NOT ALONE. An Edge Night on Loneliness and Depression EDGE NIGHT OVERVIEW GOAL

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1 NOT ALONE An Edge Night on Loneliness and Depression EDGE NIGHT OVERVIEW GOAL For the youth to come to know that in the midst of loneliness and depression they are not alone and that there is a God and a community that loves and cares about them. Pastoral Note: There may be youth who struggle with clinical depression, be aware of these youth and also prepare your Core Members to notice any body language or trigger signs of youth who struggle with depression. Also, be prepared with proper steps if any youth reveal harmful behavior such as abuse, self harm, or thoughts of suicide. SUMMARY The Edge Night begins with an intense group activity where the youth will be able to see that they are not alone in their suffering and struggles. The Proclaim discusses the reality of suffering, the signs of depression, how to get help, as well as the opportunity we have as Catholics to unite our suffering with Christ. The Break gives the youth an opportunity to discuss the topic and then to partake in the Veneration of the Cross and bring all their suffering to Jesus. The Send celebrates Jesus overcoming sin, suffering, and Death in His Resurrection and the Edge Night ends with an ice cream social. MAIN IDEAS Our lives will have cycles of happiness, sadness, joy, and suffering. If sadness or loneliness starts affecting your everyday life, it may be a sign of depression and you should seek out help from a trusted adult. Jesus experienced pain, suffering, and isolation too, but He overcame it all and we can unite our suffering to His and join in His Resurrection to new life. ENVIRONMENT As youth walk in give them name tags that say Hello my name is and put up large signs or sheets of paper around the room with this same slogan Hello my name is but, instead of a name write a characteristic of a child of God. For example, Hello my name is loved, forgiven, blessed, cherished, noticed, etc. At the front of the room project an image of Jesus reaching out His hands. You can Google Search Jesus reaching out and pick an image your youth will relate to. Issue Night: Not Alone 1

2 MEDIA Land of the Rising Sun, Ike Ndolo (Rivers, 2013, Ike Ndolo) You Were On the Cross, Matt Maher (Alive Again, 2009, Provident) Christ is Risen, Matt Maher (Alive Again, 2009, Provident) Life Support Video September 2013: Passion and Death (lifeteen.com) Outside Da Box: Where s the Body? (youtube.com) Edge Video Support August 2016: A Good God in A Suffering World (lifeteen.com) SCRIPTURE Genesis 2:18; Matthew 28:20; Luke 4:14-30; John 11:1-44; John 19:1 CATECHISM 654, 1505 Notes: 2 Issue Night: Not Alone

3 NOT ALONE An Edge Night on Loneliness and Depression EDGE NIGHT OUTLINE GATHER Edge Night Introduction (5 min) Welcome the youth, introduce any one new, recognize birthdays, and begin in prayer. Give a brief overview of the topic of the night. Crossing the Line (15 min) Put a line of painters tape down the center of the room. The youth stand on one side of the tape. Tell the middle school youth that there should be no laughing or talking during this activity. The youth minister or Core Member will say a statement, instruct the youth that if that statement applies to them or someone they know, they will cross to the other side of the tape. Once all the youth have crossed to whom the statement applies they go back to the original side of the tape and wait for the next statement. Create a list of statements that will apply to your youth. Get them thinking about how they are not alone in their struggles and that many other people experience the same thing. Pastoral Note: This activity takes a lot of trust and pastoral care. Be sure to review the list of statements with your Core Team prior to the Edge Night and make sure that your youth are at a level to handle them. If they are not able to handle these, create different statements that do not go as deep, but still help the youth to see that they are not alone in their struggles. Here is an example list of statements to use: Cross the line if you like ice cream. Cross the line if you have more than three pets. Cross the line if you have siblings. Cross the line if you or someone you know has parents who are divorced. Cross the line if you or someone you know has ever been bullied. Cross the line if you or someone you know has ever acted like a bully. Cross the line if you or someone you know has ever felt alone and sad. Cross the line if you or someone you know has a family member who struggles with an addiction. Cross the line if you or someone you know has ever felt crushed by the pressure to be perfect. Cross the line if you or someone you know is afraid to disappoint his or her parents. Issue Night: Not Alone 3

