Viatorians never waiver from one of their core ministries, “to minister to and with young people.”
(L-R) Elise Dabravec, Associates Ken and Michelle Barrie, Tom East, Br. John Eustice, Emily Egan, Bart Hisgen and Nancy Devroy, front
One week after meeting with youth ministers from across the Bourbonnais/Kankakee region, Viatorians converged at the Diocesan Center in Joliet to attend a national workshop series hosted by the Center for Ministry Development (CMD). It’s title? “Accompanying Youth on Their Journey of Faith and Discernment.”
Tom East, CMD director and presenter, knows the Viatorians well. In the 1990s, he and CMD worked with Fr. Corey Brost, CSV, with the Young Neighbors in Action program. What’s more, Associate Rosy Hartz, a youth minister in Las Vegas, is a regular contributor to Youth Ministry Access, the online resource for parish youth ministry.
Br. John Eustice, CSV, also worked closely with CMD to bring their eight-course certificate program to the Diocese of Belize to train more than 40 youth ministers.
Br. John Eustice
“It is comforting to know that our community is in the forefront of ministry with and to young people,” Br. John commented after the workshop. “How fitting it was to have three of our institutions represented among 50 people in this church profession.”
Besides Br. John, those included: Associates Ken and Michelle Barrie, youth ministers at St. Patrick’s Church in Kankakee, Elise Dubravec, youth minister at Maternity BVM, and the campus ministers from Saint Viator High School, Nancy Devroy, Bart Hisgen and Emily Egan.
Here are some of their immediate takeaways:
- Accompany youth today
- Become a faith companion
- Guide youth in discernment
- Help youth pray
- Empower a community that accompanies