Workshop Pre-Task
As we begin, take a few seconds to reflect on why you are serving in Faith Formation this year.

• What are your reasons for becoming a mission partner?
• What do you hope the experience is like for the youth you will be serving?
• What are you expecting the experience to be for you?
• How do you expect your faith to grow by being a Discipleship Team Leader?

Segment One: Building Community
"The good shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice." John 10:3-4.

What are we trying to teach, communicate, or hand on though Faith Formation? Our goal is to bring young people "into communion with the person of Jesus Christ" (CT 5). Since God is a community of persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and we are made in His image, we are made for community. We want to provide youth at All Saints with a lived experience of community - this is the reason for Discipleship Teams at All Saints. Learning to be a disciple takes a team - it takes a family. It is through these relationships that we learn, support one another, and call each other forward in a life a faith. 

Discipleship Teams - How They Work on Canva

"Telling is not teaching." As a Discipleship Team Leader, it's your role to help facilitate this process of building community through concrete actions. Through your efforts to build relationships with the youth in your Discipleship Team, you are modeling community for them. This allows our methods - how we teach - to match our content - the what we are teaching. Our method reflects our content; God as a relationship of persons, who wants to be in relationship with each of us through the person of Jesus Christ. Below are the steps we have put in place to help you do this within your Discipleship Team. These steps were shown in the video as well.

• Meet each person at the door and greet them by name.
• Have discussion questions available when they arrive to allow them to get to know the others on their team. 
• The Opening Prayer, (or "Collect") will be the same for all grades, and reflects the opening prayer at Mass. 

Segment Two: The Belonging Process
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. "Isaiah 43:1"

News, email, and social media create a flood of communication, but not necessarily depth. Though this was true before COVID-19, mandates to shelter in place and social distance exacerbated this experience for many. Have you experienced this yourself? Do you see it in the young people you know? If they are looking for community and a place to belong (but don’t trust institutions) where do they turn? They are turning to their relationships. We have to ask - are we building these relationships with them?

Think of an adult in your life that had a big impact on you when you were a teen. Did they have one of these roles? Take a moment to say a prayer, thanking God for that person. Relationships with trusted adults help mitigate loneliness and encourage a sense of meaning and purpose in the lives of young people. The data shows the complexity and nuance of young people's inner and outer lives. The findings underscore the importance of relationships.

View the full presentation slide here.

Segment Three: Noticed, Named, & Known

Belonging comes before believing. When we think that everyone has to agree on a set of teachings or principles before we can build community, our approach is flawed. Not only is it ineffective, but it leads young people to distrust institutions, and then disengage. We need to figure out how we can make the Church - and All Saints in particular - a place where young people feel like they belong. Young people have made it clear that it is the who, not the where that makes them feel like they belong. Research has shown that even one relationship with a caring adult has a big impact. 

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Young people want to feel they belong. Through our Discipleship Teams, we have the ability to create opportunities for each young person to be Noticed, Named, and Known. 

Noticed: Being noticed - being seen or acknowledged, even in the simplest way - is the initial step toward creating belonging. It is here that they are invited into a relationship by someone expressing interest in them. It can be as simple as waving, or saying "Hi!" from across the way. 

Named: Being named is inextricably connected to a person’s identity. To be named seems basic, but it communicates a felt experience of being noticed, which is necessary to be known.  Welcoming and greeting someone by name is an instant way to forge a connection. 

Known: Being known adds the essential dimension of unreserved acceptance and allows for a true sense of belonging. Too often, young people turn away from the Church because of judgment, especially from adults. While well-intentioned, we often miss the mark by offering correction in lifestyle or behavior too early in the relationship. This does not mean we have to condone actions contrary to the Faith - but we must ask ourselves what our role is. Our role is to hand on what has been given to us; to invite young people to a life fully alive in Christ. A life where mercy, goodness, and love reign. We invite them to believe in a God that loves them no matter what; a God who will never fail them. Our role is to show them that they belong to a community that cares about them, despite whatever shortcomings and failings may be in their past.

Segment Four: Liturgy of the Hours

"All these were continually devoting themselves with one mind to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers" Acts 1:14

This year, all Discipleship Team sessions will end with a version of The Liturgy of the Hours.  Also called the "Divine Office", the Liturgy of the Hours is the official common prayer of the Catholic Church. It is a brief Liturgy of psalms and prayers recited at regular hours of the day. Its purpose is to sanctify the whole range of human activity and the cycle of day and night. The two most important hours of the Office are Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. 

Below are online versions of the booklets you will use to lead this prayer with your team. There are different versions, which have been adapted for different grades. First through fifth grades will pray with their teams in their room. Older grades (6th through 10th) will pray in larger groups.

Optional Video - How to Pray the Liturgy of the Hours (this is the recording of us praying during the Leader Formation Night. 

1st-3rd Grade Liturgy of the Hours

4th-10th Grade Liturgy of the Hours Leader Guide

Conclusion: You are the key.

Young people are fighting a culture that isolates them and leaves them alone and looking for a place to belong. They aren’t looking for institutions; they are looking for you and me to seek them out and build relationships that really matter. We must be intentional; this doesn’t happen by accident. Don’t underestimate the difference YOU can make with simple actions! Even one trusted adult makes a big difference. This is the reason for Discipleship Teams - because All Saints HAS to become a place where young people belong first, if we want them to join us in belief.

We are here to support you and to help you become the best Team Leader you can be. This year we are adding several opportunities just for you, to serve you better and build community among all of the Formation Mission Partners. Our goal to respect your time and provide experiences that are relevent and practical for your role as a Team Leader. Dates and more information is below, the nursery will be available, just email [email protected]. 

11/3, 7:15-8:15pm - Feedback & Formation on The Liturgy of the Hours
12/6, 6:00-7:00pm - Adoration & Confession
1/31, 6:00-7:00pm - TBD
2/2, 7:15-8:15pm - TBD
5/18, 5:30-7:00pm - Appreciation Cookout

If you have any questions you can reach us by emailing [email protected]