St. Monica/St. Augustine Catholic Youth Group (Grades 7-12)
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St. Monica/St. Augustine Catholic Youth Group is for Catholic students in grades 7-12 who have completed Religious Education and have received the sacraments. Although this group ministers to mostly parishioners of St. Monica Parish and St. Augustine Parish, all students are welcome!
A few notes about each event:
If you have any ideas or suggestions for events, please do not hesitate to let us know by emailing the Parish Catechetical Leader (PCL), Abigail Beach at [email protected] or call the Religious Education Office at (802) 476-4020.
If you would like to add your name to the contact list in order to receive the most updated notifications and reminders for these events, please email or call the PCL. All events times and days are subject to change. If you are on the mailing list, you will be notified of any changes to the website and schedule.
For all events, please RSVP to the PCL to help us get an estimate of how many people will be there. If you do not RSVP, you are still welcome to join!Events:
September 2024Location: Twin City Family Fun Center
Event: Bowling and Pizza
Date: September 22nd, 2024
Time: 5:30PM-6:30pm
Notes: There is no charge. Parents are welcome to join! We will all meet at the bowling alley (708 US Route 302, Berlin-Barre, VT).October 2024
Location: St. Monica - St. Michael School
Event: Session
Date: October 20th, 2024
Time: 5:15PM - 6:30PM
Notes: This is a great opportunity to spend time with friends, eat delicious food, and ask any questions you may have about the Faith.November 2024
Location: St. Monica - St. Michael School
Event: Session
Date: November 3rd, 2024
Time: 5:15PM - 6:30PM
Notes: This is a great opportunity to spend time with friends, eat delicious food, and ask any questions you may have about the Faith.
Location: St. Monica - St. Michael School cafeteria
Event: Thanksgiving Dinner
Date: November 10th, 2024
Time: Times to arrive will be based on how you want to help out. More info to come.
Notes: Parents are welcome to volunteer as well. Areas where help will be needed: setting up, peeling potatoes, hanging up posters and putting out other decorations, meal serving, clean up, and other small tasks. Please let the Parish Catechetical Leader, Abigail Beach, know that you will be volunteering. This will help the organizers of the Thanksgiving Dinner know how many volunteers to expect.
Location: TBD
Event: Parish Mission!
Date: November 17th-19th, 2024
Time: More info to come.
Notes: More info to come.December 2024
Location: St. Monica - St. Michael School
Event: Session
Date: December 1st, 2024
Time: 5:15PM - 6:30PM
Notes: This is a great opportunity to spend time with friends, eat delicious pizza, and ask any questions you may have about the Faith.Location: St. Monica Parish
Event: Christmas Pageant Practice
Date: December 8th, 2024
Time: 5:15PM - 6:30PM
Notes: The Christmas Pageant practice is organized by the PCL for the Religious Ed Program and any SM/SA Catholic Youth Group Participants who would like to join. The performance of this pageant will be a week after the practice. If you would like to participate in the pageant, you MUST attend the practice held on December 8th.Location: St. Monica Parish
Event: Christmas Pageant PERFORMANCE
Date: December 15th, 2024
Time: 5:15PM - 6:30PM
Notes: The Christmas Pageant is organized by the PCL for the Religious Ed Program and any SM/SA Catholic Youth Group Participants who would like to join. The practice for this pageant is a week before the performance. If you would like to participate in this pageant, you MUST have attended the practice held on December 8th.
January 2025Location: St. Monica - St. Michael School
Event: Session
Date: January 5th, 2024
Time: 5:15PM - 6:30PM
Notes: This is a great opportunity to spend time with friends, eat delicious food, and ask any questions you may have about the Faith.
Location: TBD
Event: Sledding Party!
Date: January 19th, 2024 (alternative date, January 26th)
Time: 12:30pm
Notes: This is a fun event for the youth to drink cocoa, be silly and play in the snow! We will be providing cocoa and snacks, but we recommend eating lunch before coming. Also, please bring your own sled. If you do not have a sled, we may have a couple extra for people to use. It is important that youth dress appropriately for being out in the snow. There will not be any restrooms available for use during the event. There is no charge to come to this event, and parents of youth group participants are welcome to join!
February 2025Location: St. Monica - St. Michael School
Event: Session
Date: February 2nd, 2025
Time: 5:15PM - 6:30PM
Notes: This is a great opportunity to spend time with friends, eat delicious food, and ask any questions you may have about the Faith.
Location: St. Monica Parish
Event: Souper Bowl of Caring
Date: February 8th and 9th
Time: Before and after all Masses
Notes: The tradition St. Monica Parish is that we have Religious Education 6th graders and SM/SA Catholic Youth Group participants standing at the entrances of St. Monica Church before and after all Masses with bowls and crates to hold money and non-perishable donations for the food shelf. There will also be adults present to collect monetary donations after Mass. We will need at least 4 students per Mass. Please plan for the children to show up about 30 minutes early to volunteer. Access to a Google Doc sign up will be given to all confirmation candidates and SM/SA Catholic Youth Group participants closer to the event. At that time, all will be able to click HERE to sign up. Please sign up your child for a Mass where he/she could help out before and after.
