We had a very colorful morning! Our Father’s Day Cardmaking Workshop by the lunch benches was very mellow and artsy Thank you Stephanie, Annie, Estef, Nazareth, Mark and Yaneth for coming by and making cards for tomorrow. I am sure that your Dads will be very moved by your creations

Also, thank you Estef and Annie for representing the Youth Ministry at the Parish Council meeting this morning. At the meeting, Estef let the council know about the various activities we have been doing including “BB Sun” in which we reflect on the Gospel, and “KIC!” our recycling project. The people in the council told Estef that they are going to start donating their recyclables to our Ministry. Great news! Thank you Parish Council for your support

Now I know it’s Father’s Day tomorrow but don’t forget to come by and “Meet Jesus at the Movies” tomorrow night from 7pm-8:30pm. Please let me know if you’ll be able to make it so I can have a Youth Ministry T-Shirt ready for you if you don’t have one.

Hope to see you all tomorrow at 10am for “BB Sun” and at 12pm for recycling. Note: Confirmation candidates, your recycling hours and any hours you help during the upcoming Youth Ministry Food Sale (6/29/08) and Car Wash (7/20/08) count toward the volunteer hours you are required to do for CCD.

Keep checking your Summer Program and this blog for more fun events coming up.

Have a great and safe Saturday Night!!!

Hello Youth Ministry! Was that a great hike or what? As many of you know, our group went on its first hike this past Saturday at Griffith Park. The hike was a chance to get away from our every day routine and get closer to God’s creation. The dusty trail offered many beautiful and thought provoking sights: shrubs and flowers growing in the areas that burnt in the most recent fires, colorful butterflies, a tiny green forest, deep blue skies, and quiet landscapes of our city from above. We even got to see the fire department training to fight fires from their helicopter. The best part of it was being able to share it all with old and new friends. Thank you Lili, Marco, Chris, Maria, Delmy, Krystal, Jackie, Erasmo, Enrique and Mark for coming.

I hope everyone can join us at our “Father’s Day Workshop” this coming Saturday, June 14, 2008 from 10am-12pm by the lunch benches. The idea is to create a personal Father’s Day card. This is a chance to share ideas with the other members on how to make a unique card for Dad. We will supply the materials for free but feel free to bring anything you wish to use in making your card. Remember, there’s no charge! So come by and make your Dad a card. Please let me know if you’re coming so I can make sure we have enough materials for everyone

Also, if you want to “Meet Jesus at the Movies” you can do so this Sunday, June 15, 2008 from 7pm-8:30pm here at Blessed Sacrament. This is a very special event that will help us find Jesus in many of the movies we know and love. It is always amazing to find God working in our everyday lives. Come by and share this time with us to see how Jesus reaches out to you from the movie theatre. Feel free to bring a friend or come with your family. This event is FREE so don’t worry about that. Let’s get together!

Please let me know if you’re coming to “Meet Jesus at the Movies” so I can have a YM Shirt ready for you to wear.

It was great going hiking with you all. I had fun and I hope you did too. Thank you everyone who makes these events possible and thank you teens for making it a success.

The Youth Ministry is here!

Our summer program from June-August got started this past Sunday with our first “BB Sun”. BB Sun is a get-together for Youth Ministry members and guests to talk about the Sunday Gospel and share our personal understanding of it. I believe that God speaks to everyone individually so through BB Sun we all shared the message we each received from the same Gospel.

This Sunday’s Gospel of “The True Disciple” was a perfect passage for us as Jesus tells us to do the Father’s will if we want to build our house on solid rock and not sand. I asked the teens at BB Sun, “How can we know if we’re doing the Father’s will?” and they said, “Jesus already told us how.” “Follow your heart.” “Trust your conscience.” “Read the Bible to be guided.” “Do it because you want to, not just to get into heaven.” and “Do good every chance you get.” I feel blessed to be working with our youth who as you can see are very inspirational. They’re our future and the future looks great!

BB Sun takes place every Sunday from 10am-11am by the lunch benches, unless we’re having another event like a Food Sale. If we’re not by the benches, we’re still somewhere in the Parish. Just look for our dark blue T-Shirts with the big “YM.”

The KIC! Project, our recycling effort, continued our summer program right after BB Sun. KIC! not only helps the environment but also helps us raise funds to provide free activities and events for the teens of our community. It was awesome to see our members in their aprons and plastic gloves collecting cans and bottles from the lunch area and all over BSC. What moved me the most though was when people started saving and collecting cans and bottles for us. And after they were finished eating, they would walk over and hand us their recyclables.

KIC! takes place every Sunday from 12pm-2pm by the lunch benches unless we’re doing another event or activity. Check our blog often for the latest news and notices.

If you would like to help, you can do so by bringing us your recyclables from home or helping us collect recyclables here at BSC on Sundays from 12pm-2pm.

Our next event, the “Nature Hike in Griffith Park” is coming up this Saturday, June 7. We’re thinking of calling this the “My Escape” hike, because it really helps you leave your worries behind for a little while. Lots of beautiful scenery and peaceful spots to think. Don’t miss it.

Information for the hike:

1) Please bring your Membership Application, signed by your parents, if you haven’t turned it in yet. You need to turn this form in first to go on the hike.

2) Please have your parents drop you off in the parking spaces across the street from the Greek Theatre by 10am. Our hike will begin promptly at 10:10am so please be on time. To get to the Greek, just drive up/north on Vermont.

3) Bring comfortable clothes, sneakers (no sandals), sunscreen, water, a snack, and a mat to sit down. We will have a chance to eat together at the end of the hike so if you like, bring a dish to share with everyone.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you everyone for your support. Thank you for a great start!