Faith Footprints: Finding What Our Family Needed

Children’s programming at Good Shepherd has been transformative for our children and it started with AMPED.  Coming from the Catholic tradition, we were expecting that we may need to actually bribe our children to attend.  CCD in the Catholic church is is purely informational.  I tell others that if you were having fun during CCD, you must have been doing it wrong.  To our surprise, though, not only did our middle schoolers not complain, they willingly climbed into the car before we could, not wanting to be late.

Then, in high school, they are greeted with a truly unique opportunity to spend time with like-minded others, without the peer pressure that can occur in high school itself.  On top of that, the opportunity to travel is truly what makes youth group special.  Our relatively quiet son, so moved by a past retreat, even asked if an additional retreat could be added for the year.  It appears to me that the young adults are starved for genuine connection that does not require a screen or electricity.  Especially those whose social skills were stunted by the pandemic – which is all of them.  They live out the golden rule in all their activities and that is the purpose of a church, any church.

It truly takes a village to raise a child and I don’t think it an exaggeration to say our children are evolving to be more empathetic, more inclusive, and more understanding than they would be without these programs.  I so wish I had had such opportunities when I was their age!