ice of Youth & Young Adult Ministry Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We are excited to tell you more about what it may look like if you apply and are hired to be a part of the Program Staff for the ice of Youth & Young Adult Ministry in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston! This position will give you a multitude of opportunities to give real-life experience in all aspects of Youth Ministry: Diocesan, Parish, Retreat, and more, but has one goal, to bring the message of the Gospel to Youth People throughout West Virginia and beyond! If you haven t done so, be sure to look at the office Job Description on the website. You ll notice a couple of things that you have questions about: What does it mean to live in intentional community? What does a typical day look like as Program Staff? How will we minister across an entire state? What is the Bishop Hodges Pastoral Center and where in the world is Huttonsville? This packet will try to give some brief explanation to your questions, but words on a page can only give part of the picture. If you have other questions or want to find out more, please call our office and we will do our best to provide more understanding. This position will ultimately be deeply spiritual, fun, and rewarding but will also present plenty of challenges. The realities of living and working in community can be a source of tension, but can also be a great opportunity to be driven forward in our professional, spiritual, and personal life. Flexibility and the ability to adapt to changes will be a skill that is important to being successful. Lack of personal space, long and exhausting days, and intense communal relationships can be realities. A few examples of a typical summer day and a school-year week are included for you to review. If these attributes and expectations appeal to you, please apply. We look forward to learning more about you through this process and pray that the Holy Spirit guides us in building a great team. Thank you for your interest in furthering the Kingdom in West Virginia. In Christ, Robert Perron Director of the ice of Youth & Young Adult Ministry Shawn Madden Director of the BHPC Associate Director of ice of Youth & Young Adult Ministry Joe Peterson Program Coordinator ice of Youth & Young Adult Ministry
ice of Youth & Young Adult Ministry Position Title: Youth Ministry Program Staff Department: ice of Youth and Young Adult Ministry Location: The Bishop Hodges Pastoral Center in Huttonsville, WV Our Mission: To help people, especially the young, fall in love with Jesus Christ & His Church. Reports to: Program Coordinator of the Diocesan ice of Youth & Young Adult Ministry (BHPC) Position Overview As a Youth Ministry Program Staff member you are a residential staff member living in community. You serve the BHPC s mission by being responsible for the day-to-day hospitality, retreat facilitation, cooking, and cleaning for guests and groups. Key Responsibilities Plan and facilitate retreats, rallies, and leadership events, including Camp Magis, Pursuit, Summit, etc. Assist with program development, marketing and facilitation for summer programming (Camp Bosco and Manus Christi) Facilitate ropes course experiences for groups Work with the diocesan Youth Board and assist with diocesan youth events (rallies/confirmation retreats, high school conference, etc.) Work in youth and young adult ministry at parishes throughout the diocese & locally, particularly at St. Brendan s and Davis & Elkins College Serve as a direct-liaison to one of the diocesan vicariates. Build relationships, communicate upcoming events and support youth ministry efforts in the vicariate. Be on-site and on-call hospitality for groups Assist with cooking for groups Cleaning and basic maintenance after every group Whatever else comes up Qualifications 21 years of age Practicing Catholic with an active faith life College graduate preferably with a catechetics or youth ministry degree A love of ministering with and to young people Desire to live in an intentional Catholic community Compensation: Salary Housing is provided in community with the other program staff members in Huttonsville, WV
ice of Youth & Young Adult Ministry Seasons, Events, & Basic Duties What does it look like to work as a Youth Ministry Program Staff? It depends on the season really. There are, of course, some things that continue on regardless of the time of year, but others that will be a part of very specific times. Lets lay out some of the Basic Duties that will always need to be taken care of: Websites, Social Media, Other Communication: Program Staff will have assignments to help run our various Websites & Social Media Platforms and create other communicable ways to reach around the Diocese (Posters, Flyers, Emails, and such) as a way to continually evangelize, catechize, & be in communicate. Planning & Preparing for Various Groups, Retreats, Events, Rallies, etc.: At any given time, it will be