4 Cross the line if you or someone you know feels abandoned by their family. Cross the line if you or someone you know has been made fun of for being Christian. After the statements are finished, return to the large group and debrief the activity using the following questions. What did you like about this activity? When some of your peers were walking towards the line, did some of you think to yourself, Oh my goodness, I had no idea? If there were times when only one or two people walked onto the line, how did it feel to be the only one? What can we learn from this activity? PROCLAIM Not Alone Teaching (10 min) This teaching can be found on pages 7-9. BREAK 6th Grade Small Group Questions (10 min) Youth break into their grade specific small groups and use the following questions for discussion. When you look at the world, do you think that people are generally happy or sad? What are some things that make people happy? What are some things that make people sad? What are things that make you happy? What are things that make you sad? How can Christ help us when we are sad or having a hard time? Why is it important to reach out to other people when we are struggling? What is one thing you can do this week to help a friend or family member who is sad or going through a difficult time? 7th Grade Small Group Questions (10 min) Youth break into their grade specific small groups and use the following questions for discussion. What do you think are some causes of loneliness or unhappiness in our world? What about in your schools or your circle of friends? What do you see that makes them sad? What do you see that makes them happy? What stood out to you the most from the opening activity? What can you do in your life to help someone who may be feeling lonely or left out? 4 Issue Night: Not Alone

5 8th Grade Small Group Questions (10 min) Use the following questions for more challenging discussion for 8th grade youth.. What types of things make people in our community sad? Is it a lack of physical needs? Or is there something deeper? What are some things that you see that make your friends sad or lonely? Do you think that social media makes people feel more connected or more lonely? Why? What can you do to help a friend who may feel left out? What can you do to help yourself and your friends through the struggles of starting high school? Do you think that there is a lot of fear and anxiety for this transition? Why? SUGGESTIONS It can be easier for youth to open up and talk when about difficult topics when they have something to keep their hands busy while they talk. During these small group questions have the youth make small rosaries or rosary bracelets using beads, string or by making them out of rope. Instruct them to hold onto their rosaries and to use them to pray for Mary s help in times of loneliness or sadness. Veneration of the Cross (15 min) Youth remain in small groups. Each youth is given a slip of paper and a pen while they write down anything that is causing suffering or sadness in their lives. Youth hold on to these slips of paper. At the front of the room place a large crucifix at a level the youth can reach or have Core Members holding the crucifix. Put a basket or a bowl at the foot of the cross. Dim the lights and have music playing softly in the background, see Media Suggestions for ideas on what music to play. Explain the activity using the following as an example: There will be suffering in our lives; it is a part of our journey as human beings with free will living in a world that is full of good and evil. Suffering will come our way at some point, but we have a choice. We have a choice to suffer with Christ. We have a choice to lean on Jesus and let Him help us. We have the choice to unite our suffering with Jesus and to let Him transform the suffering in our lives and to make good from every situation. Jesus wants to help you, Jesus wants to walk with you, and Jesus wants to carry you in the hardest of times. All you have to do is let Him. We will now have the opportunity to place our suffering at the foot of the cross as a symbol of uniting our suffering with Christ and allowing Him to help us. (CCC 1505) Small groups come up one group at a time and the youth take turns putting their slips of paper in the basket or bowl. The youth can also kiss the cross if they feel comfortable. Issue Night: Not Alone 5

6 SEND The Resurrection (10 min) Read a Scripture account of the Resurrection or play the video Where s the Body from the Media Suggestions. Explain to the youth the excitement of the Resurrection and what it means in their lives and for their personal suffering or sadness. Resurrection Ice Cream Party (10 min) End the night with a time of celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus and His overcoming all sadness, loneliness, sin, suffering, and death. Allow the youth to make ice cream sundaes and have time to socialize. Play upbeat songs celebrating the Resurrection, see the Media Suggestions for song suggestions. Notes: 6 Issue Night: Not Alone

