So things have been so crazy this year. I am not one for change, but it seems that everytime you turn around we have another change taking place.
We are in the midst of change once again and I am very excited about it this time. We have a new preist...Fr. Michel. I had the opportunity to meet him briefly and am looking forward to sharing our group and our ideas with him. From what I have heard from other people who have either known him from another parish or have met with him recently... he is a wonderful man and is very supportive of the youth. This makes me so happy considering that I have no training and am always looking for some guidance to help keep our kids growing.
Another change that is happening is our meetings have a new format. We open with a song and share our worries, concerns, experiences and stories. We are always open to new members. The new 7th graders are now able to come to youth group and we have had the pleasure of meeting one and waiting for the school year to start to see if others would like to join.
August 2nd is a field-trip to the St. Louis Arch. There is a youth retreat with music and more. I am very excited to go. There are also some t-shirts that are available for $15 each. We will be making our own t-shirts soon so that we can wear them to this event.
As I sit here typing this, I know I will end up crying once again. This has been so hard on me. I cry for selfish reasons. I don't want another priest. I want Fr. Roger back. I know that sounds childish. I'm sure that there will be another priest that will come along and support our group, but there will be no one like Father.
I say this for one reason. He is my first priest. He is the reason I became Catholic. He was my mentor. He was the man who stood behind me and supported me when I wanted to start the youth group. Now I am alone.
I literally jump for joy that he is with the Heavenly Father now. That he is without pain. He is with his "Holy Family", his brother and parents. I weep for myself. For fear that I won't be able to do the things that he wants me to do by myself. I only hope that I can live up to his expectations.<weep><sob>
I love him. I didn't even get to know him as well as I had hoped. But yet I loved him. That sounds weird, but he was a great "friend". He is now someone that I will be praying to - instead of praying for. I know that I have another person up there looking out for me and each of the kids in my group. I will do him proud. I will work hard to keep his spirit alive in our group for as long as possible. This is a promise... a vow.
I love you Fr. Roger... May you find the peace and happiness that we all seek. I'm sure there are Angels in the outfield there somewhere and you will be in the front row. I will look for you there when I arrive.
Jennifer
I know it has been forever, but with the holidays and sick kids... I am finally going to post and update this site!!!
First off...Happy New Year...(a little late)...And Happy Valentine's Day! Better late than never... right?
I have some news for my group and for everyone else. I spoke with Fr. Roger and have gotten permission on a few things:
1. We can go to the Holocaust Museum. Permission from parents is a MUST!
2. We can have a Movie Night and show a movie in the Sloan Room to the everyone in the Parish that would like to attend. We will set that up soon.
3. We were approved to have the St. Pats Dance on March 21st. 6th Graders are welcome...We voted on this during our last meeting on the 15th. If you didn't attend, you couldn't vote. Sorry.
4. We were also approved to have a Lock-In. Date to be announced.
I would like to let the 6th Graders know that they are welcome to attend any and all meetings the first Sunday after the last day of school. You are considered a 7th grader in my book. Hope to see you all there.
We have some upcoming events that we are working for.
1. The National Catholic Youth Conference in Kansas City. This is in November of 2009 and open to High School Students.
2. The March for Life in Washington D.C. This will take place in January 2010 and is open for anyone over the age of 10.
3. The Global Catholic Youth Conference in Madrid, Spain. This will take place in 2012.
I know I have said this many times... Attendance is not mandatory. BUT, we are keeping track of who is attending the meetings, helping with fund raisers and other activities. This is so that we can split the money up evenly for those that want to attend the upcoming trips.
We have also decided to select officers in our group. If you are interested in becoming the President, Vice-President, Secretary, or Treasurer, please let me know. We will be voting on these as well.
I want the President and Vice President to help come up with ideas and help plan events. The Secretary will take notes on each of our meetings and work with me on some of the "paper work" issues. The Treasurer will be in charge of money. You will know how much we have and will help come up with ways to make more and spend less. I want each of you to know what is going on with our group so that you will feel more involved in the decision making. I am not sure how long your term will last... I am thinking a few months so that everyone has a turn at holding an office.
As most of you know... We have a new leader or Co-Pilot... Aimee Parks. She is here to help and has the same responsibilities as I do. Please welcome her and enjoy all that she has to offer.
That's about all I have for now. I promise to keep this site more up-to-date in the future. Please comment and feel free to add anything you want to these blog messages. I love to hear your feed-back.
Love you guys!!!!
Jennifer
PS...
*** Christopher.... I fixed the calendar mistake!!! ***
Hey guys... We are still growing!! Another 2 new faces! I'm sooo glad to see you! Also, a couple of faces we haven't see in awhile. Glad to see them again!! I know you have been busy and that is the beauty of this group.... we will be here when you are ready to come back!
