October 10, 2025 • 45 mins
Is youth ministry just pizza and retreats? Think again. This week, we dive deep into the vital role Catholic youth ministry plays in forming lifelong faith. Featuring insightful interviews with seasoned youth ministers, we explore the powerful impact of youth ministry—not just on attendance, but on how it actively develops and strengthens a strong, authentic Catholic identity in young people. Hear some strategies for connecting with teens and navigating modern challenges. If you want to know what works in building the Church's future, this episode is a must-listen.
Joining Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, the leader of the Diocese of Paterson, and Communications Director Jai Agnish for this episode is:
- John Cammarata. Director of Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Paterson; and Director of Religious Education/Youth Ministry at St. Peter the Apostle Church in Parsippany, N.J.
- Alyssa Carolan. Director of Faith Formation & Youth Ministry at St. John Vianney Parish in the Stockholm neighborhood of Hardyston, N.J., and St. Thomas the Apostle in the Oak Ridge neighborhood of Jefferson, N.J.
- Yadira Sifonte. Youth Minister at The Catholic Community of St. Brendan & St. George, in Clifton, N.J.
- Justin Carrasco. Director of Young Prophets at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J.
SHOW NOTES:
Diocese of Paterson Office of Youth Ministry
Register for the Diocese of Paterson Youth Conference
Email questions and topic ideas to Bishop Kevin at beyond@patersondiocese.org.
Produced by Jai Agnish, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, and John Cammarata for the Diocese of Paterson. Engineered by Cecile Pagliarulo and Jai Agnish. Edited and theme song by Jai Agnish. Illustrations by Dennis Dalelio. Thank you, Father Joseph S. DeMarzo III, for assistance with time-keeping.
Beyond The Beacon on Instagram and Facebook. Bishop Kevin on Instagram. The Diocese of Paterson on Instagram, Facebook (English) / Facebook (Spanish).
Note: Artificial intelligence was used in the development of this episode's headline and description with the input and oversight of a human.
Every three years, each Diocese in the USA has the graced opportunity to make a scheduled pilgrimage as one Diocesan family with their Bishop to the National Shrine in the nation's capital. 2026 is once again "our year!" Please note the two-day and one-day options: Oct. 16, Friday, and Oct. 17, Saturday. Visit the Diocese of Paterson website here to learn more!
On Coffee with Kupke, we have a cup of coffee and sit down with diocesan archivist, Monsignor Raymond Kupke Ph.D., to delve into the history of Catholicism in the Diocese of Paterson, N.J. Hosted by Father Paul Manning and Msgr. Kupke. Listen to Coffee with Kupke wherever you get your podcasts, or watch it on the St. Paul Inside the Walls YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@stpaulinsidethewalls.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_04 (00:08):
Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin
Sweeney, a podcast of theDiocese of Patterson, New
Jersey.
Join us for conversations aboutour Catholic faith, and together
let's strive to live a life offaith, hope, and love.
We're so glad you could join us.
I'm Jay Agnish.
With me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney.
Bishop Kevin, how are you?
I'm doing well, Jay.
How are you?
Pretty good.
(00:28):
Seems like it's been a while.
Yes.
Yeah, um, you were on another uhcontinent, I guess, for a while.
What was going on there?
You were you became our um likea roving reporter, in a sense,
in in Italy.
SPEAKER_02 (00:44):
So we had a wonderful pilgrimage from the
Jubilee to um Assisi Orvieto,where there was a Eucharistic
miracle, and then on to Rome.
Um we had a great company, uhSister Teresa Lee and Brian
Hartenberger, who weren't withus on the trip but are been
leading our Jubilee efforts, uh,were part of the planning.
(01:04):
Um and then Father John Calabro,um uh campus minister at uh or
chaplain at Pope John HighSchool was with us.
Um we had uh two of our voc uhvocation directors, Father Ed
Rama and Father Charlie Lana,and then um Father Brian
Sullivan, pastor of Christ theKing, and New Vernon was there
with a few of his parishioners.
And we had 28, mostly from thediocese um in the group, and um
(01:28):
we had a wonderful time,wonderful weather, a great
guide.
Uh and then Yeah, I think so.
It rained like the day after yougot to be.
SPEAKER_04 (01:35):
Yeah, we didn't have any rain either.
SPEAKER_02 (01:37):
Uh beautiful weather, and uh Assisi was
magnificent, and uh Orvieto wasbeautiful, and then Rome was
wonderful, and uh um one of ourseminarians uh studying at the
North American College in Romewas ordained with 15 classmates.
Sixteen of them were ordained inwhat they call the altar of the
chair behind the main altar atSt.
Peter's Basilica.
(01:58):
Uh that was um this pastThursday, and uh Lucas Fog.
Came home on Friday, the feastof St.
Francis of Assisi, and uh umyeah, it was a great time.
SPEAKER_04 (02:07):
So you you beat the rush to Assisi, I guess, getting
out of the case.
SPEAKER_02 (02:11):
Yeah, we were there, right.
We were there the weekendbefore, yes, right, right.
Um it's a net oh it used to be anational holiday, and they're
gonna make it a national holidayagain.
He's uh one of the patrons ofum, I think Francis of Assisi
and Catherine of Siena, I think,are the two patrons of Italy.
Um so um, but it was great.
We enjoyed your photos.
SPEAKER_04 (02:29):
And was there was there one moment that was your
favorite?
SPEAKER_02 (02:32):
Well, I guess um uh two, uh the ordination and uh
the um uh well three maybe theuh the papal audience uh on
Wednesday and Publio was prettyclose.
And uh we learned that if youwant to get close to the Holy
Father, find a mom with a baby.
And then you can be close.
He seemed to stop wherever therewas a baby and looked up there.
(02:54):
So uh but also um uh our firstday in Rome, I think, um we said
Mass in St.
Peter's Basilica, and they havea number of altars kind of on
the way down to where Peter wasburied, the burial place.
We didn't get down to what theycall the scavi tour all the way
to the bottom.
But um just by chance wecelebrated Mass at the uh how do
I forget how the Kiesa, thechapel uh Irlandes in Spanish,
(03:17):
the Irish chapel of uh St.
Columba.
Uh so it was uh beautifulcelebrating Mass there.
SPEAKER_04 (03:22):
Sounds sounds great.
Uh hope to get there myself oneday.
Um okay, good.
Well, we're gonna talk aboutyouth ministry today, but first
I think we're gonna open up inprayer.
SPEAKER_02 (03:32):
Are we gonna pray the Jubilee prayer?
Good to have our guests with us,and a couple more to come.
So uh Alyssa, right?
And John, um please join us, andthose on the other side of the
camera can join us as well.
And uh we'll pray, we'll placeourselves in God's presence,
name of the Father and of theSon, and of the Holy Spirit.
(03:54):
Amen.
Amen.
In this Jubilee year, aspilgrims of hope, we pray
together the Jubilee prayer.
Father in heaven, may the faithyou have given us in your Son
Jesus Christ, our brother, andthe flame of charity enkindle in
our hearts by the Holy Spiritreawaken in us the blessed hope
for the coming of your kingdom.
SPEAKER_03 (04:16):
May your grace transform us into tireless
cultivators of the seeds of thegospel.
SPEAKER_02 (04:21):
May those seeds transform within the humanity of
the whole cosmos in the pureexpectation of a new heaven and
a new earth, when with thepowers of evil vanquished, your
glory will shine eternally.
SPEAKER_03 (04:34):
May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, pilgrims
of hope, a yearning for thetreasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread thejoy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you, our God, eternallyblessed, be glory and praise
forever.
Amen.
SPEAKER_02 (04:51):
Our Lady, seed of wisdom, Mother of the Church,
our Lady of Hope, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Saint Dennis, pray for us.
All holy men and women, pray forus.
Name of the Father and the Sonand of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_03 (05:03):
Amen.
Amen.
SPEAKER_04 (05:04):
Okay, so we're gonna talk youth ministry today.
So let me introduce the twoguests who are here now, and
then we're gonna have two otheryouth ministers are gonna join
us.
So, John Camerata is thedirector of youth ministry for
the Diocese of Patterson since2022.
He holds a master in churchmanagement from Villanova
University with 25 years ofservice as the youth minister
(05:25):
for St.
Peter the Apostle Parish inParsippone.
He's married 16 years with twochildren.
Sitting next to him is AlyssaCarrollin.
She is the youth minister at St.
John Vienny Parish in theStockholm neighborhood of
Hardiston and St.
Thomas the Apostle in the OakRidge neighborhood of Jefferson.
So welcome both of you, andthanks for being on.
(05:47):
Let's get to it, Bishop.
What's up?
SPEAKER_02 (05:49):
Thanks, thanks.
Uh John, you've been doing thisfor a couple of years, I think.
SPEAKER_07 (05:53):
A couple of years, yes.
How many?
Well, 25 years in youthministry.
SPEAKER_02 (05:57):
25 years of youth ministry.
Um did you grow up in St.
Peter, the Apostle inParsiphony?
Yeah.
I went to the Catholic schoolthere as well.
And uh were you um as a youngperson part of a youth group?
Yes.
Right, yes.
And uh then uh just naturallymoved into leadership, and then
the one of the pastors offeredyou a job?
SPEAKER_07 (06:19):
Yes.
Yeah, I was always uhvolunteering and helping out,
teaching C C D, helping run theretreats.
Uh I was a chef at the time andI went to culinary school and
and so and then uh Father HerbTillier uh had invited me to say
that.
SPEAKER_02 (06:34):
You just heard something recently about the
you're cooking seven fishes onChristmas Eve.
SPEAKER_07 (06:38):
Oh, for maybe twenty years I cooked for Father Herb
and Bishop Rodimer ChristmasEve, the traditional seven
fishes.
That was they always celebratedtogether.
Beautiful.
That was a great experience,yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:51):
Um signor Herb Tilly, uh a great Yankees fan.
We forgot to uh sorry, Bishop.
Uh so uh you studied to be achef, you became a chef, you
were in youth ministry, and thenwhat happened?
SPEAKER_07 (07:05):
Uh then I just you know just kept always helping
and volunteering, and thenfinally Father Herb said, Would
you come on and and and so I Imoved into that, and then uh I
started just doing youthministry and confirmation, uh
and then um the DRE uh justwanted the young kids, so I took
over the middle school, and thenwhen uh that person left, uh
(07:26):
Father asked if I would take oneverything and so your DRE as
well.
So I'm the DRE as well, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (07:31):
Uh and then um I I should remember this, although
it might it was either justbefore or just after, I think.
When did you become DAS anddirector of youth ministry?
In 2022.
Okay, right, right, right, yes,yes.
So um we can talk a little bitmore about that in terms of what
we're trying to do as a diocese.
