At the parish where I work, we are in the midst of a very large building project that is changing the old church site into a newer, bigger, more modern place for more Christians to come and worship. The demand for more space is huge at our ever-growing parish and it a beautiful thing. God has blessed us with resources to continue to build his kingdom both physically and spiritually and I feel blessed to be a part of God's massive undertaking here in CH. It is an exciting place to be right now, an exciting place to work.
Because of all the construction equipment and workers on the site, the parish campus is very loud. Very. Even though I work inside temporary trailers, I can still hear the humming machinery outside and the beeping of equipment I could never begin to operate myself. Looking out the trailer window, the workers are very busy trying to meet construction deadlines and building requirements. They have much to accomplish before school begins in the Fall. They are doing a great job and working quickly and steadily to do the job right.
In the parish office we are working diligently and steadily to prepare for the Fall faith development (Sunday School) year. Every day we inch a bit closer to the moment where we welcome the 900 + youth and children through the doors of their classrooms to enlighten and teach the Catholic faith. We use the latest technology and social networks to get information out to parents, fast and efficient computers to communicate and search for religious resources. We have facebook groups, twitter updates, newsfeeds, e-newsletters and much more. The purpose of which is to help build His kingdom....yet ironically, it is hard to find the voice of God though it all. It is very loud; we are very busy.
The other day, I was walking through the construction zone over to the church. I am always happy to come into the church...a church that I know well, that is my home, that holds who I am within its walls. When I walked inside, it was quiet and peaceful and I felt comforted and content to be there. The loud world quickly disappeared and I was alone.
For me, it is slightly uncomfortable to be in the church alone. I feel the tug on my heart to go and spend more time with Jesus. It is when I am alone in the church that I can sense God calling me...most especially when I have passed the Blessed Sacrament chapel...I can hear God say, "Come, be with me". But more often than not, I think, "I'm busy God, doing your work...you must understand that I am busy..right? I must prepare for the faith development year."
But God always wins and I finally kneel before the Blessed Sacrament. All of my failings and flaws are placed before Him. As a youth minister of the church, a mom, a wife and friend... if I can't make time for God-the creator of who I am and what I do... then I am doing something wrong. This kind of communication with our Lord requires nothing fancy, nothing with instant news feeds or e-mails. It requires one on one time that only comes when I make it a priority.
As the world gets busier and adds more communication options, it's comforting to know that God does not require anything fancy to communicate, just time and an open heart.
Be still and know that I am God.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Mission '09
Well, we are off to embark on a mission. A mission to reveal God's love to those less fortunate.
I am slightly embarrassed to mention that this is the first large group mission trip our church has ever taken with a group of youth. It had always been a dream of mine to start such a ministry, but I never had enough hands to get a project like this off the ground. As divine intervention would have it, a dear friend had the same desire for our youth and offered to help me organize what seemed like a mammoth task. We worked diligently for a year to get this project started...and after many months of planning we are finally embarking on the goal: A real-life mission trip for the youth of STM!
Oh, it's nothing glamorous or glitzy. We are not going anywhere far off, but we are going to help others who are in need.
We leave tomorrow at 9am to a location only 5 hours away. We are working with Group Work Camps and they will be giving us our community service projects when we arrive. The best part is that while there, we will be gathering with other Christian youth groups from different parts of the country and will be working side by side with them...learning serve from the heart.
When you have a bit of time, please pray for the youth of my parish, the chaperons and the many hands that we will be working with this week. Pray that we see God frequently in all that we do, and that we leave our mission better Christians and more understanding of the plight of our poor.
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