Middle School Day Camp and Service Week

St. Leo’s Youth Ministry is excited to host EDGE WEEK – a week of service and inspiration hosted right here at St. Leo’s. Incoming 6th – 8th graders are invited to join us for this incredible week.

We spend our mornings doing service projects both here at the Parish, offsite at great organizations like – Second Harvest Food Bank, The Senior Day Care, Catholic Social Services, and more. Then – we spend each afternoon doing community building fun, plus some great retreat sessions with live music, skits, and games + plus some inspiring talks by great speakers. We finish out our week with a day of fun at Carowinds!

DOWNLOAD THE INFO FLIER HERE

DOWNLOAD YOUR REGISTRATION FORM HERE

Mail Registration to:

St. Leo’s Catholic Youth Ministry, 335 Springdale Ave, Winston-Salem, NC 27104

Or bring it by the Parish Office

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Is this the same thing as Works of Mercy?

A. Works of Mercy was an event where for one week middle school youth would get together at St. Leo’s and do service projects all week long. We are combining Works of Mercy with this Day Camp to provide a more comprehensive experience. Essentially the difference is that in addition to doing service projects each Morning they will also experience high energy retreat like sessions after lunch. This provides a chance for them to take what they are experiencing in service and chew on it, discuss it, and share about the experience. It also allows for a chance to get to know the other participants even better as we spend a lot of time doing community building exercises.

Q. What are some of the things that will be included in the retreat sessions?

A. We will include lots of team building games, small group activities, engaging talks and testimonials, and lots of prayer experiences. We also will offer Sacraments as much as is possible.

Q: Will food be provided?

A: The registration fee includes a light breakfast and a full lunch plus snacks. Meals will be brought in by local restaurants. If you have dietary concerns for your children please make a note of it on your registration forms.

Q: How many children will be there?

A: Registration is open for up to 70 middle school youth. Plus there will be about 10 – 15 high school youth there who are helping put on the week.

Q: What are the benefits to sending my child?

A: There are lots of options for camps and day camps for your children. This camp is an opportunity for them to not only get out of the house for part of the summer but to explore there faith in new and exciting ways. We give them great opportunities to discuss their faith and learn new things. It is also very important for middle school youth to build Christ-centered relationships and this will be a major focus of our week.

Q: What day are you going to Carowinds and is food included?

A: We will go to Carowinds on Friday June 26th leaving St. Leo’s promptly at 8am. We will return to St. Leo’s at approximately 9:30pm. We do need chaperone’s and drivers. If you are interested in helping please contact Chris Faddis.

Q: Do you need parent help for this camp?

Yes, yes we do! We need drivers to help get the groups to and from their service projects. We need parents to help set up/clean up and serve the food. We need shoppers to help pick up the food. Plus we will need Chaperone’s for the trip down to Carowinds on Friday. Please contact Chris Faddis at 724-9596 or stleoyouth@gmail.com to find out what you can help with.

Q: What does it cost?

The cost for the entire week is $110 and includes: Admission to Carowinds, two meals per day, a retreat t-shirt, and all of the weeks activities.

Q: Is Support or Fundraising available?

We do offer fundraising opportunities such as a bake sale and carwash. Also, we have funds available for families who cannot afford  the full cost. St. Leo’s never wants anyone to miss an activity or retreat due to cost. Please do not hesitate to speak with Chris Faddis regarding any financial concerns.

Have more questions? Please leave them in the comments section below or email Chris at stleoyouth@gmail.com

Youth Ministry Family Mass and Dinner

God uses the Weak

by Lucy D’Agostino

 

Over this past weekend I have been struggling with many different issues, all centered around the same theme: I am not smart enough, old enough, influential enough, good enough, holy enough etc…to do [insert task here].  After praying about these various tasks, I heard something that made me rethink these fears.  A nun was standing on stage, nervously shaking in her little habit, telling us her story.  She explained that she was always under the impression that in order to become a nun you had to be strong.  She then explained that God chooses the weak and makes them strong.  These words ran through my head for the remainder of the day. 

 

God works in wonderful ways, putting this beautiful nun on stage to say exactly what I needed to hear.  But just in case I didn’t get the message the first time, God sent it to me again.  The next day at mass the priest repeat the same phrase over and over: “God uses the weak and makes them strong.”  God will never present us with a task that we cannot handle.  We may not feel strong enough, but we were chosen for a reason.  Then while I was frequenting one of my favorite sites, lifeteen.com, (if you do not visit this site regularly I STRONGLY encourage you to start) and the quote of the day was from Mother Teresa. 

“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.” – Blessed Mother Teresa

Even Mother Teresa struggled with this, yet she was confident that God would never give her a task she couldn’t complete. Everyone has weaknesses.  Only God has the ability to work past them and use us to complete his ultimate plan. 

• Do I fully trust that I can handle and task God puts before me?
• If you are having trouble, or feeling weak, ask the saints to pray for you – they have made it through this world and have encountered similar struggles.

 

Lord I know I am weak, but please make me strong in You.  Help me to complete the tasks you have set for me.

 

 

Lucy D’Agostino is a sophomore at UNC Chapel Hill. She was a member of Life Teen at St. Leo’s Catholic Church in high school and is currently serving an internship at St. Leo’s. During the school year Lucy is very involved in her Catholic Newman Center.

Why is There Evil in the World?

by Lucy D’Agostino

As Saint Augustine puts is, “If there is not God, why is there good? If there is a God, why is there evil?”