As for the "New Stuff"... I handed out Fund Raiser catalogs. There are 2 fund raisers in this one. A catalog of goodies that you can sell for Christmas items and some yummy Pretzels and Cinnamon Bun Kits. Both need to be turned in by November 9th and ALL orders will be delivered to your customers before Christmas. Collect the money at the time of the sale. Turn in the order and the money at the same time (by November 9th). Make checks payable to SSPP or Saints Peter and Paul. Collect for the amount of the sale only. No taxes or shipping charges.
As for the "Changes"... I have adopted a Sign-In sheet. This is not a roll call sheet. This is just a way for me to keep track as to who was at each meeting and how you are getting home. I DO NOT want anyone walking home in the dark. PERIOD! Sorry! That just scares the "hoo- hoo" out of me. You are not my children and if something happens to you when you on my watch I would never be able to live with that. You can walk home in groups during the summer, when it is still daylight out, but not now when it is dark at 7:30 at night. YES - my foot is down. When you do walk home - I want phone calls as soon as you get home. If I find out anyone lies to me I will have parents come in and sign you out or I will personally escort you out to your car. Its that simple. I CARE ABOUT YOU GUYS!!! I will not apologize for that!
For those who do not know what is going on with the parade.... We will be decorating the float on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25TH @1pm in the Church parking lot. Not on Sunday as we had originally planned. My Bad! I forgot about a family reunion I am planning.
If you still need a permission slip... you can get one from me on Saturday, October 25th while we are decorating the float. This will be your last opportunity to get one. All permission slips must be turned in to me no later than the parade night.
We will be meeting to walk/ride in the parade at 6pm at the Alton Police Dept (located on Broadway). I will be there waiting for you dressed in pink with wings. If I do not have a permission slip for you... You will be turned away. Sorry!! I am still looking for 5 adult walkers. I would prefer them to be in costume if they can. It can be as little as sports fan. I don't care. Again: NO DEMONS, BLOOD & GUTS, WITCHES, etc. We are representing our church!
I think that about sums up the meeting last night.... OH YEAH!!! Penny Wars.... I think the girls are winning!!! hehehehe Guys - better watch out! They decorated their jug all mocho, but their numbers are lacking..... hehehehehehehehehe Can you hear that evil little snicker in there??? Just Jokin.... Those boys probably don't even read this anyway. Oh Well... Girls Rule!!
Jen
So we are off and running with a BANG!!! We have tons of things to do and little time to do them in. I'm feeling a little stressed, but praying that this will all work out.
Things that need to be done in the order that they appear:
1. Sat, Oct 11 - City Wide Litter Clean Up - 9am - Noon = Meet at the corner of 5th and Central. Bags and gloves will be provided.
2. Sun, Oct 12 - Light Pole Decoration Meeting - 11:30am = Meet in the parking lot behind the church. We will walk down to take a look at the light poles and get ideas. If you have decorations - bring them. Please bring ideas as to how to decorate the light poles. The theme is Halloween or Harvest. I was thinking a Cardinal Fan Scarecrow.
3. Sat, Oct 18 - Light Poles have to be decorated!
4. Sun, Oct 19 - Pilot Meeting - 5:30pm = We need to really discuss what our float is going to look like. WE NEED A PLAN!!! Also bring a bag of candy - NO Sticks!
5. Sat, Oct 25 - Light Poles are being judged. Hope we win. Winning = $$$.
6. Sun, Oct 26 - Decorate Float - 1pm = Meet in the church parking lot!
7. Fri, Oct 31 - Halloween Parade - YAY!!!!! Time to meet will be determined at a later date!
So I had to make an executive decision. We are representing our church and youth group/PiLoT Group, so I am thinking that devils, demons, blood and gore costumes are out. Call me crazy, but I think we need to set an example and represent our group with pride. If it is something that you think that the school would not allow - don't plan on wearing it while walking/riding with our float. Plain and simple. Sorry. Girls.... Same goes for the witches and "street" girls. Ummm, I think that is a given.
Soooo..... The Pizza Party was a success! We had just a little bit of left overs. Not too much. I'm really happy to see 7 more new faces! I'm really happy that everyone is coming together so well.
I'm thinking that maybe we might change our youth group to every week. I would like your input on this. There are so many of us and so little time to get things covered. I'm thinking that once the new year gets here and the holidays are past us and things start to settle back down, we will be able to relax and talk about everyday stuff and have games and chill with each other. Looking forward to getting all this "business" behind us.
Fund raising.... We need to start something soon! Maybe something for the Holidays would be nice. We need $$$$. I hate to say it, but we can't keep having snacks and stuff if we don't have the cash to buy it. AHHH the power of money!
