Workshop looks at youth and religion

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
March 1, 2007

The Archdiocese of Dubuque and the Diocese of Sioux City sponsored a workshop on The National Study of Youth and Religion that was presented in three locations in the state of Iowa.

Workshops were held in Cedar Falls and Charles City with the most recent workshop held in the Immaculate Conception Parish Center in Sioux City on Feb. 23. Another workshop was planned for Feb. 24 at St. Edmond High School in Fort Dodge but was cancelled due to inclement weather.

The workshops were presented by Jessica La Fleur, director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Sioux City and Kevin Feyen, the director of youth and young adult ministry for the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

According to La Fleur, there were about 85 people who attended the session in Sioux City. The participants were comprised of people who work with teens, ages 13 to 17, including youth ministers, DREs, volunteers, Catholic school teachers and administrators, priests and diocesan staff. Bishop R. Walker Nickless was also in attendance.

"We had a diverse group there. That really fed into the whole day," said La Fleur.

The morning portion of the workshop focused on the data and letting the attendees know where teens and Catholic teens stand.

"It is important for people to know the statistics because it helps us decide where we fit in the statistics," said La Fleur. "It is a ruler for us to measure where we fit. Then, how are we going to progress from there?"

La Fleur used a PowerPoint presentation to showcase the graphs and data about the study. Throughout the presentation attendees were able to offer comments and ask questions.

One conclusion from the National Study of Youth and Religion notes that religion is a significant presence in the lives of many U.S. teens. The study states that 40 percent of teens go to church at least once a week, pray daily and are currently involved with a religious youth program.

Another conclusion states that the vast majority of teens are happy simply to accept the one religion in which they were raised. One other conclusion says that 75 percent of teenagers between 13 and 17 consider themselves as Christians.

"I think it went well," said La Fleur. "We had a great turn out. We had some really great discussions, ideas and comments shared that were definitely beneficial to the whole group."

Feyen presented the afternoon portion that reflected on how the lives of youth are affected. He talked about adolescent catechesis and how youth are formed. There was talk about what needs to be done to respond to the findings in the data.

La Fleur hopes that discussion and collaboration "amongst the fields of Catholic faith formation" come from the workshop.

One person in attendance was Father Micheal Erpelding, pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Sioux City. He noted that he decided to attend because he was looking for a new understanding of how young people think and how to minister to them.

"I was not surprised with the statistics," said the priest. "I believe statistics are statistics, and they tell you what is going on. You have to interpret them. It is not always easy to interpret what the statistics say."

He mentioned that to minister to young people "can be difficult because it is hard to identify what they want and how best to minister to them."

Joyce Kizzier, director of faith formation at Immaculate Conception Parish in Moville, noted that since she is new to her position she wanted to attend.

"I wanted to see what I was up against and if what I have seen already this year matched up to what their study said," said Kizzier. "I thought the statistics were very good and I have seen a lot of that in my own parish. I wasn't surprised, but I was hoping for better."

She learned that she needs to look for different ways to reach out to the young people she works with.

Gene Meister, president of Bishop Garrigan Schools in Algona, attended the workshop in Sioux City. There was a team from Algona including high school theology teacher, elementary guidance counselor and a middle school teacher.

He mentioned that in Algona they use the ACRE survey, sponsored by NCEA, with students in grades five, eight and eleven as one evaluation.

"We thought this workshop would be another source for us to look at and compare," said Meister. "The two presenters did a fine job."