Last fall, when our “babies” Matthew and Chris entered high school, my friend Marilyn and I reflected on our families’ faith formation experiences over the last few years. We realized that some of our most profound transformative experiences occurred during the years that our families participated in an Intergenerational Faith Community (a small Christian community made up of families.) Although our families moved into other models of faith formation as our children grew older, we continue to embrace and want more of the ideals of the small Christian community for Matthew and Chris and their peers. And so our High School Small Christian Community (HSSCC) was born, as a pilot project in our parish’s Faith Formation Department.

For the 2008-09 school year, Marilyn and I envisioned a small Christian community of freshmen and sophomores engaged in prayer, dialogue, service and celebration. We chose “the Catholic mass” as our over-arching theme for the year for two reasons: 1). The mass, as the “source and summit” of our faith, is rich in elements fundamental to our faith and thus, could be fundamental to developing this new group—community, prayer, ritual, justice, service, forgiveness, etc., 2). The pastor and the parish council had named the Sunday Eucharist as an area for our parish to focus on for the year.

Now, in our sixth month as a small Christian community, through prayer, planning, commitment and the apt mentoring of others experienced in the small Christian community model, this group has grown together in ways that have far exceeded our expectations. It has become a model that has attracted a great deal of interest from the entire community, especially the pastor and Faith Formation Office. It is being considered as the primary model, in the future, for the formation of all high school students.

As we prepare today to journey with about one-half of the group to Southern California for the annual Youth Day for Catholic teens, we are full of gratitude for all the ways in which the Holy Spirit has guided this endeavor. Without the commitment and support of each student, their families and the entire community, the group would not be what it is today. We are also grateful that, several years ago, our friends had the vision to bring the Intergenerational Faith Community model to our parish Faith Formation Department. Without our introduction to and involvement in that model of faith formation, this HSSCC would not have been even a thought in our heads.

Key points for our High School Small Christian Community:

• It is a blend of youth ministry and small Christian community. While our structure is provided by the four components of small Christian community (community and faith sharing, the word, prayer and service), the activities, ice breakers, prayers and other things are often from youth ministry resources. We try to avoid all lectures and so the learning comes from activities and sharing experiences.
• The youth are involved in planning prayers, activities, etc
• We meet once or twice a month, on the Sundays which most of our students are available.
• We meet right before our teen mass for 2 hours, including a short meal, and then go to mass together.
• We tap into the service and retreat opportunities provided by the parish and the larger high school program, as well as scheduling some service just for our youth to do together.
• Most of our members are involved in our HSSCC instead of rather than in addition to the youth ministry program workshops and the retreat required before they enter our confirmation program. Our youth, like the rest of us, don’t need more to do. They need a faith-filled community to do it with.