Um, but um we we can't have a astrong youth ministry program in
(07:54):
a diocese without strong youthministers, right?
So you've invited a few of ouryouth ministers.
Is it Alyssa, right?
Maybe tell us a little bit aboutuh growing up in the faith if
you did, and uh uh uh what ledyou to towards youth ministry
and then to become a youthminister.
SPEAKER_05 (08:13):
Very similar to John's story.
I grew up at St.
John Vienny.
SPEAKER_02 (08:16):
Okay.
SPEAKER_05 (08:17):
Um I did Antioch there growing up.
Father Matt Twiggs um broughtAntioch to the parish, and I was
on the first team my junior yearof high school.
SPEAKER_06 (08:25):
Wow.
SPEAKER_05 (08:26):
Um and so again, very involved through high
school, through college.
I came back and helped out alittle bit, and then I did um a
year with Jesuit Volunteer Corpsin Cleveland, Ohio.
And then after that, I'd comeback and there was, I think, a
gap where our previous youthminister, who was the youth
minister when I was growing up,had left, and there was kind of
(08:48):
no one, they were still doingAntioch, but no one was clearly
no one was in charge.
And so one of our volunteerscalled me and said, Would you be
interested in in we all want tohelp, but none of us really want
to leave.
You need a leader.
Could you leave?
SPEAKER_06 (09:00):
Right.
SPEAKER_05 (09:00):
Um, and then I just kind of very naturally stumbled
from there into a full, intoyouth ministry.
SPEAKER_02 (09:05):
Did you go to a Jesuit college?
SPEAKER_05 (09:07):
I did, I went to Fordham.
SPEAKER_02 (09:08):
Fordham, okay.
Um, and uh maybe talk about um,you know, I think one of the
things that youth ministry sooften does is help young people
to know that um they're we'recalled to serve, right, as as as
disciples and to put our faithinto action.
Um I guess you had some of thatexperience before going to a
(09:28):
Jesuit school, and then uh youheard about an opportunity to
give a a full year of service,right?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (09:35):
So definitely starting um I was kind of
encouraged to take my faith onas my own by our youth minister
when I was in high school.
Um leading the retreat team wassuper exciting.
Um and then through college, thethe thing that drew me to
Fordham was the couragepersonalis, right?
The care for the whole person.
Okay.
(09:55):
The idea that we are um calledto live as men and women foreign
with others, which is anotherkind of Jesuit catchphrase.
Um so that idea of men and womenfor foreign with others drove me
to kind of not know what I wasdoing, but knowing that I wanted
to do that year of service incollege.
SPEAKER_02 (10:11):
What did you study undergrad?
SPEAKER_05 (10:13):
English and theology.
SPEAKER_02 (10:14):
Okay.
Um and you mentioned, I think,also um uh you attended a World
Youth Day.
SPEAKER_05 (10:20):
Yeah, with with Fordham.
So I went to Brazil.
SPEAKER_02 (10:22):
Great.
And how was that, what was thatexperience like?
Great.
SPEAKER_05 (10:25):
We did um I think a week before World Youth Day with
Magis.
So Jesuit universities and fromall over the world came together
and we did a service project.
So it's that that link betweenthe interior faith, but what
does it propel you to do in theworld?
And that's a conversation I'vehad with our young people quite
(10:45):
a bit, is we've gone toconferences, we've gone to
different, we've gone ondifferent trips, and I've had
really great conversations withkids in the van on the drive
home where they're like, okay,so adoration, we love adoration,
we love the sacraments, we heardsomething from the speakers, but
what do I do now?
Right?
What is that next thing?
And then trying to offer thosenext things for the kids to
(11:06):
allow them to practice thatmuscle of uh living their lives
of faith.
SPEAKER_02 (11:10):
John, you want a couple of youth world youth
lists as well?
SPEAKER_07 (11:13):
My first one was 1997 in Paris, and then I went
to um uh Toronto in 2002, andthen Cologne, Germany.
SPEAKER_02 (11:22):
Well, we were together in Cologne.
Oh yeah.
You had to mention Toronto,didn't you?
Yeah, I didn't know.
Yeah, right.
That's right.
That's right.
SPEAKER_07 (11:29):
Uh and they were amazing experiences, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (11:32):
Uh and you um Alyssa, you mentioned uh
conferences and trips.
Um you know, we don't may notcall it that, but um it's a
really a pilgrimage experience,right?
Uh and uh uh we have um onecoming up for our country.
John, do you want to share alittle bit about NCYC?
SPEAKER_07 (11:48):
So NCYC is the National Catholic Youth
Conference and held in uhIndianapolis, Indiana, and it's
uh November 20th to the 22nd.
Uh and we have a group uh fromthe diocese that it's going, and
it's uh a beautiful experience.
And uh we're blessed that uhPope Leo is gonna give us a uh a
a live stream and uhinteraction, so we're very
(12:08):
excited about that.
SPEAKER_02 (12:09):
And how many do we have from the diocese going to
Business?
SPEAKER_07 (12:12):
35 that are coming with the diocese, and we may
have a few groups that are gonnago on their own too.
SPEAKER_02 (12:17):
Have you been to NCYC list?
No, I haven't.
Uh some any other conferences oruh uh experiences of traveling
with young people that stood outthat were helpful?
SPEAKER_05 (12:26):
I took a group to Steubenville.
Oh, yes.
One or two, I think twice.
A youth conference?
Yes.
Um the experience of adorationwas really I mean, very exciting
to the kids to kind of have umYeah, to have that prayer
experience for them was great.
SPEAKER_02 (12:47):
Uh my first World Youth Day was in 1993 in Denver,
I've shared before, but uh forme it was really um an
experience of the universalchurch, you know, that um we're
part of something so muchbigger.
Um and uh but even uh thenational level or right when you
um uh are with young people fromwhether it be all parts of the
country or all parts of theworld, it uh it can help us to
(13:11):
not just have the theory, right,that we're part of a larger
church, but that uh that we'reliterally part of uh that
mystical body, right?
SPEAKER_07 (13:17):
I think at the last NCYC I leaned over to you and
said, you know, after adoration,it was like 15,000 people just
being completely silent.
I said, how could people not beexcited about the church?
You know, uh after experiencingsomething like that.
Right.
You know, it's it's reallybeautiful.
And and you know, we encourageall parishes to to get involved
in things like that.
SPEAKER_04 (13:36):
And we have a local diocesan event coming up right
in November.
November 2nd, tell us.
SPEAKER_07 (13:41):
November 2nd is our diocesan uh youth conference,
which uh this will be our ourthird year uh doing it, and we
haven't uh before that we hadn'thad one in in a good decade or
two, so we're very excited aboutthat.
And we have about uh usuallyabout 350 young people that that
attend, and we have uh awonderful group, a ray of hope
that's gonna be our our leadersfor the day.
(14:02):
And uh we also have uh anexhibit for Eucharistic
miracles, and we're gonna have afirst class relic of St.
Carlo Acutis there as well to bea part of it.
So it's a great day, and youcould uh check out the St.
Paul Inside the Walls website toregister, and uh we want you
know every parish to berepresented.
So plenty of time, right?
Yeah, yeah, plenty of time.
Yeah, send kids.
SPEAKER_02 (14:22):
Uh and St.
Elizabeth's University, right?
SPEAKER_03 (14:25):
Yeah, they're that's doing such a great job.
Um they're uh so generous andgreat partners.
SPEAKER_02 (14:29):
And it's um it's a nice experience for young people
to be on a college campus,right?
Um some of them may not have asas as as as many maybe some
others do, but uh um have youbeen, Alyssa, in your group to
the uh Dawson Youth Day?
SPEAKER_05 (14:43):
No, I haven't, so I haven't taken any group this
year.
SPEAKER_02 (14:46):
Great, great.
Um and um um maybe you both uhsince 1997, so that's more than
25, 20.
Uh uh what are some of thechanges that you've seen in
young people or their challengesor their interests or um uh uh
over over over the years and andyour experience uh um obviously
(15:08):
technology, we were 1997 therewere no smartphones, right?
SPEAKER_07 (15:11):
Uh yeah, I I think uh the the competing for time is
the biggest issue.
Uh I I think there's so manymore distractions that that
they're dealing with.
Uh so just just convincing themand families that uh being close
to the church, being having arelationship with the Lord is
(15:32):
the best use of their time.
And uh so that is the the themost difficult part, right?
SPEAKER_05 (15:36):
I would say I think every other that I've seen every
other adult in their life issaying my thing is the most
important thing, right?
School is the most importantthing, sports are the most
important thing, your job is themost important thing, and then
here I am saying the church isthe most important thing, and I
believe that, but it's hard to Ifeel like frequently I'm the one
who's like, okay, we will makeit work.
We will come early for servicehours, leave whatever it is, we
(15:59):
will make find a way to makethis fit in your so busy
schedule, and like making thecase that this is something you
should making it something thatthey want to do, rather than
just like this is anotherobligation that you need to
shoehorn into a schedule that isjam-jam packed.
Um I think that that has been achallenge for us to say like how
(16:20):
are we making this a safe spacefor the kids to um connect with
each other, be themselves, puttheir phones down.
Um I think another change hasbeen gener like general anxiety
is a change that I've seen inkids.
I've been doing it since 2016.
And even since then, um kind ofthis post-COVID generation is
(16:45):
they're very on their phones,they're very nervous about
overnights, they're very nervousabout um they want all their
questions answered.
And so sometimes when we'relike, no, no, you're on God's
time.
Sit down, relax, relax.
We are taking care of it, that'snot something that they're
excited to hear.
SPEAKER_02 (17:04):
I mean uh different things.
SPEAKER_04 (17:07):
Yeah, no, it's great insight.
Um I was wondering, so John, wehad talked in our pre
pre-interview, you are working.
Tell us about the diocesan youthleadership team, how that works
and and what what's going onthere.
You have starting at the end ofOctober, you're gonna start a
meeting.
SPEAKER_07 (17:23):
So uh, you know, we invite uh all parishes to kind
of pick out one or two of theiryoung people that to be on the
diocesan youth leadership team.
And I meet with them uh once amonth, and we're gonna start at
the end of October.
SPEAKER_06 (17:35):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_07 (17:35):
And uh we'll meet kind of through May.
And uh each month we go and andand work on leadership uh
skills, and so they'll learnleadership styles, group
planning, prayer, youthministry, um dynamics, and so
we'll train them as as goodyouth leaders.
So and then they'll help at ouruh diocesan regional retreats.
So we offer uh three regionalretreats, one in each of the
(17:58):
counties, uh, as a day retreat,and and that's for any young
people that want a retreatexperience, not just those that
need it for a confirmationrequirement.
So it works for that too.
It works for that too as well,and it gives you three options.
