Kelsey Burgans |Youth Minister

Phone: 205-803-5402

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Email: youthministry@sfxbirmingham.com

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Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive! He is in you, he is with you, and he never abandons you. However far you may wander, he is always there, the Risen One.  Taken from Christus Vivit, pope francis's apostolic  exhortation to young people

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Welcome to SFX Youth Ministry!

Dear Youth Ministry Families,

When we started our plans for last year, we had grand ideas about how we could reach our teens and accompany them on their journeys to becoming missionary disciples of Jesus Christ. We were able to accomplish a few of our goals, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to do everything we set out to do, due to COVID-19 restrictions. We need your help to carry out our goals for the new youth ministry year. 

Last year, our parents had thrust upon them the almost full-time education of their children. While we know that the Catechism of the Catholic Church says that parents are the primary educators of their children, it was a very sudden turn of events that seemed like life turned upside down. While we’ve done our best to continue ministering to our teens though online media, we’re very ready to begin meeting in person. To be able to do this, a few changes will be made to how we typically have had youth nights.

• Temperatures will be checked when students check in. Students who have a temperature of over 100 degrees will not be permitted to attend youth group, so that we can keep other students safe. As much as we’d love to see our teens, please do not give your child medication to reduce a fever and send them on to youth nights.

• Students will continue to sign in, except this time, they will go to an adult who will take their information (student’s name, parent’s name, and parent’s phone number in case of an emergency). This will decrease the amount of people touching the same pen. 

• Every effort will be made to keep students six feet apart and to meet outside on the playground (following dinner) as much as possible. During rain or cold weather, students will meet inside.

• All teens and adults will wear masks at all times, except when eating. At times, they may also be asked to wear gloves, as well. Students will use hand sanitizer often.

• We will also be changing how we eat dinner. Instead of our teens lining up and making their own plate, students will go up one at a time and stand six feet back from the table where an adult (with gloves) will make their food. Another adult will be responsible for drink distribution; most weeks, we have individual drinks, but there are a few times where we have tea/lemonade.. Teens will only sit 2-3 at a table. 

• Whatever surfaces are touched inside or outside needs to be wiped down; students should advise a CORE team member if they’ve touched something, so we can properly clean it.

We will go over this information at our first meeting; however, we’d greatly appreciate it if you could also go over this information with your child, too. We want to keep our teens and CORE team members as safe as possible!

Just as we ask you for your assistance, please know that we want to serve you, too. If we can be of help in any way, please let us know! If you would like for us to pray for you, pass along resources about something you’d like information about, or something else, we’re always here for you!

This year, our students will be reflecting on the theme of “New Fire”.  We will unpack this theme throughout the year. This fall, we will be approaching the idea of “New Fire” through the following topics:

• High school-Join us on Sundays from 6:00-8:00! We will be meeting on the playground or the lower level of the parish hall, in case of inclement weather.

• Middle school- Join us on Mondays from 6:00-8:00! We will be meeting on the playground or the lower level of the parish hall, in case of inclement weather.

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If you would like for your teen (or yourself) to grow in holiness, we recommend that you visit the resources banner, near the bottom of the page of our website, www.sfxbirmingham.com/youth-ministry. You can find this year’s registration form on it. We also feature a different article each month, host registration links for upcoming events, and provide ways for you to continue the conversation at home, along with a recap of what we discuss each week at youth group. It’s updated weekly, so please check often. We also recommend that you receive our weekly emails; this is different from the weekly parish emails and the weekly school emails. If you’d like to begin receiving the emails, please let us know by emailing youthministry@sfxbirmingham.com. You can also follow us on social media:

• Facebook: Saint Francis Xavier Youth Ministry

• Instagram: sfx.youth

• Twitter: @sfxhsyouth and @sfxmsyouth

• GroupMe: MS Youth & SFX HS Youth (Happy to add parents & teens to these groups!)

We look forward to a great year with your teen. Please be assured of our prayers for you!

In Christ,

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Kelsey Burgans | (205)-803-5402

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church abides by the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama Youth Protection Program. Through annual training, our students are reminded that they are made in God's image and carry dignity. To review the materials associated with our Safe Envioronment/Sexual Abuse Prevention, please click here. For more information about becoming a chaperone and earning Youth Protection certification, click here.