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!

Hey members, old and new, and visitors!

We have had a great weekend! As many of you know, BSC celebrated Corpus Christi on Saturday at the 6pm Mass. The Youth Ministry did not only carry its banner proudly during the Ministry Procession at the beginning of Mass, but also helped setup the tables before and pass out food after the celebration.

Thank you volunteers and members! We did not go unnoticed! Thank you Mom (Isabel Coto) for doing the Youth Ministry T-Shirts in such short notice. Love you! And thank you Krystal Cordova for your awesome design. The big yellow “YM” was visible throughout the Mass as we sat together in the pew in front of the Gifts (The bread and wine), and as our members served as Ushers and received awards. Congratulations Marco and Justin on your awards for your service to BSC. Thank you guys for wearing the Youth Ministry T-Shirt as you went up to the Altar. And “Congratulations Querima” (who received a standing ovation) you are truly a source of inspiration and pride for all of us who know you.

Corpus Christi was unforgettable this year!

And today: Thank you Sr. Vicky for inviting the Youth Ministry to take part of the Confirmation Program End of the Year Ceremony. I want to thank all the members and volunteers who came by to help and dotted the Auditorium with our colors. We had a lot of new members sign up and many more who requested our Summer Program Booklet and application. Thank you for your support and interest :), you know who you are.

The Summer Program Booklet, in English and Spanish, is available under the “Recommended Links” section of this page… just look to the right side of your screen and you’ll see the links on that side of the page under the red letters (Tip: Scroll up the page first)
Notice that the “Application for Membership” is also available there.

Our next meeting will be on Saturday, May 31, 2008, 11am-12pm. We will meet by the CCD office. Come by and feel free to bring a friend(s). If you’re between the ages of 12-17 years of age, you don’t need to call ahead of time, just come by because new friends and fun are around the corner!!
BB Sundays (Check your Summer Booklet) starts this Sunday, June 1, 2008 at 9:30am and so does KIC!, our recycling program, at 11:30am. Come by, let’s share coffee and donuts and then collect some cans and bottles for recycling.

Thank you for your support. As Father Mike said today, “When we are all together, we are theBody of Christ”. Thank you all for bringing the Lord into my life this weekend with your presence and your friendship. Amen!

Part of the Youth Ministry core team has been working very hard to plan the Youth Ministry Summer Program and we almost have it done. We are sure this summer is going to be great so bring your guitar, your art, your dreams, your sneakers, your lunch and let’s go have fun!

The summer program is more than a set of things to do. It is the very heart of the core team poured out for you. I believe that this outpouring of caring and hopes for you, the teenagers, is very appropriate on this day we celebrate the Holy Communion of our Lord with us. We feel blessed to have the opportunity to work together and to work for you to have a summer full of good memories; maybe even deep spiritual ones

Don’t miss it because it will be awesome.

Come by this Saturday at 6pm to the celebration of Corpus Christi. In Mass, you will see a procession of the different ministries at BSC and their colorful banners. Keep your eyes open for our black banner! Ours is the only black one. Father Wayne said, “great choice of color” about it last year.

Teens! If you want to help out, come by around 4:30pm-5pm and help us set up tables by the lunch benches. After Mass, we will also be helping serve food. When you meet me by the benches I will loan you a Youth Ministry T-Shirt. Then we can all sit together in Mass in the pews right in front and right behind the bread and the wine. If you come late, come meet us in these pews. You can’t miss us, we will all be sporting the Youth Ministry’s giant “YM” letters on our backs

Thank you Enrique Ramos Jr., Yaneth Marroquin (my lovely wife), JJ Hernandez, Mark Willoughby, and Jackie Samayoa for all your help in putting the summer schedule together and your unfailing support. What a great communion of souls

Look for our Summer Schedule soon to be available around BSC!!! God bless!!!

Welcome to our Youth Ministry page. Friends and friends-to-be our young ministry is starting slowly but surely and plans on fun things to do this Summer are in progress. Among some of the ideas are: going to the beach for a mini-retreat, checking out the new movies being released, going out into nature at our local parks, and hanging out with each other and new people. So much goes on around L.A. that we will have many opportunities to have fun and also to share our faith and our experiences with one another.

What makes Blessed Sacrament’s Youth Ministry great and inspiring is the energy and commitment of its members. Not to mention they’re really fun to hang out with. I feel blessed to have a place where I can go and be with people that love God, and everything God does daily.

Our members range from 12 to 17 years of age. The Ministry also has the support of new adults (18+ year old members) who were recently Confirmed here at BSC, and us older folks who are committed to the well-being of the teenagers in our community.

To find out more, come join us at one of our upcoming events or e-mail me at pedro.marroquin@yahoo.com

Here’s what’s coming up:

5/24/08 Participation in Corpus Christi – This event is FREE!

We will be part of the procession at the beginning of the Corpus Christi
celebration that will take place Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 6pm. If you
would like to join us, you will find us in the pews just in front and behind the
Gifts. We will be wearing our dark blue Youth Ministry T-Shirts. Feel free to
come in dark blue too : ). Why come? To meet others who care about God as
much as you do and to find out more about our hopes for the Parish and how you
can become a part of the effort.

6/15/08 Meeting Jesus at the Movies – This event is FREE!

I expect this will be as cool as it sounds : ). Come and meet with Jesus at our
Church on Sunday, June 15, 2008 at 7pm-8:30pm. Sister Rose will present us
with a variety of clips from movies and offer suggestions on how to make going
to the movies a spiritual experience. I can’t wait! To join us, please e-mail me
your name and phone number to pedro.marroquin@yahoo.com and let me know
if you’re bringing a friend(s). I hope to meet you there!

And… Recycling!

We are currently starting a Recycling Project here at Blessed Sacrament. It should be up and running in the next couple of weeks. So come back often to our Blogs (Subscribe to this blog - the link is on the column at the right —> ) to learn more about it. The idea is to collect recyclables (cans, water bottles, glass, etc.) around the Church grounds on Sundays and to ask the community to donate any recyclables they have from home (also can be dropped off to us on Sundays, the time and place will be posted later). The funds raised will enable our Ministry to offer more free events (fun ones and spiritual ones) to the teens in our community. Remember us the next time you think of tossing a soda can in the trash : ). Thank you for your support!

New events/activities will be added soon. So come back and start saving these dates on your calendar as they come up. Thank you for your interest and support

God bless and Happy Pentecost!