Fall Confirmation Retreat 2009

Here are the long awaited pictures from our Fall Confirmation Retreat.

It was a lot of fun and great day of bonding!

EXALT!

Exalt was awesome!

We had 18 youth and 5 adults there from Our Lady of the Lake.

Here are a few of us after with Fr. Bernard.

EXALT!

I wanted to let you all know about a great opportunity for our Jr. High and Sr. High Youth. I know some parents have been asking "why can't the Jr. High kids do the same great things the Sr. High are doing". Well, here's our chance to get our Jr. Highers involved in a really powerful night.
Once a month, our Midlands Deanery will be participating in Exalt. You're probably wondering what this is, so let me explain. It's a night where teens from our deanery will come together for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, hear a talk from a priest, deacon, or youth minister(changes every month), and praise our Lord through praise and worship music. Sounds awesome, right?
This will be the first Wednesday of every month at St. Peter's downtown from 6:45-7:45pm.
You can either carpool or drive your teen there. Some of the high school kids were talking about going to get dinner beforehand, so we may meet at Bellacino's in Irmo and go from there.
I will be emailing this out to the parents, but wanted you guys to have a heads up since we've been talking about more things for the Jr. Highers.
I'm super excited that this will be offered to the younger grades. We tried this a couple years ago with the high school and it was a really great evening!

And We're OFF....

I just wanted to take a minute to blog about the awesome retreat we just had. It was the first Confirmation Retreat {there is one at the beginning of the year and one before they are confirmed} and there were almost 50 Confirmation kids here. Witht he 13 peer leaders who put on the retreat, that made for an amazing day! Everyone was so great. From skits, to small groups, to community building games, to snacks, to wonderful young people who came with open minds and open hearts, I couldn't have asked for more.

After Teen Mass we'll have our first night of Religious Ed, Confirmation Classes, and Sr. High Youth Ministry. So, we're off..... oops...gotta go. The pizzas are being delivered :)

Be There!!!!

High School Carrowinds Trip. Wednesday, July 22nd. Meet at church parking lot at 8am. Will be back around 10pm. Cost is $34.00 per ticket plus money for food. Permission slips and money are due back to Hope on Sunday, July 19th. Call Hope for more info: 233-3359....
NEEDED: Parents to help carpool.

iPod

As you know, our grand prize giveaway at the End of the Year Cookout was an iPod. The lucky winner was Kelly Kircher. Here is what his mom said about him winning the coveted iPod:

Oh My Gosh --- Kelly just loves his Ipod. He told me in the car when we were almost home that he just realized he has been smiling all the way home. He kept saying how lucky he was. That is one happy boy - his sister immediately downloaded 1000 songs she had on the computer onto his Ipod. He had been wanting an Ipod for sometime. We really enjoyed the evening. Thanks.

THAT made my night and made all the hard work and planning worth it! :) Thanks for sharing that Eileen.

End of the Year Cookout

We had such a great turnout for the end of the year cookout this past Sunday. Thanks to everyone who helped with it!
Here is a list of Local Merchants who donated prizes for our giveaways:

BiLo & the Richardson Family: ipod
Chapin Christian Gymnastics: 5 Open Gym passes
Chapin True Value Hardware: Inflatable Water Tube
SMS Sports World Chapin: Gamecock Laundry Bag and Water Bottle
The Rivalry Chapin: Gamecock and Clemson Wall Pix with Spirit Badge Light-up Jerseys.
Breeze Dry Cleaners of Chapin and Ballentine: 2-$10.00 Coupons
Gloria Studley/OLOL Parishioner: Avon Gift Basket Value $60.00
Chapin Pharmacy: Gift Certificate $25.00
Katherine Kawamoto /OLOL Parishioner: Arbonne Shea Butter Hand Care Duo valued at $45and giftcard for itunes
Vivian Benefield : Pampered Chef Trifle Bowl
www.pamperedchef.biz/chefvivian
Youth Advocacy Committee: misc items

And now, here are some pictures from the night.

I Pray the Rosary

Fr. Andrew sent me the link to this video on teens praying the rosary. I think it ROCKS! I feel a new tshirt coming on.... :) Makes me want to say a decade right now! I'll pray for you if you pray for me! Peace.

DYC VIDEO!!!!!

Here is the link to the Final Video from the Diocesan Youth Conference. Check it out!

Upcoming Youth Events Sponsored by the Diocese!

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up about some amazing events coming up for our Jr. High and Sr. High Youth! here is a list!
Jr. High Retreat
Jr. High CLI (Christian Leadership Institute)
High School CLI (Christian Leadership Institute)
SEARCH Retreat (for geades 10th-12th)
For more information on these events check out http://www.catholic-doc.org/and click on Diocesan Departments and then Youth Ministry.

Diocesan Youth Conference 2009!

Well, we just got back from DYC where the theme was All Access and I HAD to blog about it. After bringing kids to this conference for 6 years now, I have to say that this was one of my favorite years! The Holy Spirit was definitely present not only in the room, but in the hearts of each one of these amazing kids! It is truly an honor to get to be a part of this with them.
I won't bore you with the minute by minute run down, but I did want to share some really cool highlights with all who read this blog! So here they are!

Cool Highlights from DYC:

* Our very own, Jen Bozzo, is on the E Team (Evangelization Team) and helped to put on the Conference. We have many youth in the past who have been on E Team from our parish. We are so proud of them because this takes a lot of dedication and hard work. They freely give up their weekends to help plan these evnts and put them on. A true sign of their faith and love to Our Lord. What a witness they are to our teens. Past E Team members include: Tim Devine, Katie Devine, Reilly Blackwelder, Jon Matula, Erin Morrett, Bozzo and Jen Bozzo. I'm excited to see if we have any upcoming teens that feel called to be a part of this amazing ministry. Stay tuned...

