Guiding youth in the faith: October workshop for adults and teens
SALT LAKE CITY - ...need to pray always and not to lose heart,” Luke 18:1
Keeping teens centered on Catholic values and faith can be very tough, but an upcoming workshop sponsored by the Diocese of Salt Lake Youth & Young Adult Ministry can help parents guide their teens on this path.
The presenters include Mike Patin and Christina Nielson from Odyssey House. The Ute-Nited Band will also make a presentation for the teens.
Sometimes Catholic teens don’t know how God fits in their lives with all that’s going on in the 2010 world, Patin said.
“I definitely think that they are looking for God, that they are looking for something that helps them to make sense of the craziness of life,” said Patin, who has been giving presentations throughout the United States and Canada to groups ranging from 10 to 10,000 since 1984.
Patin uses energy, humor and stories to affirm the goodness of God’s presence among us while inviting others (and himself) to take the “next step” in our journey with God.
“What I hope to do is to help Catholic leaders and teenagers realize two or three things,” said Patin. “One is that you are not alone. Sometimes, because of geography or sometimes because the culture that we live in, we think that we might be the only Catholics in a small church in our diocese and we are the only ones that think the way we do and struggle with the things that we struggle with.”
About the challenges that the adults face nowadays, Patin points to two principle issues:
“Number one, we have to be living a life,” he said. “Church helps feed those who are hungry for faith. There has to be a joy in our life. Even if life is tough, we have to work in our own personal spirituality.
“Number two, young people need to reinforce faith; they need to know that their home is a place where we are not scared to bring God to our conversations,” said Patin.
The Odyssey House presentation will help teens and adults realize how to deal with the pressures of daily lives as well as the power of saying no, said Kelly Jaln, an Odyssey House a spokeswoman.
“The workshop is basically how to handle peer pressure because that can be a sticky situation when you can engage in activities that you don’t want,” Jaln said. “I think in society in these times it is important for everybody to get the tools that they need.”
Teens will have a separate gathering in which the same speakers will participate with talks such as ‘Positive Peer Culture’, ‘God, You, and an I-Pod’, ‘Sing Hosanna: The Life of David’, and ‘A Second Glance.’
For information contact Matthew Boerke at 801-328-8641 x. 313 or email Matthew.Boerke@DioSLC.org or Michael.Ramirez@DioSLC.org.
WHAT: Teen Ministry: Workshops for Adults
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 16
11 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
WHERE: Skaggs Catholic Center (11800 South 300 East, Draper)
Cost is $10 per person and includes lunch, but no one will be turned away
Pre-registration is required.
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