important to take a look ahead to be prepared for the next group or event on the calendar. Vicariate Youth ice Liaison: Each Program Staff Member will be in communication with the parishes of an assigned Vicariate. They will regularly check-in with the parish leaders in order to communicate things to or from the Youth ice, as well as to be in prayer with the ministry leaders. They will also attend the Vicariate Meetings. Youth Ministry at St. Brendan: Maintaining and expanding upon the relational ministry for middle school and high school students at our local parish, St. Brendan. Hospitality: Hospitality is one of our paramount charisms. Our goal is to provide them with an experience of biblical hospitality as a representation of God s extravagant love. These groups vary in size, make-up, and in what type of retreat they are looking for. Summer Programming: Throughout the summer, Bishop Hodges PC provides high-energy programming opportunities for young people to encounter Christ. The two keystone programs are Manus Christi and Camp Bosco. Manus Christi is a service and mission program for high school students that runs in six-day sessions. Camp Bosco is a Catholic adventure camp for youth ages 7-17 that also runs in seven-day sessions. Vigorous outdoor activities such as rock climbing, zip-lining, swimming, camping/backpacking, physical labor, and home repair blend with prayer, scripture/catechism study, and community-building to create these encounters. Early Fall & The Summit: As the school year starts, we host Camp Magis. This experience for 7th graders in partnership with the Catholic schools of the diocese is meant to evangelize the campers and move their hearts to service. This program goes from midaugust through early October. While not the only event happening at that time, it will take the bulk of the missionaries energy. We also partner with the Catholic Schools ice in hosting The Summit on Catholic Leadership in which Sophomores from the Catholic Schools come during a week to learn from national speakers, diocesan staff and the missionary team ways to grow into leaders in their communities & churches.
ice of Youth & Young Adult Ministry Travel Season : Throughout January and February of the year here, missionaries will plan and carry out the Camp Bosco Roadshow tour. The missionaries, along with Bob Perron, Shawn and Joe will plan a route, dates, and a theme for the tour. The team will travel around the state to visit all the catholic schools in the diocese and give presentations to promote Camp Bosco. During the evenings of the roadshow the team will schedule and host youth nights at parishes in the areas where they are travelling. As a staff member, it is essential to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and to have a strong Catholic faith foundation. In addition to the individual spiritualties of all participants and staff, the Youth ice & BHPC are characterized by a vibrant spirituality that flows from the heart and traditions of the Church. This spirituality is lived out in the sacraments, adoration, praise & worship, liturgy of the hours, and other communal prayer experiences. Equally important to embracing this communal spirituality is respecting differences in others spiritualties. Community Life YM Program Staff will live as intentional community with group prayer, work, meals, and free time in close conditions. Life in such community especially one in a rural setting can be an immense blessing and an intense struggle. To help guide this, the team will live a communal rule of life to structure their days and create an environment for prayer, formation, and healthy community. If you have any questions about your willingness to put your personal freedoms on hold for the needs of the young people and those we serve, please do not apply. I am third is something that we live (Jesus first, others second, I am third). Community life at the BHPC is hard work. We are always on call and we work long days. We focus on spiritual, physical and emotional development of young people and retreatants. Any addictions can be problematic when living in community. The facility is tobacco free and during summer programming has limited access to caffeine. Summer specific expectations Summer is a particularly strenuous season and therefore has some additional expectations. Staff members have strict duties and strict bed times, generally 11:00 p.m. The safety of young people is at stake. During the summer, cell phones and computers can be used only during your off times and you may not carry them while on duty. Staff generally has two hours off daily in the late afternoon to conduct personal business. All medication, prescription and nonprescription, will be collected and dispensed by the assigned team member during the summer. Your medication(s) are your private information, but staff may not keep ANY medication outside of the first aid area without authorization and documentation for safety reasons.