7 NOT ALONE An Edge Night on Loneliness and Depression TEACHING GUIDE GETTING STARTED To cover the basic information follow along and craft the talk based off of the bullet points. If you youth are ready to take it deeper, start incorporating a few of the Going Deeper call out boxes (like the one below) by picking the ones your youth would relate to the most. GOING DEEPER Check inside these boxes for tips and ideas on how to take your youth a little deeper with the proclaim. CYCLES OF LIFE Project an image of footprints in the sand and read the poem Footprints in the Sand. Our lives are full of cycles of happiness and sadness. There are good times in life, there are hard times, there are unexpected losses, and unexpected joys. Through it all Christ is with us, He is always with us and will never leave us. The poem that we heard is a beautiful reflection on the faithfulness of God who will never leave our side and carries us in our times of need. (Matthew 28:20) GOING DEEPER Discuss the common objection of why evil exists. (CCC ) or play the video A Good God in a Suffering World from the Media Suggestions. Christ s life was also full of theses cycles of joy and sadness, of great victory and great loss. He understands what it is like to have loved ones die, He knows what it is like to be rejected, and He knows what it is like to experience physical suffering. (John 11:1-44, Luke 4:14-30, John 19:1) Project an image of Christ on the Cross. GOING DEEPER If you are also subscribed to Life Teen consider playing the video Passion and Death from the Media Suggestions. The greatest example of this was the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. There was great sadness and loss in all the suffering, pain, and the death of Christ. But that was nothing compared to the love, joy, and glory of the Resurrection of Christ that followed the suffering. Issue Night: Not Alone 7

8 The Paschal Mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to new life. (CCC 654) God brings good even out of the most horrific event of human history, the crucifixion and Death of Jesus. Only He can and will bring good out of the suffering in your life if you let Him journey with you, if you let Him carry you in the difficulty. THE REALITY OF DEPRESSION The times in our lives when we feel alone, sad, or depressed can just be a part of the cycles of life. This can be the cause of outside circumstances in our lives, things happening in our families or at school, or just general feelings of loneliness or sadness. There may be times in your life that you feel down, hopeless, or like you cannot enjoy the things in life like you used to. This can lead to feelings of numbness or an increase in irritability. There are times in life that can be sad, but if those feelings of sadness last for an extended amount of time and start affecting your day to day life and keep you from normal daily activities that may be a sign of depression. If you feel like this, it is important that you reach out to a trusted adult and talk to him or her about these feelings. GOING DEEPER Consider having your parish counselor or a diocesan counselor come and talk to the youth about depression and dealing with suffering. If you or any of your friends start having suicidal thoughts, you must tell a trusted adult. No matter how slight the comment may be, it is something that should not be joked about or ever taken lightly. Do not worry if your friend will be mad at you, because, by telling someone you are showing the ultimate sign of true friendship and love because you do not want them to hurt themselves. Struggling with depression is nothing to be ashamed about, and seeking help or going to counseling is not something that is a sign of weakness or something that makes you weird. If anything, it is a sign of strength and self-respect because you are taking care of yourself. IN CHRIST Share a story about a time in your life that you were struggling with something difficult but decided to journey with Christ and how that changed how you handled the situation (this should be a positive change). There will inevitably be suffering in our lives, but we have a choice. We can choose to let Christ and the community around us to help us, or we can try to make it through alone. In our times of sadness, it may be tempting to turn in, to isolate ourselves, or even to turn to negative outlets like cutting or drinking. But those things will never ever make the situation better; they will only make it worse. If these are things you struggle with again, please reach out to a trusted adult and get the help that you need! Isolation and loneliness are not what God wants for our lives. We are not alone, and He does not want us to journey alone. We were not made to be by ourselves; from the very beginning of creation, God knew that it was not good for man to be alone. (Genesis 2:18) 8 Issue Night: Not Alone

9 Christ is our light in the darkness, He is our help in times of need, and He has blessed you with people in your life who truly care about you both your family at home and your family here in this community. Do not shut people out in your times of need but rather reach out to Christ and the people around you. Do not choose to live in the darkness, but always seek the light and know that there is help here for you. Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12) Challenge the youth who struggle with loneliness or depression to reach out to a trusted adult. For the youth who are not struggling with the challenge them to be more aware of their friends who may be lonely at to reach out to them. Notes: Issue Night: Not Alone 9

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