Uh and uh but just for anyone,if you know if the Catholic high
schools want to send one oftheir teams as a group building
or peer leaders, or uh it'd be agreat opportunity for them too.
(18:19):
So we offer one in each of thecounties.
SPEAKER_04 (18:21):
What's the picture of youth ministry look like in
the diocese of Patterson?
Like how many churches have ayouth ministry?
SPEAKER_07 (18:27):
So we're working on that, right?
So we would say that probably athird have active youth
ministry.
Uh maybe a third are trying, andand a third need to start
working harder.
So uh but I just want I wantthem to know that there is a an
active diocesan youth officethat is there to help them.
Uh you know, find someone inyour parish that is, you know,
(18:50):
whether whatever your resourcesallow you, whether it's
volunteer, part-time, full-time,uh, you know, they can call me
up.
We have a uh kind of anonboarding process.
Uh we encourage them to takepart in uh in a training.
It's from the National CatholicNational Federation for Catholic
Youth Ministry.
Okay.
They have a program called FirstThings in Youth Ministry, and
(19:12):
it's uh six 90-minute onlinesessions, and they're putting a
cohort.
So they're putting a cohort withothers from around the country
and a and a teacher, and thenthey have these sessions and and
they learn like you know,budgeting and basics of youth
ministry and how to build a teamand how to work with your
pastor.
And so there is a a foundationfor them to start.
(19:33):
Uh so I I know sometimes theythink like, well, if I hire
some, what do I do with them?
But you call me and then andwe'll get to that.
SPEAKER_02 (19:39):
And amongst the youth ministers, um uh uh uh my
observation is that there's athere's great mutual support,
right?
And do you do that?
SPEAKER_05 (19:48):
I remember you came to my parish when I started in
2016 and we walked through thespace and we um I said what I
was planning to do and you gavesome great ideas and there's
amazing support.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (20:00):
We're gonna bring in our other guests, but um uh uh
maybe John you can think about,you know, uh one thing that um
you would uh share from yourexperience that you might
encourage um uh parishioners andparents maybe to be aware of to
how they might help out withyouth ministry.
But uh uh I just want to askAlyssa, you mentioned Antioch
(20:21):
and maybe for both of you, umhow helpful can a youth retreat
be for a young person?
Uh would you say?
SPEAKER_05 (20:29):
I think it's incredible.
I think it's that experience ofum that what you two, right?
That when when teens are sharingof themselves, they write my
team writes their retreat talks,they deliver it to the
candidates.
SPEAKER_02 (20:43):
Um You have an annual retreat in the
PowerShell.
Do you still do Antioch?
SPEAKER_05 (20:48):
We still do Antioch.
We do it at the Sacred HeartCenter in Newton.
Oh, right.
Our team meets for really, we'regonna start meeting next week,
so for months leading up to ourFebruary retreat.
It's um team meetings arepreparing for the retreat, but
also formation uh for the forthe leaders themselves who are
juniors and seniors and who areno longer in, you know, we do
confirmation in tenth grade.
(21:08):
So they're no longer in theclassroom, but they still need,
you know, ongoing formation isimportant for all of us.
SPEAKER_02 (21:13):
So with the opportunity to give a witness
talk, right?
I mean for a young person thatcan't.
SPEAKER_05 (21:18):
It's so meaningful for the for the team leader and
for the young people who arelistening to it, who hear adults
talk every single day and whomight not be hearing a young
person share about their faith.
SPEAKER_02 (21:28):
Yeah, it's really beautiful.
Um of what you might uh offer toencourage uh participation in
youth ministry in your ownexperience, how how helpful can
a youth retreat be for a parishor a young person?
SPEAKER_07 (22:20):
So my first group of young people are now, you know,
40.
And if I run into one of them,the first thing they ask is, Are
you still doing the missiontrip?
Are you still doing theretreats?
Are you still like it's and theymay not remember everything they
learned on that retreat, butthey remember how they felt on
that?
return and and so it it was anexperience and so that's what
(22:43):
touched them that's what uh youknow they remember um that's
what moved them and so it it'suh it's it's vital you need to
give them experiences I mean Ithink youth ministry has always
been about giving young peoplean opportunity to encounter
Christ and and if you if yougive them opportunities to
encounter Christ you give them achance to fall in love with
Christ and then if they fall inlove with Christ they'll want to
(23:05):
please them.
And that and that's that's thebasics of youth ministry.
It's just give themopportunities to encounter
Christ.
SPEAKER_05 (23:12):
I I have a I have a young adult group as a result of
Antioch too where it's thisamazing group of uh men and
women in their 20s who didAntioch and who maybe went to
college and came back and said Iwant to get involved in my
parish but there isn't a groupof people my age let me go to
the Antioch team and they'vestuck around for a lot of them
have been doing it as long as Ihave and they're amazing.
SPEAKER_02 (23:32):
Right and we're so grateful for the generosity of
volunteers right I mean alwaysyeah yeah could not be done
without them.
SPEAKER_04 (23:39):
Well great thank thank you both so much for thank
you for being on and sharing allthis we're gonna have to put
links right for the Dawson youthoffice resources here.
Check the show notes for moreamazing thank you Alyssa God
bless you thank you so we'reback and we're joined by Yadira
(24:02):
Sefante who is the youthminister at St.
Brendan and St.
George and Clifton the uhCatholic community of St.
Brendan and St.
George and Clifton and JustinCarrasco who is the youth
ministry at the Cathedral of St.
John the Baptist in Pattersonwelcome thank you both for being
on the continue thank you forinviting us for being here.
SPEAKER_02 (24:23):
So maybe you could each uh just tell us a little
bit about did you grow up in afamily of faith in a parish were
you a part of youth groupyourself when you were young and
and what led you to be involvedin in youth ministry now in St.
Brendan's and at the cathedral,right?
Maybe Yadira, you were sayingborn in Cuba and grew up in
(24:43):
Espania in Spain.
SPEAKER_00 (24:45):
Yes um I was born in Cuba and then I moved to Spain
to Madrid when I was 11 yearsold.
So I went to a Catholic schoolin Madrid.
I was involved with the nuns andthen from that I grew up in the
Catholic Church.
I get all my sacraments and thenwhen I get to the university I
study journalism and marketingand advertisements.
SPEAKER_02 (25:07):
Which university?
SPEAKER_00 (25:08):
Rey Juan Carlos in Fon Labrada outside Juan Carlos
King Juan Carlos right so then Imoved to United States six years
ago and I started being moreactive with my faith being
volunteer I got marked in thechurch and I say you know I need
to do something else for JesusChrist.
(25:29):
I love him.
Why I'm not using my skills myknowledge my gift from God to to
put it under God's service.
So I start being volunteer inSt.
Joseph Days Rutherford until Iget to uh Saint Brendan and then
I met Father Jesus I met CrystalI get involved I start in the
communication and then now I ama youth minister.
(25:51):
That's great and I involve theyouth uh with the communication
too.
So we are growing together westarted like five months ago the
youth ministry we started withseven youth and now we have 25.
And they are growing this is theHoly Spirit.
It's amazing how the Holy Spiritis working in the community in
(26:12):
each one of us and how the youthare getting more involved in
their service but also in theleadership in the parish and
they want to do more.
So we are growing um and theyhave a pastor who encourages
leadership right alter right yesyes he's a great leader and the
great example for all of us uhhow to follow Jesus with
(26:34):
commitment not only with love orpassion but the commitment when
you put love doing things forGod following active being
active with our faith and so umhopefully you'll uh some of
those 25 young people will joinus for the AS and UT right in
the November yes we are planningactually we are planning to go
(26:55):
to a pilgrimage next year to theMarian Eucharistic revival in
Spain in the north of Spain.
So every year since two yearsago there is this group of young
people that they met on July andthey had adoration they have
mass and they are from all partsof the world right so I'm
encouraging we are trying tosave money to bring our youth uh
(27:19):
to go to Spain next year so theycan encounter Jesus Christ also
through the other.
So and planning for the worldyouth.
SPEAKER_02 (27:27):
And then World Youth Day will be the following year
in 2027 in Seoul, Korea so we'repraying and hoping uh John's
already working on it and uh uhso um uh we'll have more
information on that to come butwe're already have we we'll be
sending some information outpretty soon right yes good so
Justin um where did you grow updid you grow up in the faith
were you part of a youth grouphow'd you end up uh serving at
(27:50):
at the cathedral thank you somuch for asking Bishop I'm a St.
SPEAKER_01 (27:53):
John's boy through and through okay so I was born
and raised in Patterson so totell the truth I actually grew
up two blocks away from St.
John's and so I had done all ofmy sacraments there I started
attending youth ministry backwhen I was 12, 13 years old so
right at the end of middleschool is probably where I
(28:14):
started to actually attend youthministry.
From there I can definitely sayit was the time I fell in love
with Christ.
I love I met my lovely wifethere.
I've made some of the best offriends that I have and it was
probably most likely my collegeyears where I started to think
about is youth ministrysomething that I could really
see myself doing in the future?
(28:35):
So upon the graduation ofcollege I graduated from Kane
University here in New Jerseyright?
Yeah here in New Jersey rightout of Union New Jersey Monty
Gino actually most great greatman he makes an announcement out
to the congregation about theopening of a new after-school
(28:55):
program that they were starting.
I was sitting with my wife atthe time and she was telling me
this is something you shouldprobably go for.
I was like I don't know I'm nottoo sure about it.
But through lots of prayer andwith a lot of conversations back
and forth you know I sat downwith Monty Gino and in those
conversations he also asked medo you see yourself also being a
(29:16):
part of youth ministry and Itold him all about my
experiences and he said Justinthis is where you need to be and
they have a great name for theyouth group at uh at the
cathedral right Young ProphetsYoung Prophets one of the finest
youth ministries in the entirestate of New Jersey and um uh
and so you have the charterschool at at um the cathedral
(29:41):
and that catechetical five daycatechetical um after school
program right and uh you wereinvolved in that as well I
believe right absolutely muchright yes uh and um you've
gotten some uh uh help recentlyright from uh some sisters who
have come to us yes yes uhreligious sisters of alma
Michigan they've also been thereto assist us in our mission to
(30:02):
catechize all of Patterson it'sbeen a real godsend to have them
come aboard and really give us ahand because we've seen the
great thirst the great need forChrist in our community and not
only with the sisters but withall the volunteers all the
full-time and part-time staffit's really just changed the
lives of all of these familiesthat have come onto our block of
mercy.
SPEAKER_04 (30:22):
That's great.
So what what are your secretsyour dear how did you go from
seven people to 25?
SPEAKER_00 (30:28):
Well the secret is the Holy Spirit is the Holy
Spirit this is only God's workwe're just following him.