 

            Over a cup of coffee in Italy with my professor the question “How can you believe in God and simultaneously see all this evil in the world” comes up.  This is not the only time I have heard this question.   In fact, I am usually on the asking rather than the answering side.  I put down my cup and ponder the answer. First, we must decide what kind of evil we are talking about. I ask my professor this question and he responds, “I just cannot see how a loving God would allow for a child to starve, for a Holocaust to occur, for a child molester to live.”  I think about all this and immediately blurt out the typical answer I have been familiar with the majority of my life, Free Will.  As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility. By free will one shapes one’s own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude. (1731)

I explain that God gave us free will because he loves us.  I gave the generic, but true, answers I had always heard that semi-convinced me but still left me wondering.  For instance, I understood that God gave us free will because otherwise we’d just be robots obeying his every command, but it seemed contradictory to me that he had the power to do anything, and yet would still allow really awful things to happen.  In my mind, it would make sense if we had free will to a certain extent, but when someone is about to murder millions of Jewish people God threw a few lightening bolts or started a little flood and stopped the shenanigans.   I suppose this wouldn’t exactly be free will though…in any case the free will argument alone didn’t have me or my professor convinced that the evil in the world made sense.  Because I clearly could not come to a conclusion on my own, I ended the conversation and turned to resources given to us by our church.

            I cracked open the book Catholic Christianity and found the following points quite relevant:

□        God is good (1 John 1:5)

□        God created everything to be good (Gen 1:35)

□        Therefore evil cannot be a thing for it would have to be a creation of God, and all he created was good

□        However, it is real, it cannot be an illusion

□        It is real like blindness, but not a thing God created like the eye (I really like this comparison)

□        There are two kinds of evil, moral and physical

□        Moral evil comes from mans free will (perhaps my original response was the correct one)

□        God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil. He permits it, however, because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it (CCC 311)

□        Evil is the separation from God

This book taught me several key points.  First of all, I was trying to argue the existence of God even with evil in the world without first defining evil.  If evil is the separation from God, how could evil exist without God.  In our world everything seems to have an opposite, to maintain equilibrium.  To have pure evil we must also have pure good.  God fills this role. 

            While reorganizing my thoughts on the topic of evil, another point came to mind.   Many argue that a right and just God wouldn’t allow suffering on the Earth.  They argue that the evil simply isn’t fair to those born in unfortunate situations.  In my opinion, however, the only way that it is fair is to believe that there is something more than this world.  If the poor children dying of starvation only have this world, only this unfortunate life they were born into, that would not be right or fair at all.  However, with the existence of a loving God, who will eventually take us all to live with Him in endless joy, their life here seems unfortunate, yes, but in reality just a speck in the grand scheme of eternity.   If this unfortunate life is all they have, than life really is unfair and the crazy emo kids have it right.  Since we believe in a loving God, however, in the end everything is made right.

—

Lucy D’Agostino is a sophomore at UNC Chapel Hill. She was a member of Life Teen at St. Leo’s Catholic Church in high school and is currently serving an internship at St. Leo’s. During the school year Lucy is very involved in her Catholic Newman Center.

EDGE DAY CAMP – for incoming 6/7/8th grades

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Is this the same thing as Works of Mercy?

A. Works of Mercy was an event where for one week middle school youth would get together at St. Leo’s and do service projects all week long. We are combining Works of Mercy with this Day Camp to provide a more comprehensive experience. Essentially the difference is that in the mornings they will experience high energy retreat like sessions and then do service projects after lunch.

Q. What are some of the things that will be included in the morning sessions?

A. We will include lots of team building games, small group activities, engaging talks and testimonials, and lots of prayer experiences. We also will offer Sacraments as much as is possible.

Q: Will food be provided?

A: The registration fee includes a light breakfast and a full lunch plus snacks. Meals will be brought in by local restaurants. If you have dietary concerns for your children please make a note of it on your registration forms.

Q: How many children will be there?

A: Registration is open for up to 70 middle school youth. Plus there will be about 10 – 15 high school youth there who are helping put on the week.

Q: What are the benefits to sending my child?

A: There are lots of options for camps and day camps for your children. This camp is an opportunity for them to not only get out of the house for part of the summer but to explore there faith in new and exciting ways. We give them great opportunities to discuss their faith and learn new things. It is also very important for middle school youth to build Christ-centered relationships and this will be a major focus of our week.

Q: What day are you going to Carowinds and is food included?

A: We will go to Carowinds on Friday June 26th leaving St. Leo’s promptly at 8am. We will return to St. Leo’s at approximately 9:30pm. We do need chaperone’s and drivers. If you are interested in helping please contact Chris Faddis.

Steubenville Youth Conference

St. Leo’s Family Night – Kernal Kustard

We are excited to host St. Leo’s Family Night at Kernal Kustard Restaurant to benefit St. Leo’s Youth Ministry. Simply go to Kernal Kustard anytime from 11am – 9pm and tell them you’re there to support St. Leo’s Youth Ministry. 15% of receipts will come directly to St. Leo’s Youth Ministry!

Plus from 5pm – 9pm St. Leo’s Youth Group will have entertainment for the whole family including live music from 6 – 9pm. Call or email us for more info 336-724-9596 or stleoyouth@gmail.com.

Parents, join me for Mass and Coffee

1st Friday’s – Parents Coffee/Mass/Adoration

Parents join us on April 3rd  for 8:15am Mass. Then we’ll stay and pray a Rosary for our teens during Adoration and then head over to the youth room for Coffee and Pastries. It is a chance to get to know one another and share. I’m looking forward to seeing you there.

Please RSVP in the comment section below.

Welcome

Welcome to the new St. Leo’s Youth Group Website. We are currently under construction, but don’t worry, we’ll be up and running shortly. Go ahead and sign your Email address up in the box to the right. That way, you’ll know exactly what’s going on!