ice of Youth & Young Adult Ministry Other Details The Professional Code of Ethics for Diocesan Youth Ministry is enclosed for you to review and sign as part of the application. All hired team will additionally be mailed the Diocese s policy and procedures concerning sexual misconduct and ethics to sign before employment can begin. Our appearance is important. Many activities do not allow piercings to be worn for safety reasons. During the summer months there are dedicated staff to run on-site activities such as the pool and challenge course elements. During the school year, program staff will be expected to understand and facilitate these activities for user groups on property. In order to make this possible, all program staff will be receiving lifeguard training as well as ropes training to run challenge course elements, both from the ground and in the air. Fear of heights or inability to swim are not impediments to employment, but please discuss any such issues with the director during the application process. Sample potential schedule August through May Weeks will all look different. Ideally, many weeks would also have at least one additional event during the week or weekend. This is a sample for reference only. Day/Time Early Morning Late Morning Early Late Afternoon Evening Afternoon Sunday With Group or St. Brendan Youth @ St. Brendan s Ministry Monday Team Prayer & ice Work Tuesday Team Prayer & Community ice work Formation Dinner and Prayer Wednesday Team Prayer & ice Work Thursday Team Prayer & ice Work Friday Team Prayer & ice With Group or Formation With Group or ice Work Work Saturday With Group or
ice of Youth & Young Adult Ministry What does a typical day of summer programming look like? Manus Christi and Camp Bosco are distinct and unique, but do have similar intensities and structure. Below is an example day of Manus Christi. Days each vary in schedule; this is not representative of opening or closing days. This list is offered to illustrate the rigor of the experience and to show the attention to detail that is required in order to ensure that each participant has a safe, fun, and rich spiritual experience. 6:15 am 6:35 am 6:45 am 7:45 am 7:50 am 8:15 am 8:30 am 9:00 am Showering and personal preparations for the day begin Move participants to chapel for morning prayers Morning prayer for participants and a team meeting and individual prayer experience for team begins Breakfast served after prayer Send participants who require breakfast meds to first aid Ensure all people are ready and supplies gathered for the days service Sign participants out and travel to work-site Serving begins after prayer 11:50 am 12:00 pm 12:05 pm 12:30 pm 12:45 pm 3:45 pm 4:30 pm Wind down morning projects and prepare for lunch Pray the Angelus as a group at the site, then eat lunch at the work site Distribute and log lunch meds to those who need them Engage in zany fun with participants after lunch as time allows Clean up lunch and begin service again Clean up worksite and prepare to head back to the Bishop Hodges Pastoral Center. Return to site and check participants back in. Put away tools and supplies. 4:45 pm Turn over responsibility for young people and medications to chaperones for personal time where they can rest, take showers and relax. 4:45 pm 5:50pm 6:00 pm 6:00 pm 7:00 pm 7:30 pm Team heads to: Staff Lounge to use cell phones and computers; Huttonsville (sign out); exercise or to take naps. This is the team s only opportunity to use cell phones or computers. Half of the staff are off through dinner and half have a split break with an hour before and an hour after dinner. Team off-time activities end and team heads to dining room to meet campers for dinner Dinner is served family-style in air-conditioned dining room after prayer Send participants who require dinner meds to first aid Any evening chores are completed by those groups who have them Whole group activities take place each evening. Each night features different events. For example: 7:30- barn dance featuring traditional called dancing 8:30- talk on solidarity drawing from the barn dance experience 8:45- prayer experience involving praise and worship and Eucharistic adoration in the chapel 10:00 pm 10:30 pm Young people in parish groups for highs and lows sharing (favorite and least favorite experience of the day). Snack is served and those who need night meds get them. Bed prep and showers in rooms; Latest camper bed time- Lights Out (L.O.) strict end of talking and activity 11:00 pm Staff L.O. strict end of talking and activity. 9:20pm