March 2025Location: St. Monica - St. Michael School
Event: Session
Date: March 9th, 2025
Time: 5:15PM - 6:30PM
Notes: This is a great opportunity to spend time with friends, eat delicious food, and ask any questions you may have about the Faith.Location: Twin City Family Fun CenterEvent: Bowling and PizzaDate: March 23rd, 2025Time: 5:30PMNotes: There is no charge. Parents are welcome to join! We will all meet at the bowling alley (708 US Route 302, Berlin-Barre, VT).April 2025Location: St. Monica Parish
Event: Living Stations of the Cross PRACTICE
Date: April 6th, 2025
Time: 5:30-6:30pm
Notes: The Religious Education Students in grades 3-6 and those who want to participate from SM/SA Catholic Youth Group will be practicing acting out the Stations of the Cross. If you would like to participate in the Living Stations, please contact the Parish Catechetical Leader (Abigail Beach) by using the contact info at the top of this page. We are seeking at least one person from our SM/SA Catholic Youth Group to perform as Jesus because carrying the large cross is not something that the young children can/should do.
Location: St. Monica Parish
Event: Living Stations of the Cross PERFORMANCE
Date: March 23rd, 2025
Time: 5:30PM (after the 4:15pm Mass)
Notes: All parishioners are welcome to stay after Mass to watch this performance. All 7th-12th graders participating in this pageant must have attended the rehearsal.
May 2025Location: St. Monica - St. Michael School
Event: Session
Date: May 4th, 2025
Time: 5:15PM - 6:30PM
Notes: This is a great opportunity to spend time with friends, eat delicious food, and ask any questions you may have about the Faith.
June 2025Location: St. Monica Parish
Event: Baccalaureate Mass and Reception
Date: June (TBD), 2025
Time: TBD
Notes: More info to come.
July 2025Location: TBD
Event: Cookout and Lawn Games
Date: July 6-11th, 2025
Time: TBDLocation: St. Monica - St. Michael School, St. Monica Parish, St. Augustine Parish
Event: Totus Tuus 2025!
Date: July 6th-12th
Time: 9am-3pm (day program), 6pm-8pm (evening program)
Notes: Totus Tuus is an energetic and fun Catholic youth program dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith through evangelization, catechesis, Christian witness, and Eucharistic worship. Totus Tuus is one week long, with the grade school (grades 1-8) session during the day from 9am to 3pm, and a session for high school students each evening. The week is led by our enthusiastic team of Totus Tuus missionaries!Location: Springfield, MA
Event: Steubenville East!
Date: July 25-27, 2025
Time: TBD
Notes: Theme: TBD. Registration opens in January!
Early Bird Cost: $225
Standard Cost: $240 Late Registration Cost: $250
Priests attend for free!
More info to come.
For more info . . . Phone: (800) 809-3902 ext. 231; Email: [email protected]; https://lifeteen.com/events/steubenville-east/
August 2025Location: St. Monica - St. Michael School
Event: Session
Date: August 10, 2024
Time: 5:15PM - 6:30PM
Notes: This is a great opportunity to spend time with friends, eat great food, and ask any questions you may have about the Faith.
September 2025Although our ideas and dates for September are flexible, we are going to see if we can attend a Christian concert, have a session, and go to a corn maze. Dates and times are TBD. We will notify those on the mailing list when we change this.
What are some ways I can learn more about my faith?
Father Mike Schmitz hosted a series called "The Bible In A Year," which has different episodes that include: two to three scripture readings, a reflection from Fr. Mike Schmitz, and guided prayer to help you hear God’s voice in his Word. You can also find "The Bible In A Year" on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms. He also hosted a series called "Cathechism In A Year" with a similar framework. Listening to both at your own pace are great ways to learn more about Catholicism outside of Catholic Youth Group.
If you have questions about the Catholic Faith, you may find that Catholic Answers can be helpful. Catholic Answers is a media ministry that seeks to explain and defend the Catholic faith. Their goal is to be a trusted and accessible source for sharing, explaining, and defending the Catholic faith. Their website is: https://www.catholic.com/
If you have questions, you may try searching for “[Question] Catholic Answers”
For example, if you search, “Why go to Mass Catholic Answers,” one of the first results I found is:
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/why-go-to-mass
If you would like the daily Mass readings emailed to you, below is the link to sign up:
https://www.usccb.org/subscribe/daily-readings-email-subscription-form
If you would like a daily reflection on the Mass readings by Bishop Robert Barron, below is the link to sign up:
https://bishopbarronbooks.com/dailygospelreflections
If you would like daily reflections from FORMED.org, the link to sign up is below:
https://daily.formed.org/
Have you ever wanted to read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church? Would you prefer to have someone read it to you and provide a reflection? If so, Father Neil has a podcast where he does this. To find it, you can go to: https://www.fatherneil.com/