click for Inglese for English!)THE QUESTIONS:
Please indicate, where possible, the source of the statistics and make reference to the year. Other pertinent information can be attached to better understand the situation in various countries. - Number of inhabitants in the country / countries and the birth rate. - Number and percentage of young people (ages 16-29) in the country / countries. - Number and percentage of Catholics in the country / countries. - Average age (for the last 5 years) for marrying (distinguishing between men and women), for entering the seminary and the consecrated life (distinguishing between men and women). - In the 16-29 age group, the percentage of students, workers (if possible specify the type of work), unemployed These questions refer both to young people who take part in Church programmes, as well as those who do not take part or have no interest to participate. 1. In what manner does the Church listen to the lived situations of young people? 2. What are the main challenges and most significant opportunities for young people in your country / countries today? 3. What kinds and places of group gatherings of youth, institutionalized or otherwise, have a major success within the Church, and why? 4. What kinds and places of group gatherings of youth, institutionalized or otherwise, have a major success outside the Church, and why? 5. What do young people really ask of the Church in your country / countries today? 6. What possibilities for participation exist in your country / countries for young people to take part in the life of the ecclesial community? 7. How and in what manner is contact made with young people who do not frequent Church surroundings? b) Pastoral Vocational Programmes for Young People 8. How are families and communities involved in the vocational discernment of young people? 9. How do schools and universities or other educational institutions (civil or ecclesial) contribute to young people’s formation in vocational discernment? 10. In what manner are you taking into account the cultural changes resulting from the development of the digital world? 11. How can World Youth Days or other national or international events become a part of ordinary pastoral practice? 12. In what manner is your diocese planning experiences for the pastoral vocational programme for young people? c) Pastoral Care Workers with Young People 13. How much time and in what manner do clergy and other formators provide for personal spiritual guidance? 14. What initiatives and opportunities for formation are in place for those who provide pastoral vocational guidance? 15. What personal guidance is offered in seminaries? d) Specific Questions According to Geographic Areas AMERICA a. How does your community care for young people who experience extreme violence (guerrilla warfare, gangs, prison, drug addiction, forced marriages) and accompany them in various ways in their life? b. What formation is offered to support the engagement of young people in society and civil life, for the common good? c. In a world which is greatly secularized, what pastoral activities are most effective for continuing the journey of faith after the Sacraments of Christian Initiation? Sharing Activities1. List the main types of pastoral activity in accompaniment and vocational discernment in your present situation. 2. Choose three activities you consider the most interesting and relevant to share with the universal Church, and present it according to the following format (no more than one page for each experience). a) Description: In a few sentences, roughly describe the activity. Who are the leading characters? How does the activity take place? Where? Etc. b) Analysis: Evaluate the activity, even in layman’s terms, for a better understanding of the important elements: what are the goals? What is the theoretical basis? What are the most interesting insights? How have they developed? Etc. c) Evaluation: What are the goals? If not achieved, why? Strengths and weaknesses? What are the consequences on the social, cultural and ecclesial levels? Why and in what way is the activity important / formative? etc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ While I cannot yet tell you how this information may be collected, please do start considering ways to collect the input at your local level. This is such a great opportunity to LISTEN TO young people and to have them help build the Church for the future! |
Details
*** Note: The Office Blog is now inactive, but posted for continued reference as needed (6/30/21) ***Cindee Case, MPSFormer Director of the Diocese of Youngstown Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (2/2002 - 6/2021) Archives
July 2021
Categories
All
|