Middle School Ministry (OPTIONS)

OPTIONS News: 

• Sept. 12  Will be our Kick-off day for our new school year.  All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students are invited to join us for our Monday, 4:30-5:45 meeting.  

• The Children’s Choir is starting up again on Thursday, September 8 from 6-7pm for grades 1-8, I’d really appreciate it!  Online registration is for Chidren's Choir can be found on this link.  Questions?  Email Allison Melville with your questions.  

HOLY FIRE:  a National Catholic Youth Conference experience for 7th and 8th grade students!

We are inviting all middle school and High school freshman to join us at the U.I.C. Pavillion on Oct. 15th, from 8:30-3:30 for a one day event.  This is a brand new offering from the *NFCYML and the Arch. of Chgo.

Both our Archdiocesan staff,  along with the *National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, have received many requests from local communities throughout the country to organize a junior high (7th and 8th grade) event. This event is being designed around the baptismal call to witnessing our faith and could be a wonderful opportunity for our Young Church to reflect more deeply on the gifts of the Holy Spirit they will receive in the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Cost & Quality:  Registation is $40 and what will be presented with be similar to the National Catholic Youth Conference (N.C.Y.C. is bi-annual event for high school students that regularly attracts 25,000 young people!  The next one will be Nov. of 2017 in Indianapolis).  Holy Fire is designed to reach our young people who are not old enough for NCYC, yet are one FIRE for their faith.  The emphasis will be a focus on the young people as a community of prayer, witness and joy.  NFCYM will be providing world-class production, music and international speakers.  Our Emcees for the event will be Apex Ministries, and two of the keynote speakers are Katie Prejean and Joe Melendrez.  The house bands will be The Oswald Brothers Band (OBB) and The Ike Ndolo Band.  It is going to be a rocking, praying, joyfilled day!  

Why Participate?  The Holy Father challenges our communities to become missionary disciples who are not afraid to witness the faith. We believe that a joint witness of 9,000 young people and their prayers will indeed help young people to see themselves as witnesses of Christ and members of a young Church.  This pilot event is being offered only to those young people from the Chicago, Rockford and Milwaukee dioceses.  

Archbishop Blase J. Cupich will offer those present words of welcome and encouragement and lead a reflection on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  For more information visit Holy Fire. Registrations are to be made through our St. Edna Youth Ministry.  Holy Fire Conference registration forms should be dropped off at the Parish office NO LATER than October 5, 2016.

What is OMT?

OMT is the OPTIONS Ministry Team. This is our Monday afternoon drop-in for all middle school students. We currently have kids from 5 middle schools that come on Mondays for socialization, a lectionary based discussion (we read and discuss the upcoming Sunday's Gospel) and then talk about current events, play games and just be together. Our meetings start at 4:30 and end at 5:45 PM. All are welcome!  This group is invovled in many parish functions including

• The Easter Egg Hunt: thousands of eggs a placed on the Parish grounds for the annual Egg Hunt.
• Feed My Starving Children:  We try to go to this most worthy facility at least twice a year to package food for the hungry in our world.
• Project Heifer: During Lent, we collect our loose change to "Make a Change" through this organization.
• Movie days: During the Christmas break and once in a while, during our Monday meetings.
• Santa Elves: We are the elves who help Santa at the Pancake Breakfast in December.
• Ushers: The 5:30 Sunday Liturgy has middle and high school ushers.
• And much, much more.

Youth Ministry

Be sure to check out the Youth Ministry for more activities.  There are many things that are open to Middle Schoolers as well as our High School students.