“I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not dwell in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12
As Catholics we are called to be the light amidst the darkness, but how can we be a light to lead others to Jesus if we have not even been ignited ourselves yet? Once we are ignited we can continue to grow through different forms of kindling (Prayer, sacraments, service, friendship etc.) until we eventually illuminate and then become ablaze. Once we are ablaze and on fire for our faith we have the opportunity to become that light or that beacon to help reach others and ignite them too.
The mission of Divine Word’s Youth Ministry program is to start by igniting teens and fostering a desire to learn more about their faith to then be able to share this spark with others around them. Once the teens flame has begun to grow in our IGNITE Junior High program, they can then move on to our High School ILLUMINATE program.
Junior High group: Grades 6-8th Meets– Tuesdays 7-8:15pm
High School Group: 9-12th Grade Meets–
- Sundays after 11am mass from 12-2 OR Sundays 5-7pm.(depending on what type of event we are having.)
IGNITE and ILLUMINATE Schedules
About Our Youth Minister:
My name is Taylor Long and I am the Youth Minister here at Divine Word. I am in awe of God’s generosity and goodness in preparing me and leading me to this opportunity and I am very excited to see where He takes me during my time here. I wanted to introduce myself and share a little bit about who I am, and why I am here. I am 23 years old and a recent graduate from Kent State University, where I received my Master’s Degree in School Counseling. Even with this degree God has shown me that I have a gift and passion for ministry within the Catholic Church, especially in regards to the teen population. This love and passion started when attending my own youth group in high school at Saint Ambrose in Brunswick, and has only grown since. I can honestly look back and say that my four years in youth group were formative in my journey of faith and helped me build the foundation I needed to become the woman I am today. I can only hope and pray we can build a foundation on the love of Christ here at Divine Word as well as for the teens. I look forward to meeting and getting to know you.
Contact info and updates:
Email: tlong@divinewordkirtland.org
Instagram page: divineword_ym
Facebook page: Divine Word Catholic Church
Teen Leadership Team (TLT)
A TLT member is a teen who is going into their sophomore year in high school and has spent time in prayer discerning an increased leadership role within the Junior High group, IGNITE and the High School Group, ILLUMINATE at Divine Word beyond simply attending events/nights. They are an active member of ILLUMINATE and attend Life Nights regularly– advising peers and leading by example. TLT members desire to take the extra step to learn, grow, live, model, and serve as an active leader in Christ. They should live by this simple quote, “Be a light amidst the darkness.” Additionally, teen leaders have a call to build and form community as a team, while personally choosing to deepen their own faith. As on-going ‘learners’ of the faith, they are not simply a ‘program helper,’ but are full members of the youth ministry movement alongside their peers, with added responsibility of modeling what faith can look like in a young person’s daily life. They will have the opportunity to help with roles such as parts of Life Nights, IGNITE middle school leadership, peer mentoring, service/social event planning, and various small groups— with the possibility of other opportunities, as we see the strengths and charisms of this year’s team.
Please Join me in Welcoming our new Leadership Team for 2020-2021!
“We chose the name Dynamite because we strongly desire to help others around us light up their faith lives and love for God and watch it explode!”
Angelina Simerale
Sophie Loncar
Maya Hill
Ana Schwartz
Mia Osborne
Liz Aranavage
May God bless them as they grow in faith and leadership this year!
What is a core team? The core team is a way for adults to help the youth minister plan and lead the high school Illuminate nights and other events such as retreats and service projects/trips.
Team members should possess the following qualities: a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, an unconditional love for teenagers, a love for the Catholic Church, regular participation in Sunday worship, a personal prayer life, freedom from serious sin, regular reading of Scripture, and openness to using the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Team members must be open to annual training and completing all VIRTUS/background checks set forth by the Diocese of Cleveland. Must be 21 years of age or older.
Commitment: Attend Illuminate nights every Sunday (with the exception of missing a few) as well as monthly CORE meetings.