SPEAKER_01 (30:36):
We pray a lot uh we are inspired to have this army
of light uh the name of ouryouth ministry is Christ leading
light and uh they are shining sothe secret is just praying um
following the spirit of God sojust let him work on us so
(30:56):
continue doing the job open tothe spirit right yeah so with us
I I don't really have a secret Ihave a big gym and so that can
be that's so um so the days thatwe operate is like primarily on
a Friday night and I run it as aquasi open gym where many of the
youth from a lot of theneighboring local high schools
(31:18):
they can come they can bringtheir friends it's a great
conversation starter for when Imeet somebody for the first time
how'd you learn about our groupoh I heard we could play
basketball here.
Oh this is a great place to bevolleyball I tell them exactly
this is also a great place toalso learn about Christ.
So you are more than welcome tostay here.
And so from there when I firststarted I had a small group of
around maybe 14 15 youth andfrom there it has blossomed some
(31:42):
nights I don't know if I caneven fit in the gym anymore
because we'll have well around50 60 even 70 teenagers at a
time and I'm blessed that thatis a great problem to have.
SPEAKER_06 (31:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (31:53):
What are they seeking?
Well first uh they're seekingcommunity they're seeking the
opportunity to one unwind have aspace where they can just be
teenagers and then from therethey're also seeking what is
this truth that we hold here inthis church that I can't find
anywhere in on my blocks hereit's uh around home or I can't
find it anywhere in school butsomehow I'm drawn here.
(32:15):
And these teens they'reconsistent so I'm gonna need a
bigger gym so very soon.
SPEAKER_00 (32:24):
Either one or both uh service um uh have you seen
kids or what happens when theyhave an opportunity to uh give
some service for others and alsoum as we talked with the others
uh have um have you been able touh have your young people have
uh a retreat experience I knowyou you talked about inviting
(32:45):
them to pray and uh uh I I theyouth group is still uh forming
uh um but um say uh somethingabout service andor uh retreat
experience yeah about service uhthey are serving in the church
many of them right now they arein the catechic uh catechesis uh
being helping with thecatechesis others are lectors
(33:08):
others are altar servers uh theyare serving and they want to
serve more uh serve more more inthe church they also we didn't
have like a retreat but we wentto New York City as an
evangelization trip it was localit was one day where they really
feel uh what is to go out andspread the gospel to be a
(33:31):
disciple in the real world andthey faced some encounters that
were so good others that theywere not so good so but they
realized it that following Jesusit was you know it's not easy
but we are called to bedisciples and that's what we
are.
SPEAKER_02 (33:50):
Service or retreat experience?
SPEAKER_01 (33:52):
Both so um the way that we have worked it here at
the cathedral is that we arecreating this pipeline of
lifelong catechesis.
So from the time that they arequote unquote born like you know
we are working with a lot of ourparents in order to get their
children baptized and then asthey grow over grow older they
go into faith formation.
And then from there they're inour after school program.
(34:13):
They're meeting us and the restof the team as they grow older
they're in youth ministry andthen from there they go into
young adult ministry.
And so with that it will bringforth a lot of opportunities for
service.
Many of our teens have grown thedesire to become altar servers.
They're also lectors some haveeven become Eucharistic
ministers and then from therethey also become part of many of
(34:34):
the different ministries that wehave whether it is the Knights
of Columbus some come ascatechists and some are just
there because ultimately theylove the St.
John's community so much thathow much it is invested into
them they feel as though it isan important part of their life
in order to give back to thechurch.
And we also allow our same teensI have a small leadership team
(34:57):
to where they also plan theconfirmation retreat for all of
our second year second yearconfirmation students.
So these were the same teensthat had their retreat last year
and so for the following yearthey get to be the ones to plan
the retreat whatever themes orwacky ideas that they have
nothing's off the tablenothing's off limits.
We do our best to give the nextgroup the same or even better
(35:19):
experience than the one fromlast year.
SPEAKER_02 (35:22):
Thank you very much and thank you bitch um you uh
you've mentioned technology andcommunications right uh yes with
our other youth ministers hereum we um uh if we can be of help
you know uh Cecile is there whodoes a lot thank god for our
technology and social media umuh if we can you know help in
(35:44):
any way or you want to bringyour uh some of your young
people here maybe at some pointor I've also thinking as I
wanted to I'm gonna surprise Jaybut maybe we can look at to um
do a remote at the DAS and youthday maybe we could uh do an
episode um sure you know tobring some of the kids in and
out and have them uh and and nowum hopefully you can share the
(36:06):
this episode with your youngpeople and they can see the
youth minister on and if it uhbecause we want as as Justin you
just said about uh bringing thekids in from as young as
possible and the encounter withChrist that uh John talked about
um they want to be evangelizedas well right and they can do
that in the streets of New Yorkthey can do it serving in the
parish they can also do itthrough social media and
(36:27):
technology right now we havesocial media our youth ministry
have their own social mediatheir own IIG uh CLL and then
TikTok so they do these videosthey share what they are doing
in order to share with otheryouth and to bring youth new
youth to our parish so which isamazing it's it's great that
(36:49):
they are using the social mediato evangelize uh like you were
saying Bishop Sweeney and alsowe had the first social night
last uh Saturday where some ofthem were bringing friends that
now they want to be part of theyouth ministry.
SPEAKER_00 (37:03):
Okay.
That's how we are trying tobring more youth to our parish
besides you know calling andannouncing and just being light
and they're doing it.
SPEAKER_02 (37:13):
Uh how do you do you social media know you do at the
cathedral right?
SPEAKER_01 (37:17):
Yes we do we have various social media channels
for all of our differentministries but we do have one
specifically for the cathedralfor our after school program and
of course for young prophets wehave our Instagram and we also
have delve into the world ofTikTok and we have found great
success with TikTok.
Oh really oh absolutely bishopin fact this is entirely youth
(37:39):
led where I just oh I onlyoversee it these are all the
ideas so everything from ourTikTok is entirely done by our
youth I just kind of make surethat everything is still in line
with the mission that we'restill bringing out the truth.
And so many of their friendshave seen it many of the middle
schoolers from the school havefound our TikTok many people
from the parish on a Sundaynight uh Sunday afternoon when
(38:01):
they come and see me they tellme oh my kids have seen your
TikTok oh my family has seenyour TikTok even some of our
TikToks have gone evennationwide and so people are
finding out that we're doingsomething here in the diocese of
Patterson is moving.
It's bringing people back.
Yes uh and we can uh uh put somelinks right uh to connect with
the uh yes different uh youthgroups yeah yeah and I know this
(38:24):
is maybe slightly off topicwe're talking about youth
ministry but uh it did come upearlier um young adult ministry
are either of you or both of youinvolved with young adult
ministry at all or can connectyouth ministry to not yet but we
are working on that yeah well inthe cathedral yes we do have a
budding uh young adult ministryI was um I work alongside the
(38:47):
coordinators for a young adultministry um they were actually
in youth ministry together withme and so a lot of times what we
want to do is bridge the gap.
So as soon as they turn 18they're starting to get familiar
with those young adult leadersbecause as I mentioned before
we're trying to create lifelongcatechesis.
And so as soon as it's 18 eventhough yes youth ministry may
not be the most appropriate foryou but you're still here a part
(39:08):
of the passion still part of theparish this is there's still
something here for you justbecause when you go to college
doesn't mean you still can't bea part of your parish here.
SPEAKER_02 (39:15):
Nice a few weeks ago we had the Capello family uh
here with us uh Dominic is therea little Dominic uh um uh the
cathedral has a growing umministry to um uh young people
and families with children withspecial needs right absolutely
and uh that's an opportunity forservice and leadership right to
to for some of the young peopleto and young adults to to be
(39:37):
there for the the special needscommunity right many of our
youth have also expressed thatthey have family members and
other siblings that also havespecial needs so this is a great
way for many of the communitycome and support that wonderful
mess that we have every firstSaturday.
SPEAKER_01 (39:50):
In fact we actually have uh in Faith Formation a
girl who is uh deaf and youthand so I was going over with
Ivania she is the DRE at at thecathedral and we were
desperately trying to find aninterpreter we were able to find
one we have this one lady thatcomes all the way from Allentown
Pennsylvania to come and givecatechesis to this one young
(40:11):
girl who needs and said there'salso going to be sign language
at the special needs mess rightyes I I was able to at least
kind of make the little sparkbecause I've learned a little
sign language to kind of atleast make sure that like you
know we hear and we see you.
And so like yeah soon enoughthere will be sign language here
at the cathedral.
That's great.
That's great.
SPEAKER_04 (40:31):
That's awesome.
SPEAKER_02 (40:32):
Yeah thank well thank you so much uh both for
your service doing so muchimportant working thank you for
inviting us thanks thanks tokeep us up to date and uh maybe
hopefully we'll all be togetherat uh the Dahoas and Youth Day
if not before and we might be uhdoing some more seeing you again
thank you so much thank you allright before we let you go uh
(40:54):
Bishop is there anything youwant to reflect on about youth
ministry or young adult ministryor anything that that we talked
about here today?
Yeah some recent conversationswith John and our team at at St.
Paul's Inside the Walls uh yeahit's it's gotta be a priority
for us and uh it's encouragingto hear other youth ministers
(41:15):
who are here with us and as uhJohn said we're gonna uh try to
um uh reach out to pastors andparish leaders who may not have
um a youth ministry program toit's it's um uh the the most
important thing is the effortright where there's the will
there's a way and if the if theif there's an interest um we
could there's you can seethere's resources here that um
(41:35):
so anybody whether it be parentsor parishioners or priests uh um
if you're if you don't have anactive youth ministry in your
parish and you want to dosomething uh reach out john um
the diocese and uh and and andwe'll you got a lot of support
here to um start with a few andyou can and you can grow right
yeah you might even need abigger gym in the end yeah right
(41:59):
and one one question for youbishop did you do any reading on
the on the plane or or anythingwhat are you what are you
reading watching um actually Ilistened to a book um by um the
son of Ted Kennedy PatrickKennedy who was a long a
congressman very young andstarted as a congressman but he
struggled with um uh mentalhealth issues and addiction
(42:19):
issues and he's become now areal advocate for um uh uh
especially parity and uh in uhhealthcare that not only
physical uh injuries orillnesses are covered but also
that uh there would be equalcoverage for mental health
issues and uh and those dealingwith addiction.
So it was a very he actually themore recent book that he's come
out with that I just started asum uh his uncle John F.
