Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta.
About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (July 23, 1987)
: Supplement to The Georgia Bulletin, July 23, 1987 □ Faith Toda A supplement to Catholic newspapers published by NATIONAL CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE 1312 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005. with grant assistance from The Catholic Church EXTENSION Society 35 East Wacker Dr„ Chicago, Illinois 60601 All contents copyright© 1987 by NC News Service. By Father Lawrence E. Mick NC News Service E arly in my work as a priest I was asked why I seemed to relate easily to children and teens. A little surprised, I didn’t know how to answer. I wasn’t aware that I did anything different from others. So I began to watch and listen more carefully to how other adults around me related to youth. What I noticed was that many adults tend to treat young people as if they are different from adults and as if there are different rules for relating to them. Often they treat teen-agers as a problem to be handled, a group to be managed, or more positively, as great poten tial to be shaped and molded. That’s how I discovered my “secret formula” for relating to young people, whether children, or teens, or young adults: Treat people as people. It is as simple and as complex as that. Because people are complex and different, dealing with them always is complex. It requires at tention to each individual, respect for the opinions of each and a willingness to accept each person as unique. The “secret” is that the same rules apply to both adults and young people. Implementing that formula in our parish meant that when parish lectors and communion distributors were needed, we asked teens on the same basis as adults. When we started a youth ministry, we established a youth ministry board of adults and teens to guide our efforts. When we vote for parish council members or on other parish issues, all those who are confirmed can vote, regardless of their age. When I talk to young people, whether age 8 or 15 or 22, I try to give them the same respect and attention that I give to any other person. □ □ □ The other side of this coin is that we also expect from youth the same kind of response as from Why do some people seem to relate more easily than others to children and teens? Father Herbert Weber's "secret formula" is to "treat people as peo ple" — that is, to give young people the some atten tion, respect and acceptance he gives adults. The flip side of the coin , he says, is that he expects the some kind of response from youth as he expects from adults. older people: responsibility, mutual respect, selflessness. Youths don’t always measure up to these expectations, but neither do their elders. From each we ask a response according to ability and interest. In doing so we invite each person, of whatever age, to grow in maturity and faith. I have found that young people often are eager to respond once they have been asked to contribute and once it is clear that their con tribution will be valued and respected. I also find that inviting youths to become involved in parish ministries helps even those not directly involved to gain a greater sense of belonging to the church. □ □ □ I remember Jackie, who began to be a lector at Sunday Mass as a sixth-grader. She needed a small stool to stand tall enough to be seen over the pulpit, but she was an excellent lector with her en thusiasm and the clarity of her proclamation. And I remember Chuck, who often went out of his way to help fellow students or older neighbors. When he entered high school, this rather shy young man accepted his father’s challenge to get to know every student in the school (1,000 plus) before he graduated. He spread a bit of joy wherever he went and ended up one of the most popular students. I think, too, of Tim, a young man who finished flight school and then wrote to ask if I knew of any missionary groups who needed the services of a pilot for a few years. And I think of Dottie, who finished college and then went to Texas to work as a volunteer under the auspices of the Texas Catholic Conference in a poverty- stricken town. I think also of several young people who have shared their musical talents with their parishes, both on a weekly basis and for special occasions. Students like Kim, who began to play the organ for our children’s Masses in eighth grade and now plays regularly on Sundays; and Steve, who began playing in grade school and is now one of the best organists in the area; and the high school students who, once invited, enthusiastically combined organ, guitar, trumpet, flute and voice to make Christmas and Easter sound simply wonderful. These and thousands of others have much to contribute to the church and to society at large. They have needs, too, as we all do. As Pope John Paul II often in dicates, it is vital to try to meet their needs and encourage their talents. Youths are people, after all — people with a lot to offer. (Father Mick is pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Glynnwood, Ohio.)
