Youth
The goal of the St. Matthew’s Church Youth Ministry is patterned after the activities of the early church as outlined in Acts:2:42: "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."
Our Youth Ministry seeks to provide a place of community where students can increase in the knowledge and wisdom of God.
We support St. Matthew’s Church through active participation in worship, outreach, and other parish activities. Taking what they have learned, our students are able and encouraged to become the “hands and feet” of Christ to a lost and dying world.
Our Youth Ministry is divided into two groups: the Saints are our Jr. High/Middle School students in grades six through eight. The UpperRoom is our high school group for students in grades nine through twelve. Each group enjoys the privilege of having separate youth rooms, which allow them to feel a sense of belonging in the St. Matthew’s Church family. Both the Saints and UpperRoom meet on Sundays during the Hour of Education (9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.)
Throughout the year the students participate in many activities. These include serving the poor andhomeless at local soup kitchens, conducting food drives, and packing Christmas gifts for our orphanage and military outreach. We also participate in an annual 30 Hour Famine to raise money for various charities. Summers are full of beach camps, movie nights and the highlight of every summer is our Workcamps. We send students from our parish to work camps all over the US. Below is a summary of last summer's trip by our High School Youth Director, Christopher Becher.
This year twenty-two students and five adult leaders gave a week’s worth of their summers to help the needy in the community of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. In spite of this being the 9th year our youth group has participated in a Group Workcamp, it was a fresh experience for everyone involved, as our suburban paradigm was called into question by the stark reality of material poverty.
The bulk of our time was spent working with our crews (random groups of 5 students and an adult from different churches) on residential job sites throughout the community. All the work and materials are free to the residents that qualify for the ministry and apply for work to be done on their homes. Students were challenged with projects ranging from interior paint to replacing faulty roofing. We even had one crew help construct a wheel chair ramp for a disabled resident.
Personally, I was struck with the resilience of our young people throughout the week. On a very practical level, we were battling the heat. We had students working outside on days when the heat index was north of 110 degrees and I didn't hear a single complaint (maybe a few groans here or there). But, on a spiritual level, we were battling guilt, frustration, and resignation as we worked inside homes that with little semblance to our comfortable lives in Orange County. Our students were left asking themselves the glaring questions of poverty. Why do people live like this? How come they can’t get better jobs? Is painting a house really going to make a difference for this person in the long run? All this led to meaningful reflections on gratitude, compassion and charity. It was humbling to witness the honesty and depth of feeling with which our young people approached the poor they served.
Although time has past, if you get a minute stop one of our young people and ask them about the experience in North Carolina. Ask them about what they saw, the things they built and why they choose to give up their precious time over the summer. Perhaps you’ll get a small test of the charity they displayed this summer.