(42:43):
Kennedy um was famous forwriting the book Profiles in
Courage about senators who haddone heroic things and uh
Patrick now has written umProfiles in mental health
courage stories of those who uhhave have dealt with um mental
health and addiction addictionissues but before reading that I
wanted he had a number of yearsago written his own kind of
memoir and life story and I readthat first and that's what I
(43:05):
actually listened to on the tripand uh um it was a powerful um
uh uh testimony um and thank godreally the um he he had ups and
downs along the way um but ummeeting uh he he married I think
in his early 40s he was he waslate to but he met the right
person and uh she already hadhad a child but now I think
they've had three or fourchildren since and now they live
(43:27):
in Barnegat I think uh in uh inin in South Jersey so uh um uh
and maybe we'll be sharing morein in May um uh new the state of
New Jersey the five dioceses aregonna sponsor a a mental health
um uh day and conference um sowe'll be sharing more
information about that but um uhum that story was uh uh an
(43:49):
uplifting uh testimony um soawesome your your bookshelf must
be getting really really fun theaudio books we don't have to
worry so much about that so uhall right well uh thanks for
sharing that and and thanksagain uh all right and thank
thank you all for joining usplease subscribe comment or
leave and leave a positiverating get to know us better by
(44:10):
following Bishop Kevin'sInstagram and Beyond the Beacon
on social media read thebishop's weekly column on
beaconnj.org get in touch if youhave a question or a podcast
topic idea and discover ourother podcasts Coffee with Kupke
and the Paul Street Journal.
SPEAKER_04 (44:27):
See you next time.
SPEAKER_02 (44:28):
Thanks everybody thanks India thanks Justin so
much thanks thanks so much
Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin
Sweeney, a podcast of theDiocese of Patterson, New
Jersey.
Join us for conversations aboutour Catholic faith, and together
let's strive to live a life offaith, hope, and love.
We're so glad you could join us.
I'm Jay Agnish.
With me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney.
Bishop Kevin, how are you?
I'm doing well, Jay.
How are you?
Pretty good.
(00:28):
Seems like it's been a while.
Yes.
Yeah, um, you were on another uhcontinent, I guess, for a while.
What was going on there?
You were you became our um likea roving reporter, in a sense,
in in Italy.
SPEAKER_02 (00:44):
So we had a wonderful pilgrimage from the
Jubilee to um Assisi Orvieto,where there was a Eucharistic
miracle, and then on to Rome.
Um we had a great company, uhSister Teresa Lee and Brian
Hartenberger, who weren't withus on the trip but are been
leading our Jubilee efforts, uh,were part of the planning.
(01:04):
Um and then Father John Calabro,um uh campus minister at uh or
chaplain at Pope John HighSchool was with us.
Um we had uh two of our voc uhvocation directors, Father Ed
Rama and Father Charlie Lana,and then um Father Brian
Sullivan, pastor of Christ theKing, and New Vernon was there
with a few of his parishioners.
And we had 28, mostly from thediocese um in the group, and um
(01:28):
we had a wonderful time,wonderful weather, a great
guide.
Uh and then Yeah, I think so.
It rained like the day after yougot to be.
SPEAKER_04 (01:35):
Yeah, we didn't have any rain either.
SPEAKER_02 (01:37):
Uh beautiful weather, and uh Assisi was
magnificent, and uh Orvieto wasbeautiful, and then Rome was
wonderful, and uh um one of ourseminarians uh studying at the
North American College in Romewas ordained with 15 classmates.
Sixteen of them were ordained inwhat they call the altar of the
chair behind the main altar atSt.
Peter's Basilica.
(01:58):
Uh that was um this pastThursday, and uh Lucas Fog.
Came home on Friday, the feastof St.
Francis of Assisi, and uh umyeah, it was a great time.
SPEAKER_04 (02:07):
So you you beat the rush to Assisi, I guess, getting
out of the case.
SPEAKER_02 (02:11):
Yeah, we were there, right.
We were there the weekendbefore, yes, right, right.
Um it's a net oh it used to be anational holiday, and they're
gonna make it a national holidayagain.
He's uh one of the patrons ofum, I think Francis of Assisi
and Catherine of Siena, I think,are the two patrons of Italy.
Um so um, but it was great.
We enjoyed your photos.
SPEAKER_04 (02:29):
And was there was there one moment that was your
favorite?
SPEAKER_02 (02:32):
Well, I guess um uh two, uh the ordination and uh
the um uh well three maybe theuh the papal audience uh on
Wednesday and Publio was prettyclose.
And uh we learned that if youwant to get close to the Holy
Father, find a mom with a baby.
And then you can be close.
He seemed to stop wherever therewas a baby and looked up there.
(02:54):
So uh but also um uh our firstday in Rome, I think, um we said
Mass in St.
Peter's Basilica, and they havea number of altars kind of on
the way down to where Peter wasburied, the burial place.
We didn't get down to what theycall the scavi tour all the way
to the bottom.
But um just by chance wecelebrated Mass at the uh how do
I forget how the Kiesa, thechapel uh Irlandes in Spanish,
(03:17):
the Irish chapel of uh St.
Columba.
Uh so it was uh beautifulcelebrating Mass there.
SPEAKER_04 (03:22):
Sounds sounds great.
Uh hope to get there myself oneday.
Um okay, good.
Well, we're gonna talk aboutyouth ministry today, but first
I think we're gonna open up inprayer.
SPEAKER_02 (03:32):
Are we gonna pray the Jubilee prayer?
Good to have our guests with us,and a couple more to come.
So uh Alyssa, right?
And John, um please join us, andthose on the other side of the
camera can join us as well.
And uh we'll pray, we'll placeourselves in God's presence,
name of the Father and of theSon, and of the Holy Spirit.
(03:54):
Amen.
Amen.
In this Jubilee year, aspilgrims of hope, we pray
together the Jubilee prayer.
Father in heaven, may the faithyou have given us in your Son
Jesus Christ, our brother, andthe flame of charity enkindle in
our hearts by the Holy Spiritreawaken in us the blessed hope
for the coming of your kingdom.
SPEAKER_03 (04:16):
May your grace transform us into tireless
cultivators of the seeds of thegospel.
SPEAKER_02 (04:21):
May those seeds transform within the humanity of
the whole cosmos in the pureexpectation of a new heaven and
a new earth, when with thepowers of evil vanquished, your
glory will shine eternally.
SPEAKER_03 (04:34):
May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, pilgrims
of hope, a yearning for thetreasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread thejoy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you, our God, eternallyblessed, be glory and praise
forever.
Amen.
SPEAKER_02 (04:51):
Our Lady, seed of wisdom, Mother of the Church,
our Lady of Hope, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Saint Dennis, pray for us.
All holy men and women, pray forus.
Name of the Father and the Sonand of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_03 (05:03):
Amen.
Amen.
SPEAKER_04 (05:04):
Okay, so we're gonna talk youth ministry today.
So let me introduce the twoguests who are here now, and
then we're gonna have two otheryouth ministers are gonna join
us.
So, John Camerata is thedirector of youth ministry for
the Diocese of Patterson since2022.
He holds a master in churchmanagement from Villanova
University with 25 years ofservice as the youth minister
(05:25):
for St.
Peter the Apostle Parish inParsippone.
He's married 16 years with twochildren.
Sitting next to him is AlyssaCarrollin.
She is the youth minister at St.
John Vienny Parish in theStockholm neighborhood of
Hardiston and St.
Thomas the Apostle in the OakRidge neighborhood of Jefferson.
So welcome both of you, andthanks for being on.
(05:47):
Let's get to it, Bishop.
What's up?
SPEAKER_02 (05:49):
Thanks, thanks.
Uh John, you've been doing thisfor a couple of years, I think.
SPEAKER_07 (05:53):
A couple of years, yes.
How many?
Well, 25 years in youthministry.
SPEAKER_02 (05:57):
25 years of youth ministry.
Um did you grow up in St.
Peter, the Apostle inParsiphony?
Yeah.
I went to the Catholic schoolthere as well.
And uh were you um as a youngperson part of a youth group?
Yes.
Right, yes.
And uh then uh just naturallymoved into leadership, and then
the one of the pastors offeredyou a job?
SPEAKER_07 (06:19):
Yes.
Yeah, I was always uhvolunteering and helping out,
teaching C C D, helping run theretreats.
Uh I was a chef at the time andI went to culinary school and
and so and then uh Father HerbTillier uh had invited me to say
that.
SPEAKER_02 (06:34):
You just heard something recently about the
you're cooking seven fishes onChristmas Eve.
SPEAKER_07 (06:38):
Oh, for maybe twenty years I cooked for Father Herb
and Bishop Rodimer ChristmasEve, the traditional seven
fishes.
That was they always celebratedtogether.
Beautiful.
That was a great experience,yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:51):
Um signor Herb Tilly, uh a great Yankees fan.
We forgot to uh sorry, Bishop.
Uh so uh you studied to be achef, you became a chef, you
were in youth ministry, and thenwhat happened?
SPEAKER_07 (07:05):
Uh then I just you know just kept always helping
and volunteering, and thenfinally Father Herb said, Would
you come on and and and so I Imoved into that, and then uh I
started just doing youthministry and confirmation, uh
and then um the DRE uh justwanted the young kids, so I took
over the middle school, and thenwhen uh that person left, uh
(07:26):
Father asked if I would take oneverything and so your DRE as
well.
So I'm the DRE as well, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (07:31):
Uh and then um I I should remember this, although
it might it was either justbefore or just after, I think.
When did you become DAS anddirector of youth ministry?
In 2022.
Okay, right, right, right, yes,yes.
So um we can talk a little bitmore about that in terms of what
we're trying to do as a diocese.
Um, but um we we can't have a astrong youth ministry program in
(07:54):
a diocese without strong youthministers, right?
So you've invited a few of ouryouth ministers.
Is it Alyssa, right?
Maybe tell us a little bit aboutuh growing up in the faith if
you did, and uh uh uh what ledyou to towards youth ministry
and then to become a youthminister.
SPEAKER_05 (08:13):
Very similar to John's story.
I grew up at St.
John Vienny.
SPEAKER_02 (08:16):
Okay.
SPEAKER_05 (08:17):
Um I did Antioch there growing up.
Father Matt Twiggs um broughtAntioch to the parish, and I was
on the first team my junior yearof high school.
SPEAKER_06 (08:25):
Wow.
SPEAKER_05 (08:26):
Um and so again, very involved through high
school, through college.
I came back and helped out alittle bit, and then I did um a
year with Jesuit Volunteer Corpsin Cleveland, Ohio.
And then after that, I'd comeback and there was, I think, a
gap where our previous youthminister, who was the youth
minister when I was growing up,had left, and there was kind of
(08:48):
no one, they were still doingAntioch, but no one was clearly
no one was in charge.
And so one of our volunteerscalled me and said, Would you be
interested in in we all want tohelp, but none of us really want
to leave.
You need a leader.
Could you leave?
SPEAKER_06 (09:00):
Right.