Well - I just want to say I truly love you guys! I look so forward to our meetings. I am as giddy as a little kid on Christmas morning when I know our meetings are coming up. I love them! I have a great time. You guys are the best!!!! Thanks for making this group so much fun!
Jen
PS- Feel free to leave comments about these posts. I want to know if you are actually reading them. :-P
I am so excited! After our second meeting we added another 5 people to our group. We are growing and growing. I am so happy to see everyone coming. I hope you are all having as good of time as I am having. We had kids in attendance from different schools and ranging from 7th grade to Juniors in high school.
Our meeting seemed to fly by this time. There was so much to talk about and not enough time to get everything covered. Some items we did get nailed down was the Halloween Parade. We are going to be in the parade. We have 2 means of pulling the trailor. We also have access to a large cross that can be ran off of a generator. We still need to come up with decorating ideas, candy and have signed permission slips returned to me ASAP!
We also discussed our Code of Conduct. This is pretty general and self explanitory. You shouldn't have to be reminded how to act in public, but for those of us that might need a reminder, please pick up a copy with your permission slip. During this conversation we discussed how I wanted everyone to know that I am there for them if they ever needed someone to talk to. This is a honest friendship and trusting relationship that I want to establish with each and every one of you. Please understand that I am not your parent and that I can only give advice and lead you in the right direction. If there is ever a time that your parents need to be involved, I will not hesitate to bring them in. Otherwise, I am here for you if you ever need to vent, ask questions, or need an adult's help.
I contacted the local water distributor and am on a waiting list for 2 damaged bottles to start our Penny War. Start saving your loose change and be prepared to battle it out... Boys VS Girls!
Don't forget... Oct 5th is the PIZZA PARTY!! I need a head count and what kind of pizza you want. Please email me or call me with your preference.... Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, or Imo's. We are voting and I will order the winning one. If I don't hear from you, I will be calling.
I hope everyone has a great 2 weeks.... For those who have homecoming... have fun, be safe and take pictures! I want to see them!!
Jen
So our first meeting is behind us and we have officially started our group! I think the meeting was a success. We had 17 students and 3 adults (including myself) in attendance! WHOOO HOOO!!! Honestly, I wasn't expecting that many. I was pleasantly surprised and pray that I can hold your interest so that by Spring next year we will still have a big group coming.
As I said before... Attendance is not manditory, but I hope that you come when you are able to. I understand if you have prior commitments with family or something, but if you are sitting at home watching TV because you think that the PiLoT Group is getting boring, please let me know. We need to change something. I want you to "want" to come. (Look there are those "quotes" again! :-P )
I enjoyed meeting each of you and I have practiced your names in my head, so quiz me at our next meeting! I bet I can do it!
Updates: We have permission from Fr. Roger to be in the Halloween Parade! I have a call into the Township Office and a request for an application to enter ourselves. I will be getting a permission slip ready for our next meeting for you to take home and have your parents sign so that you can ride or walk in the parade. If you want a friend to join us, they MUST attend meetings and have a permission slip filled out also. Sorry... No acceptions. We have only 3 (THREE) meetings until the parade. So be thinking of ideas as to what you want to do and have them ready to discuss by our next get together.
Please call me or email me with any question or comments or concerns! My line is always open!
Jen
Yesterday I met with the 7th & 8th grade classes at SSPP school. I was a little nervous at first (as you may have noticed). I'm 34 years old and I think I am still "cool", but after I thought about it... "Can I relate with teenagers these days?" My goal is to let you have freedom to make decisions and run this group the way you want to do it. We will need structure and supervision...this is my part. As for the activities and the role we play in the chruch, that is up to you. I want to know what is important in your lives. What do you feel is a priority and what should we do about it?
After the first few minutes of getting the major points across, I began to loosen up and questions began to be asked. I feel that I now have a little better understanding of what you guys want and I hope you understand that I am very easy going and am here to have a good time and learn from you as well.
Since I won't be speaking to the PSR until Sept 21st and Sept 28th... I am thinking that the Pizza Party will be on October 5th. So plan accordingly. Come hungry!
I want you all to know how excited I am.... Please feel free to email me anytime with questions, comments, concerns... My numbers are located here on this website as well. (you are welcome to call me at home...just call before 9 pm unless it is an emergency - I have little ones that need to go to bed.) I am really looking forward to getting to know you all better. Bear with me as I am awful with names. I might start off by calling you all by a nickname first. If you see me during Mass.... Please say HI! I am usually at the 10:30 and I am always on the left side. Again, it was great meeting with you and I hope to see you all on Sunday at 5:30!
Jen
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