Youth Group Year Winding Down

Happy Easter!

I hope you all celebrated a wonderful Easter and enjoyed your Spring Break. I know after Spring Break, the school year really starts winding down. The same goes for Youth Group. We only have a few meetings left, but we will be making the most out of them. Please come and participate if you schedule allows.

Tomorrow, April 6, the high school group will be making its last trip to Presbyterian Village for this year. Please arrive at 7:10. We start at 7:15. The meeting will end at 8:30.

In the following weeks we have service projects, guest speakers, social games, and our end of year party. From the feedback I've gotten so far, it sounds like we'll be having our end of year party at Arnolds Fun Center (in Oaks) again this year. I'm open to other ideas if you have them!

Let's make these last few weeks, the best yet!

Invitation: Join the Parish Mission Trip to El Salvador

St. Thomas of Villanova Parish is trying to mount a parish mission trip to El Salvador this summer - the week of July 23-July 31. The attendees will be working in San Salvador and surrounding areas with the Sister of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Options for service will be:

• working in an orphanage
  
• building houses
  
• working in a health clinic or a malnourishment center.
  

There will also be a cultural immersion piece - visits to church related places of interest and some hiking up La Puerta del Diablo.

The mission group will take teens 16 years and older by him/herself and middle schoolers with a parent.

Ths cost per person is $1300.00 which includes airfare and all costs.

If you're interested, come to the information night to hear about the trip!
INFO NIGHT: Tuesday March 30th at 7:30pm in the Parish Center.
RSVP to Anne Murphy at 610-525-4801 or service@stv.comcastbiz.net

Thanks from OLBS

The Souperbowl of Caring shopping/stocking trip was a great success.

I received an email last week thanking our group for our contributions.


Hello Karen,

I am so sorry I was not able to come down and thank the youth group before they left yesterday. Thank you for all you did for our food pantry. God bless you and the youth of St. Thomas for always thinking of us.

Blessings on your day,
Mark
Mr. Mark Gonzalez
Director of Faith Formation
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish

RSVP for Souperbowl Service Project

Please join the youth group and participate in the 2010 Souperbowl of Caring! This is a great way to start the season of Lent by helping others.

We will be meeting in the Rosemont Church parking lot following the 9am Mass on Sunday February 21. Then we will head over to BJs (in Conshohocken) and use the tithe collected at the masses from Superbowl Sunday to buy groceries to stock the food pantry at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament.

Once we buy the food we will head over to OLBS to delivery and stock the pantry. We will be back in the Rosemont lot around 3pm.

Please RSVP if you can help!

PARENTS - if you can help drive and deliver, please let me know! I do need a few extra drivers.

Teen Convocation for High School Teens

The Archdiocese is inaugurating the Teen Convocation as part of Catechetical Forum Weekend. High School-aged teens from throughout the Archdiocese will gather for fun and faith formation on Sunday, March 7, 2010 at Archbishop Carroll High School. The details are below. Please join in!

Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Archbishop Carroll High School
Radnor, PA

11:30 am -- 5:30 pm
Teen Convocation:
“Never-ending Story”

Featuring:
* Keynote Presenter – Jim Beckman
* Music – Tom Lelyo
* Workshops – Father Steve DeLacy, Sister Kelly, of the Capuchin Sisters of Nazareth
*Father Chris Rogers

* Sunday Mass!
Celebrated by Bishop Timothy C. Senior
$20 fee includes lunch and snacks
Open to all high school teens (grades 9-12)

Office for Catechetical Formation
www.archphila.org/catechetical * 215-587-3760

Serving Others

One of our youth group volunteers, Joe Anthony, posted this quote on his Twitter page this week:

"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."

This is the perfect sentiment for our discussions over the past two weeks. I hope you all remember that every day you have the opportunity to do something that matters. You don't have to change the entire world, just affect someone's world. 

I challenged the middle school group to really think about their day-to-day behaviors and make an effort to complete random acts of kindness. To encourage you all to keep kindness at the forefront of your day, I will reward you for doing so. Each week, you are welcome to tell me that you went out of your way to affect change in someone's day. If you truly went above and beyond, that week, I'll give you an extra raffle ticket. You'll have a better chance at winning our weekly prize by simply taking a few moments to do something for someone else that week.

So, over the course of 2010, be sure to be aware. Be aware of those around you. Be aware that you have opportunities every day to “do small things with great love.” And that by doing those small things with great love and intentions, you can make a big difference.

Happy New Year

It is a new year. With the new year come new resolutions. This year, I am encouraging all of you to make a resolution to do more for each other. Take the time each day, week, or month to consider the opportunities you have to make a difference and then do it.

As a group we will have plenty of opportunities to serve others. I ask that you join in as many service projects as you can. The more the merrier.

I look forward to a wonderful 2010 together.

1 Peter 4:10
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms

Act 20:35
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'