SPEAKER_05 (09:00):
Um, and then I just kind of very naturally stumbled
from there into a full, intoyouth ministry.
SPEAKER_02 (09:05):
Did you go to a Jesuit college?
SPEAKER_05 (09:07):
I did, I went to Fordham.
SPEAKER_02 (09:08):
Fordham, okay.
Um, and uh maybe talk about um,you know, I think one of the
things that youth ministry sooften does is help young people
to know that um they're we'recalled to serve, right, as as as
disciples and to put our faithinto action.
Um I guess you had some of thatexperience before going to a
(09:28):
Jesuit school, and then uh youheard about an opportunity to
give a a full year of service,right?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (09:35):
So definitely starting um I was kind of
encouraged to take my faith onas my own by our youth minister
when I was in high school.
Um leading the retreat team wassuper exciting.
Um and then through college, thethe thing that drew me to
Fordham was the couragepersonalis, right?
The care for the whole person.
Okay.
(09:55):
The idea that we are um calledto live as men and women foreign
with others, which is anotherkind of Jesuit catchphrase.
Um so that idea of men and womenfor foreign with others drove me
to kind of not know what I wasdoing, but knowing that I wanted
to do that year of service incollege.
SPEAKER_02 (10:11):
What did you study undergrad?
SPEAKER_05 (10:13):
English and theology.
SPEAKER_02 (10:14):
Okay.
Um and you mentioned, I think,also um uh you attended a World
Youth Day.
SPEAKER_05 (10:20):
Yeah, with with Fordham.
So I went to Brazil.
SPEAKER_02 (10:22):
Great.
And how was that, what was thatexperience like?
Great.
SPEAKER_05 (10:25):
We did um I think a week before World Youth Day with
Magis.
So Jesuit universities and fromall over the world came together
and we did a service project.
So it's that that link betweenthe interior faith, but what
does it propel you to do in theworld?
And that's a conversation I'vehad with our young people quite
(10:45):
a bit, is we've gone toconferences, we've gone to
different, we've gone ondifferent trips, and I've had
really great conversations withkids in the van on the drive
home where they're like, okay,so adoration, we love adoration,
we love the sacraments, we heardsomething from the speakers, but
what do I do now?
Right?
What is that next thing?
And then trying to offer thosenext things for the kids to
(11:06):
allow them to practice thatmuscle of uh living their lives
of faith.
SPEAKER_02 (11:10):
John, you want a couple of youth world youth
lists as well?
SPEAKER_07 (11:13):
My first one was 1997 in Paris, and then I went
to um uh Toronto in 2002, andthen Cologne, Germany.
SPEAKER_02 (11:22):
Well, we were together in Cologne.
Oh yeah.
You had to mention Toronto,didn't you?
Yeah, I didn't know.
Yeah, right.
That's right.
That's right.
SPEAKER_07 (11:29):
Uh and they were amazing experiences, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (11:32):
Uh and you um Alyssa, you mentioned uh
conferences and trips.
Um you know, we don't may notcall it that, but um it's a
really a pilgrimage experience,right?
Uh and uh uh we have um onecoming up for our country.
John, do you want to share alittle bit about NCYC?
SPEAKER_07 (11:48):
So NCYC is the National Catholic Youth
Conference and held in uhIndianapolis, Indiana, and it's
uh November 20th to the 22nd.
Uh and we have a group uh fromthe diocese that it's going, and
it's uh a beautiful experience.
And uh we're blessed that uhPope Leo is gonna give us a uh a
a live stream and uhinteraction, so we're very
(12:08):
excited about that.
SPEAKER_02 (12:09):
And how many do we have from the diocese going to
Business?
SPEAKER_07 (12:12):
35 that are coming with the diocese, and we may
have a few groups that are gonnago on their own too.
SPEAKER_02 (12:17):
Have you been to NCYC list?
No, I haven't.
Uh some any other conferences oruh uh experiences of traveling
with young people that stood outthat were helpful?
SPEAKER_05 (12:26):
I took a group to Steubenville.
Oh, yes.
One or two, I think twice.
A youth conference?
Yes.
Um the experience of adorationwas really I mean, very exciting
to the kids to kind of have umYeah, to have that prayer
experience for them was great.
SPEAKER_02 (12:47):
Uh my first World Youth Day was in 1993 in Denver,
I've shared before, but uh forme it was really um an
experience of the universalchurch, you know, that um we're
part of something so muchbigger.
Um and uh but even uh thenational level or right when you
um uh are with young people fromwhether it be all parts of the
country or all parts of theworld, it uh it can help us to
(13:11):
not just have the theory, right,that we're part of a larger
church, but that uh that we'reliterally part of uh that
mystical body, right?
SPEAKER_07 (13:17):
I think at the last NCYC I leaned over to you and
said, you know, after adoration,it was like 15,000 people just
being completely silent.
I said, how could people not beexcited about the church?
You know, uh after experiencingsomething like that.
Right.
You know, it's it's reallybeautiful.
And and you know, we encourageall parishes to to get involved
in things like that.
SPEAKER_04 (13:36):
And we have a local diocesan event coming up right
in November.
November 2nd, tell us.
SPEAKER_07 (13:41):
November 2nd is our diocesan uh youth conference,
which uh this will be our ourthird year uh doing it, and we
haven't uh before that we hadn'thad one in in a good decade or
two, so we're very excited aboutthat.
And we have about uh usuallyabout 350 young people that that
attend, and we have uh awonderful group, a ray of hope
that's gonna be our our leadersfor the day.
(14:02):
And uh we also have uh anexhibit for Eucharistic
miracles, and we're gonna have afirst class relic of St.
Carlo Acutis there as well to bea part of it.
So it's a great day, and youcould uh check out the St.
Paul Inside the Walls website toregister, and uh we want you
know every parish to berepresented.
So plenty of time, right?
Yeah, yeah, plenty of time.
Yeah, send kids.
SPEAKER_02 (14:22):
Uh and St.
Elizabeth's University, right?
SPEAKER_03 (14:25):
Yeah, they're that's doing such a great job.
Um they're uh so generous andgreat partners.
SPEAKER_02 (14:29):
And it's um it's a nice experience for young people
to be on a college campus,right?
Um some of them may not have asas as as as many maybe some
others do, but uh um have youbeen, Alyssa, in your group to
the uh Dawson Youth Day?
SPEAKER_05 (14:43):
No, I haven't, so I haven't taken any group this
year.
SPEAKER_02 (14:46):
Great, great.
Um and um um maybe you both uhsince 1997, so that's more than
25, 20.
Uh uh what are some of thechanges that you've seen in
young people or their challengesor their interests or um uh uh
over over over the years and andyour experience uh um obviously
(15:08):
technology, we were 1997 therewere no smartphones, right?
SPEAKER_07 (15:11):
Uh yeah, I I think uh the the competing for time is
the biggest issue.
Uh I I think there's so manymore distractions that that
they're dealing with.
Uh so just just convincing themand families that uh being close
to the church, being having arelationship with the Lord is
(15:32):
the best use of their time.
And uh so that is the the themost difficult part, right?
SPEAKER_05 (15:36):
I would say I think every other that I've seen every
other adult in their life issaying my thing is the most
important thing, right?
School is the most importantthing, sports are the most
important thing, your job is themost important thing, and then
here I am saying the church isthe most important thing, and I
believe that, but it's hard to Ifeel like frequently I'm the one
who's like, okay, we will makeit work.
We will come early for servicehours, leave whatever it is, we
(15:59):
will make find a way to makethis fit in your so busy
schedule, and like making thecase that this is something you
should making it something thatthey want to do, rather than
just like this is anotherobligation that you need to
shoehorn into a schedule that isjam-jam packed.
Um I think that that has been achallenge for us to say like how
(16:20):
are we making this a safe spacefor the kids to um connect with
each other, be themselves, puttheir phones down.
Um I think another change hasbeen gener like general anxiety
is a change that I've seen inkids.
I've been doing it since 2016.
And even since then, um kind ofthis post-COVID generation is
(16:45):
they're very on their phones,they're very nervous about
overnights, they're very nervousabout um they want all their
questions answered.
And so sometimes when we'relike, no, no, you're on God's
time.
Sit down, relax, relax.
We are taking care of it, that'snot something that they're
excited to hear.
SPEAKER_02 (17:04):
I mean uh different things.
SPEAKER_04 (17:07):
Yeah, no, it's great insight.
Um I was wondering, so John, wehad talked in our pre
pre-interview, you are working.
Tell us about the diocesan youthleadership team, how that works
and and what what's going onthere.
You have starting at the end ofOctober, you're gonna start a
meeting.
SPEAKER_07 (17:23):
So uh, you know, we invite uh all parishes to kind
of pick out one or two of theiryoung people that to be on the
diocesan youth leadership team.
And I meet with them uh once amonth, and we're gonna start at
the end of October.
SPEAKER_06 (17:35):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_07 (17:35):
And uh we'll meet kind of through May.
And uh each month we go and andand work on leadership uh
skills, and so they'll learnleadership styles, group
planning, prayer, youthministry, um dynamics, and so
we'll train them as as goodyouth leaders.
So and then they'll help at ouruh diocesan regional retreats.
So we offer uh three regionalretreats, one in each of the
(17:58):
counties, uh, as a day retreat,and and that's for any young
people that want a retreatexperience, not just those that
need it for a confirmationrequirement.
So it works for that too.
It works for that too as well,and it gives you three options.
Uh and uh but just for anyone,if you know if the Catholic high
schools want to send one oftheir teams as a group building
or peer leaders, or uh it'd be agreat opportunity for them too.
(18:19):
So we offer one in each of thecounties.
SPEAKER_04 (18:21):
What's the picture of youth ministry look like in
the diocese of Patterson?
Like how many churches have ayouth ministry?
SPEAKER_07 (18:27):
So we're working on that, right?
So we would say that probably athird have active youth
ministry.
Uh maybe a third are trying, andand a third need to start
working harder.
So uh but I just want I wantthem to know that there is a an
active diocesan youth officethat is there to help them.
Uh you know, find someone inyour parish that is, you know,
(18:50):
whether whatever your resourcesallow you, whether it's
volunteer, part-time, full-time,uh, you know, they can call me
up.
We have a uh kind of anonboarding process.
Uh we encourage them to takepart in uh in a training.
It's from the National CatholicNational Federation for Catholic
Youth Ministry.
Okay.
They have a program called FirstThings in Youth Ministry, and
(19:12):
it's uh six 90-minute onlinesessions, and they're putting a
cohort.
So they're putting a cohort withothers from around the country
and a and a teacher, and thenthey have these sessions and and
they learn like you know,budgeting and basics of youth
ministry and how to build a teamand how to work with your
pastor.
And so there is a a foundationfor them to start.