* We had the pleasure of having 2 Dominican Sisters with us for the whole weekend. They particiapted in the skits, dancing, praying, Mass, and just to be there as a witness of how cool vocations can really be. FUN FACT! One of the sisters, Sr. Gloria Christine, was an E Team member a few years ago and is from our diocese. She descerned the convent while going to school down at College of Charleston and shortly after entered the convent. It was so amazing to see one of the youth from our diocese answer God's call and come back to share about it!

* We also had the pleasure of having 4 priests with us for the weekend. Fr. Pat Tuttle was a speaker who was hilarious and completely connected to the youth. Then there were 3 priests who were all ordained together--only TWO years ago! It was awesome to see young priests there who could talk relate out faith to a batmobile and jump on a trampoline while hullahooping (see pictures below). Such a blessing and a witness!

* Next, every year the Diocesan Director of Youth Ministry, Jerry White, presents an award to young adults who show a strength of character and desire to serve the Lord. This year, I'm so proud to tell you that they gave out two awards and they both went to former members of the Our Lady of the Lake Youth Ministry, Katie Devine and Reilly Blackwelder! We were so happy for them and so rpoud that they have turned into the amazing women of God they are! Congrats ladies!

* And finally, our kids! I have to brag on them a little. They were so open to this conference and really got more out of it then I think they thought they would. I could just feel that God was with us all and that the Holy Spirit was moving through us! It was GREAT! Such a great way to spend a weekend! Thanks to all of you who attended and made this experience that much more special! You all ROCK!

Remember, we have All Access to God. Are we giving God All Access to us? Live it!

No High School Youth Ministry this Sunday!

Hey you guys. Due to DYC (Diocesan Youth Conference), and Confirmation Rehearsal, we will not have high school youth ministry this Sunday (3/15). We will have just come off the conference and I, Hope, am a Confirmation sponsor, so need to be at the rehearsal that evening.
I encourage you all to attend the Youth mass at 5pm. Eucharistic Ministers for that Mass are Cody Hooker, Sarah Gilbertson, Nick Spatharos, and Amanda Gardner.

CLARIFICATION: Jr. High Relgious Ed. will hold classes as usual, Confirmation will have their rehearsal. This is ONLY pertaining to High School Youth Ministry.

High School Bible Study during Lent

T and I wanted to let everyone know that we will be having an alternative to bible study during the Lenten Season. We thought it was the perfect time to switch it up a little.

Fr. Andrew is holding a series of lectures on the Sacraments on Wednesday evening beginning at 7pm at church. This is going through the Lenten Season. We're really excited about this since Fr. Andrew is extremely knowledgeable about all things Catholic. It should prove to be very informativead and answer questions you may have as to why we do certain things, etc. Youth AND parents are welcome! Please call Hope at 233-3359 or email hjeffcoat1@aol.com to let me know if you'd like to attend so I can let Fr. Andrew know.

T and I look forward to seeing you all there!

Classes WILL be held tonight (March 1st)

There was question about whether we would hold classes tonight with the threat of snow this evening. I just got a call from Fr. Andrew and we will hold classes as usual tonight from 6-7:30pm. If you have any questions, please call the parish office at 345-3962.
Thanks, Hope

Youth Ski Trip 2009

We had such a great time on the ski trip this past weekend. It was perfect skiing conditions. The snow was like powder and it was absolutely beautiful! God is good! We only had one minor injury which was a hurt wrist due to snowboarding without wrist guards. We'll be bringing those next year. :)

Concert to benefit We Care Center in memory of Daniel Douglas!

I got this email from Stephen Wessinger of SpiritDriven from St. Peter's Luthern Church. If you are able to make it to this concert, please go and support their efforts. This concert is to benefit the We care Center of Chapin in memory of Daniel Douglas.

God Bless!

Hello Hope,
My name is Stephen Wessinger and I participate in the Contemporary Christian Band, "SpiritDriven" based out of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Chapin. I wanted to send you an email to let you know that we are putting on a concert to benefit We Care of Chapin on Sunday, February 8th at 5:00pm at St. Peter Lutheran. We would greatly appreciate it if you could maybe mention this in your announcements or post this info where folks might see it, or even get this to your Youth leaders.
We are asking that folks bring a non-perishable food item(s) to the concert. All all donations, food and monetary, will be given to to We Care in memory of Daniel Douglas, former Chapin High student who was killed in an auto accident this past fall.
The theme for the concert is "Love Infusion - a concert of Faith, Hope and Love". All of the music, scripture, and prayers will be focusing on this theme. SpiritDriven plays music from Casting Crowns, David Crowder Band, Third Day, MercyMe, etc. SpiritDriven is made up of Chapin High students and other members of the congregation. This will be a great concert for all ages and we would love to see you there.
You can find out more information about the band by visiting http://www.spiritdrivenmusic.com/ or better yet, check us out on Facebook and "be a Friend"!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1165779474&ref=name
Thank and God Bless!
Stephen

SC Catholic Youth Righ to Life March

The Youth Right to Life March is open to all Jr. High, High School and parents! We'll meet Saturday, Jan. 17th at St. Peter's Catholic Church at 9am for the rally and then walk to the Statehouse. This was in the bulletin and forms were handed out to all youth in grades 6th-12th. Extra forms can be found in the back of church in the youth ministry box. If you have any questions, please see Hope.

"I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child - a direct killing of the innocent child - murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"
-Mother Teresa

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you live as you wish"
-Mother Teresa