(19:33):
Uh so I I know sometimes theythink like, well, if I hire
some, what do I do with them?
But you call me and then andwe'll get to that.
SPEAKER_02 (19:39):
And amongst the youth ministers, um uh uh uh my
observation is that there's athere's great mutual support,
right?
And do you do that?
SPEAKER_05 (19:48):
I remember you came to my parish when I started in
2016 and we walked through thespace and we um I said what I
was planning to do and you gavesome great ideas and there's
amazing support.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (20:00):
We're gonna bring in our other guests, but um uh uh
maybe John you can think about,you know, uh one thing that um
you would uh share from yourexperience that you might
encourage um uh parishioners andparents maybe to be aware of to
how they might help out withyouth ministry.
But uh uh I just want to askAlyssa, you mentioned Antioch
(20:21):
and maybe for both of you, umhow helpful can a youth retreat
be for a young person?
Uh would you say?
SPEAKER_05 (20:29):
I think it's incredible.
I think it's that experience ofum that what you two, right?
That when when teens are sharingof themselves, they write my
team writes their retreat talks,they deliver it to the
candidates.
SPEAKER_02 (20:43):
Um You have an annual retreat in the
PowerShell.
Do you still do Antioch?
SPEAKER_05 (20:48):
We still do Antioch.
We do it at the Sacred HeartCenter in Newton.
Oh, right.
Our team meets for really, we'regonna start meeting next week,
so for months leading up to ourFebruary retreat.
It's um team meetings arepreparing for the retreat, but
also formation uh for the forthe leaders themselves who are
juniors and seniors and who areno longer in, you know, we do
confirmation in tenth grade.
(21:08):
So they're no longer in theclassroom, but they still need,
you know, ongoing formation isimportant for all of us.
SPEAKER_02 (21:13):
So with the opportunity to give a witness
talk, right?
I mean for a young person thatcan't.
SPEAKER_05 (21:18):
It's so meaningful for the for the team leader and
for the young people who arelistening to it, who hear adults
talk every single day and whomight not be hearing a young
person share about their faith.
SPEAKER_02 (21:28):
Yeah, it's really beautiful.
Um of what you might uh offer toencourage uh participation in
youth ministry in your ownexperience, how how helpful can
a youth retreat be for a parishor a young person?
SPEAKER_07 (22:20):
So my first group of young people are now, you know,
40.
And if I run into one of them,the first thing they ask is, Are
you still doing the missiontrip?
Are you still doing theretreats?
Are you still like it's and theymay not remember everything they
learned on that retreat, butthey remember how they felt on
that?
return and and so it it was anexperience and so that's what
(22:43):
touched them that's what uh youknow they remember um that's
what moved them and so it it'suh it's it's vital you need to
give them experiences I mean Ithink youth ministry has always
been about giving young peoplean opportunity to encounter
Christ and and if you if yougive them opportunities to
encounter Christ you give them achance to fall in love with
Christ and then if they fall inlove with Christ they'll want to
(23:05):
please them.
And that and that's that's thebasics of youth ministry.
It's just give themopportunities to encounter
Christ.
SPEAKER_05 (23:12):
I I have a I have a young adult group as a result of
Antioch too where it's thisamazing group of uh men and
women in their 20s who didAntioch and who maybe went to
college and came back and said Iwant to get involved in my
parish but there isn't a groupof people my age let me go to
the Antioch team and they'vestuck around for a lot of them
have been doing it as long as Ihave and they're amazing.
SPEAKER_02 (23:32):
Right and we're so grateful for the generosity of
volunteers right I mean alwaysyeah yeah could not be done
without them.
SPEAKER_04 (23:39):
Well great thank thank you both so much for thank
you for being on and sharing allthis we're gonna have to put
links right for the Dawson youthoffice resources here.
Check the show notes for moreamazing thank you Alyssa God
bless you thank you so we'reback and we're joined by Yadira
(24:02):
Sefante who is the youthminister at St.
Brendan and St.
George and Clifton the uhCatholic community of St.
Brendan and St.
George and Clifton and JustinCarrasco who is the youth
ministry at the Cathedral of St.
John the Baptist in Pattersonwelcome thank you both for being
on the continue thank you forinviting us for being here.
SPEAKER_02 (24:23):
So maybe you could each uh just tell us a little
bit about did you grow up in afamily of faith in a parish were
you a part of youth groupyourself when you were young and
and what led you to be involvedin in youth ministry now in St.
Brendan's and at the cathedral,right?
Maybe Yadira, you were sayingborn in Cuba and grew up in
(24:43):
Espania in Spain.
SPEAKER_00 (24:45):
Yes um I was born in Cuba and then I moved to Spain
to Madrid when I was 11 yearsold.
So I went to a Catholic schoolin Madrid.
I was involved with the nuns andthen from that I grew up in the
Catholic Church.
I get all my sacraments and thenwhen I get to the university I
study journalism and marketingand advertisements.
SPEAKER_02 (25:07):
Which university?
SPEAKER_00 (25:08):
Rey Juan Carlos in Fon Labrada outside Juan Carlos
King Juan Carlos right so then Imoved to United States six years
ago and I started being moreactive with my faith being
volunteer I got marked in thechurch and I say you know I need
to do something else for JesusChrist.
(25:29):
I love him.
Why I'm not using my skills myknowledge my gift from God to to
put it under God's service.
So I start being volunteer inSt.
Joseph Days Rutherford until Iget to uh Saint Brendan and then
I met Father Jesus I met CrystalI get involved I start in the
communication and then now I ama youth minister.
(25:51):
That's great and I involve theyouth uh with the communication
too.
So we are growing together westarted like five months ago the
youth ministry we started withseven youth and now we have 25.
And they are growing this is theHoly Spirit.
It's amazing how the Holy Spiritis working in the community in
(26:12):
each one of us and how the youthare getting more involved in
their service but also in theleadership in the parish and
they want to do more.
So we are growing um and theyhave a pastor who encourages
leadership right alter right yesyes he's a great leader and the
great example for all of us uhhow to follow Jesus with
(26:34):
commitment not only with love orpassion but the commitment when
you put love doing things forGod following active being
active with our faith and so umhopefully you'll uh some of
those 25 young people will joinus for the AS and UT right in
the November yes we are planningactually we are planning to go
(26:55):
to a pilgrimage next year to theMarian Eucharistic revival in
Spain in the north of Spain.
So every year since two yearsago there is this group of young
people that they met on July andthey had adoration they have
mass and they are from all partsof the world right so I'm
encouraging we are trying tosave money to bring our youth uh
(27:19):
to go to Spain next year so theycan encounter Jesus Christ also
through the other.
So and planning for the worldyouth.
SPEAKER_02 (27:27):
And then World Youth Day will be the following year
in 2027 in Seoul, Korea so we'repraying and hoping uh John's
already working on it and uh uhso um uh we'll have more
information on that to come butwe're already have we we'll be
sending some information outpretty soon right yes good so
Justin um where did you grow updid you grow up in the faith
were you part of a youth grouphow'd you end up uh serving at
(27:50):
at the cathedral thank you somuch for asking Bishop I'm a St.
SPEAKER_01 (27:53):
John's boy through and through okay so I was born
and raised in Patterson so totell the truth I actually grew
up two blocks away from St.
John's and so I had done all ofmy sacraments there I started
attending youth ministry backwhen I was 12, 13 years old so
right at the end of middleschool is probably where I
(28:14):
started to actually attend youthministry.
From there I can definitely sayit was the time I fell in love
with Christ.
I love I met my lovely wifethere.
I've made some of the best offriends that I have and it was
probably most likely my collegeyears where I started to think
about is youth ministrysomething that I could really
see myself doing in the future?
(28:35):
So upon the graduation ofcollege I graduated from Kane
University here in New Jerseyright?
Yeah here in New Jersey rightout of Union New Jersey Monty
Gino actually most great greatman he makes an announcement out
to the congregation about theopening of a new after-school
(28:55):
program that they were starting.
I was sitting with my wife atthe time and she was telling me
this is something you shouldprobably go for.
I was like I don't know I'm nottoo sure about it.
But through lots of prayer andwith a lot of conversations back
and forth you know I sat downwith Monty Gino and in those
conversations he also asked medo you see yourself also being a
(29:16):
part of youth ministry and Itold him all about my
experiences and he said Justinthis is where you need to be and
they have a great name for theyouth group at uh at the
cathedral right Young ProphetsYoung Prophets one of the finest
youth ministries in the entirestate of New Jersey and um uh
and so you have the charterschool at at um the cathedral
(29:41):
and that catechetical five daycatechetical um after school
program right and uh you wereinvolved in that as well I
believe right absolutely muchright yes uh and um you've
gotten some uh uh help recentlyright from uh some sisters who
have come to us yes yes uhreligious sisters of alma
Michigan they've also been thereto assist us in our mission to
(30:02):
catechize all of Patterson it'sbeen a real godsend to have them
come aboard and really give us ahand because we've seen the
great thirst the great need forChrist in our community and not
only with the sisters but withall the volunteers all the
full-time and part-time staffit's really just changed the
lives of all of these familiesthat have come onto our block of
mercy.
SPEAKER_04 (30:22):
That's great.
So what what are your secretsyour dear how did you go from
seven people to 25?
SPEAKER_00 (30:28):
Well the secret is the Holy Spirit is the Holy
Spirit this is only God's workwe're just following him.
SPEAKER_01 (30:36):
We pray a lot uh we are inspired to have this army
of light uh the name of ouryouth ministry is Christ leading
light and uh they are shining sothe secret is just praying um
following the spirit of God sojust let him work on us so
(30:56):
continue doing the job open tothe spirit right yeah so with us
I I don't really have a secret Ihave a big gym and so that can
be that's so um so the days thatwe operate is like primarily on
a Friday night and I run it as aquasi open gym where many of the
youth from a lot of theneighboring local high schools
(31:18):
they can come they can bringtheir friends it's a great
conversation starter for when Imeet somebody for the first time
how'd you learn about our groupoh I heard we could play
basketball here.
Oh this is a great place to bevolleyball I tell them exactly
this is also a great place toalso learn about Christ.
So you are more than welcome tostay here.
And so from there when I firststarted I had a small group of
around maybe 14 15 youth andfrom there it has blossomed some
(31:42):
nights I don't know if I caneven fit in the gym anymore
because we'll have well around50 60 even 70 teenagers at a
time and I'm blessed that thatis a great problem to have.
SPEAKER_06 (31:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (31:53):
What are they seeking?
Well first uh they're seekingcommunity they're seeking the
opportunity to one unwind have aspace where they can just be
teenagers and then from therethey're also seeking what is
this truth that we hold here inthis church that I can't find
anywhere in on my blocks hereit's uh around home or I can't
find it anywhere in school butsomehow I'm drawn here.
(32:15):
And these teens they'reconsistent so I'm gonna need a
bigger gym so very soon.
SPEAKER_00 (32:24):
Either one or both uh service um uh have you seen
kids or what happens when theyhave an opportunity to uh give
some service for others and alsoum as we talked with the others
uh have um have you been able touh have your young people have
uh a retreat experience I knowyou you talked about inviting
(32:45):
them to pray and uh uh I I theyouth group is still uh forming
uh um but um say uh somethingabout service andor uh retreat
experience yeah about service uhthey are serving in the church
many of them right now they arein the catechic uh catechesis uh
being helping with thecatechesis others are lectors
(33:08):
others are altar servers uh theyare serving and they want to
serve more uh serve more more inthe church they also we didn't
have like a retreat but we wentto New York City as an
evangelization trip it was localit was one day where they really
feel uh what is to go out andspread the gospel to be a
(33:31):
disciple in the real world andthey faced some encounters that
were so good others that theywere not so good so but they
realized it that following Jesusit was you know it's not easy
but we are called to bedisciples and that's what we
are.
SPEAKER_02 (33:50):
Service or retreat experience?
SPEAKER_01 (33:52):
Both so um the way that we have worked it here at
the cathedral is that we arecreating this pipeline of
lifelong catechesis.
So from the time that they arequote unquote born like you know
we are working with a lot of ourparents in order to get their
children baptized and then asthey grow over grow older they
go into faith formation.
And then from there they're inour after school program.
(34:13):
They're meeting us and the restof the team as they grow older
they're in youth ministry andthen from there they go into
young adult ministry.
And so with that it will bringforth a lot of opportunities for
service.
Many of our teens have grown thedesire to become altar servers.
They're also lectors some haveeven become Eucharistic
ministers and then from therethey also become part of many of
(34:34):
the different ministries that wehave whether it is the Knights
of Columbus some come ascatechists and some are just
there because ultimately theylove the St.
John's community so much thathow much it is invested into
them they feel as though it isan important part of their life
in order to give back to thechurch.
And we also allow our same teensI have a small leadership team
(34:57):
to where they also plan theconfirmation retreat for all of
our second year second yearconfirmation students.
So these were the same teensthat had their retreat last year
and so for the following yearthey get to be the ones to plan
the retreat whatever themes orwacky ideas that they have
nothing's off the tablenothing's off limits.
We do our best to give the nextgroup the same or even better
(35:19):
experience than the one fromlast year.
SPEAKER_02 (35:22):
Thank you very much and thank you bitch um you uh
you've mentioned technology andcommunications right uh yes with
our other youth ministers hereum we um uh if we can be of help
you know uh Cecile is there whodoes a lot thank god for our
technology and social media umuh if we can you know help in
(35:44):
any way or you want to bringyour uh some of your young
people here maybe at some pointor I've also thinking as I
wanted to I'm gonna surprise Jaybut maybe we can look at to um
do a remote at the DAS and youthday maybe we could uh do an
episode um sure you know tobring some of the kids in and
out and have them uh and and nowum hopefully you can share the
(36:06):
this episode with your youngpeople and they can see the
youth minister on and if it uhbecause we want as as Justin you
just said about uh bringing thekids in from as young as
possible and the encounter withChrist that uh John talked about
um they want to be evangelizedas well right and they can do
that in the streets of New Yorkthey can do it serving in the
parish they can also do itthrough social media and
(36:27):
technology right now we havesocial media our youth ministry
have their own social mediatheir own IIG uh CLL and then
TikTok so they do these videosthey share what they are doing
in order to share with otheryouth and to bring youth new
youth to our parish so which isamazing it's it's great that
(36:49):
they are using the social mediato evangelize uh like you were
saying Bishop Sweeney and alsowe had the first social night
last uh Saturday where some ofthem were bringing friends that
now they want to be part of theyouth ministry.
SPEAKER_00 (37:03):
Okay.
That's how we are trying tobring more youth to our parish
besides you know calling andannouncing and just being light
and they're doing it.
SPEAKER_02 (37:13):
Uh how do you do you social media know you do at the
cathedral right?
SPEAKER_01 (37:17):
Yes we do we have various social media channels
for all of our differentministries but we do have one
specifically for the cathedralfor our after school program and
of course for young prophets wehave our Instagram and we also
have delve into the world ofTikTok and we have found great
success with TikTok.
Oh really oh absolutely bishopin fact this is entirely youth
(37:39):
led where I just oh I onlyoversee it these are all the
ideas so everything from ourTikTok is entirely done by our
youth I just kind of make surethat everything is still in line
with the mission that we'restill bringing out the truth.
And so many of their friendshave seen it many of the middle
schoolers from the school havefound our TikTok many people
from the parish on a Sundaynight uh Sunday afternoon when
(38:01):
they come and see me they tellme oh my kids have seen your
TikTok oh my family has seenyour TikTok even some of our
TikToks have gone evennationwide and so people are
finding out that we're doingsomething here in the diocese of
Patterson is moving.
It's bringing people back.
Yes uh and we can uh uh put somelinks right uh to connect with
the uh yes different uh youthgroups yeah yeah and I know this
(38:24):
is maybe slightly off topicwe're talking about youth
ministry but uh it did come upearlier um young adult ministry
are either of you or both of youinvolved with young adult
ministry at all or can connectyouth ministry to not yet but we
are working on that yeah well inthe cathedral yes we do have a
budding uh young adult ministryI was um I work alongside the
(38:47):
coordinators for a young adultministry um they were actually
in youth ministry together withme and so a lot of times what we
want to do is bridge the gap.
So as soon as they turn 18they're starting to get familiar
with those young adult leadersbecause as I mentioned before
we're trying to create lifelongcatechesis.
And so as soon as it's 18 eventhough yes youth ministry may
not be the most appropriate foryou but you're still here a part
(39:08):
of the passion still part of theparish this is there's still
something here for you justbecause when you go to college
doesn't mean you still can't bea part of your parish here.
SPEAKER_02 (39:15):
Nice a few weeks ago we had the Capello family uh
here with us uh Dominic is therea little Dominic uh um uh the
cathedral has a growing umministry to um uh young people
and families with children withspecial needs right absolutely
and uh that's an opportunity forservice and leadership right to
to for some of the young peopleto and young adults to to be
(39:37):
there for the the special needscommunity right many of our
youth have also expressed thatthey have family members and
other siblings that also havespecial needs so this is a great
way for many of the communitycome and support that wonderful
mess that we have every firstSaturday.
SPEAKER_01 (39:50):
In fact we actually have uh in Faith Formation a
girl who is uh deaf and youthand so I was going over with
Ivania she is the DRE at at thecathedral and we were
desperately trying to find aninterpreter we were able to find
one we have this one lady thatcomes all the way from Allentown
Pennsylvania to come and givecatechesis to this one young
(40:11):
girl who needs and said there'salso going to be sign language
at the special needs mess rightyes I I was able to at least
kind of make the little sparkbecause I've learned a little
sign language to kind of atleast make sure that like you
know we hear and we see you.
And so like yeah soon enoughthere will be sign language here
at the cathedral.
That's great.
That's great.
SPEAKER_04 (40:31):
That's awesome.
SPEAKER_02 (40:32):
Yeah thank well thank you so much uh both for
your service doing so muchimportant working thank you for
inviting us thanks thanks tokeep us up to date and uh maybe
hopefully we'll all be togetherat uh the Dahoas and Youth Day
if not before and we might be uhdoing some more seeing you again
thank you so much thank you allright before we let you go uh
(40:54):
Bishop is there anything youwant to reflect on about youth
ministry or young adult ministryor anything that that we talked
about here today?
Yeah some recent conversationswith John and our team at at St.
Paul's Inside the Walls uh yeahit's it's gotta be a priority
for us and uh it's encouragingto hear other youth ministers
(41:15):
who are here with us and as uhJohn said we're gonna uh try to
um uh reach out to pastors andparish leaders who may not have
um a youth ministry program toit's it's um uh the the most
important thing is the effortright where there's the will
there's a way and if the if theif there's an interest um we
could there's you can seethere's resources here that um
(41:35):
so anybody whether it be parentsor parishioners or priests uh um
if you're if you don't have anactive youth ministry in your
parish and you want to dosomething uh reach out john um
the diocese and uh and and andwe'll you got a lot of support
here to um start with a few andyou can and you can grow right
yeah you might even need abigger gym in the end yeah right
(41:59):
and one one question for youbishop did you do any reading on
the on the plane or or anythingwhat are you what are you
reading watching um actually Ilistened to a book um by um the
son of Ted Kennedy PatrickKennedy who was a long a
congressman very young andstarted as a congressman but he
struggled with um uh mentalhealth issues and addiction
(42:19):
issues and he's become now areal advocate for um uh uh
especially parity and uh in uhhealthcare that not only
physical uh injuries orillnesses are covered but also
that uh there would be equalcoverage for mental health
issues and uh and those dealingwith addiction.
So it was a very he actually themore recent book that he's come
out with that I just started asum uh his uncle John F.
(42:43):
Kennedy um was famous forwriting the book Profiles in
Courage about senators who haddone heroic things and uh
Patrick now has written umProfiles in mental health
courage stories of those who uhhave have dealt with um mental
health and addiction addictionissues but before reading that I
wanted he had a number of yearsago written his own kind of
memoir and life story and I readthat first and that's what I
(43:05):
actually listened to on the tripand uh um it was a powerful um
uh uh testimony um and thank godreally the um he he had ups and
downs along the way um but ummeeting uh he he married I think
in his early 40s he was he waslate to but he met the right
person and uh she already hadhad a child but now I think
they've had three or fourchildren since and now they live
(43:27):
in Barnegat I think uh in uh inin in South Jersey so uh um uh
and maybe we'll be sharing morein in May um uh new the state of
New Jersey the five dioceses aregonna sponsor a a mental health
um uh day and conference um sowe'll be sharing more
information about that but um uhum that story was uh uh an
(43:49):
uplifting uh testimony um soawesome your your bookshelf must
be getting really really fun theaudio books we don't have to
worry so much about that so uhall right well uh thanks for
sharing that and and thanksagain uh all right and thank
thank you all for joining usplease subscribe comment or
leave and leave a positiverating get to know us better by
(44:10):
following Bishop Kevin'sInstagram and Beyond the Beacon
on social media read thebishop's weekly column on
beaconnj.org get in touch if youhave a question or a podcast
topic idea and discover ourother podcasts Coffee with Kupke
and the Paul Street Journal.
SPEAKER_04 (44:27):
See you next time.
SPEAKER_02 (44:28):
Thanks everybody thanks India thanks Justin so
much thanks thanks so much
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