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Youth Ministry Newsletter
April 2025
| | Dear Friends in Youth Ministry, | | |
It was so wonderful to welcome so many of you last month at the Middle School Encounter! We’re so excited to announce the date for next year’s Encounter 2026! We’re also pleased to share the dates for this summer’s Youth Minister/Volunteer Training as well as this fall’s High School Catholic Youth Convention… Please see the Featured Announcements section below for this event as well as other upcoming 2025-2026 event dates!
We are beginning the second month of the Season of Service! As part of the Archdiocese of Seattle’s 175th anniversary, we are hoping to log 175,000 hours of service… Here’s what you need to know:
- Most of these hours you’re doing every day anyway!
- If you have time to plan something additional, you can check out the many opportunities, like the Teen Jubilee Service Project and Pilgrimage on April 26th! See the full list of Season of Service events here!
- All hours count! Your regular volunteer hours at school, at a parish, in a ministry or even in a non-Catholic organization count – for you and all the young people you minister to!
- Here’s a link to all of the marketing materials, including table signs with a QR code to remind others to long their hours too! English | Spanish
- We know you’re doing SO much to serve God’s people every day, so PLEASE CLICK HERE to log your service hours and contribute to the grand total!
Blessings to you!
Kimberly
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IMPORTANT EVENTS FOR YOUR UPCOMING CALENDAR!
Please make sure to note these important dates for your upcoming year’s calendar:
- Youth Minister and Volunteer Training: Saturday, August 23rd at Holy Family, Kirkland
- High School Catholic Youth Convention 2025: Saturday, November 15th at Saint Martin’s University, Lacey
- Middle School Encounter 2026: Saturday, March 21st at Kennedy Catholic High School, Burien
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TEEN JUBILEE SERVICE PROJECT AND PILGRIMAGE: APRIL 26, 2025
Middle school and high school students and their chaperones are welcome to join us for an exciting event which incorporates the 2025 Jubilee Year, the Teen Jubilee in Rome and the Archdiocese of Seattle’s Season of Service
Students can participate in Service through Outreach at Christ Our Hope Church or Service through Learning at the Care for Creation Summit at Seattle University. Everyone will join together at St. James Cathedral as Pilgrims of Hope and attend a special Mass.
Details can be found on the Registration & Events Page
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LAY MINISTRY CONVOCATION – COWORKERS IN THE VINEYARD: May 8, 2025
Attention All Lay Ministers - YES! This Is YOU! Join us at the Convocation for Lay Ecclesial Ministers! Archbishop Etienne will kick off the day sharing about how we can best serve the Church in this next phase of Partners in the Gospel. Then, you’ll attend various breakout sessions with opportunities for networking with other ministers. The event takes place at Vietnamese Martyrs Parish in Tukwila from 10:15 – 3:30pm. Registration is required! You can find all of the details & registration link here.
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BRING YOUR YOUTH GROUP TO CAMP HAMILTON THIS SUMMER!
Looking for a fun and enriching experience for your youth groups this summer? Bring them to Camp Hamilton! Explore the activity programs and age ranges at https://cyo.camp/camp-hamilton, and contact Angelina Belceto at Angelina.Belceto@seattlearch.org to book your spots.
(Mention the “Youth Group Discount” to receive 5% off for your group!)
Also, if you have students with financial need, generous scholarships are available!
There are openings for these weeks:
- Week 1 (June 29 - July 3)
- Week 2 (July 6 - July 11)
- Week 3 (July 13 - July 18)
- Week 4 (July 20 - July 25) – High School week
- Week 5 (July 27 - August 1)
- Week 6 (August 3 - August 8)
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UPDATES FROM THE ARCHDIOCESAN YOUTH COUNCIL!
A HUGE shout-out to our youth council members for taking the lead at the Middle School Encounter on March 15th! In addition to welcoming 6th – 8th graders, several members of the AYC led one of our two Keynote Sessions, sharing their faith stories and answering questions as part of a panel. The last AYC meeting took place on Tuesday, April 1st and councilmembers will now begin the process of consulting their peers in order to discern the theme for next year’s youth conventions.
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DID YOU KNOW?
There is an annual Summit for the Laudato Si Movement in Washington. (You may recognize it by its previous name, the Care for Creation Summit). This year it takes place on Saturday, April 26 from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm at Seattle University. This year’s theme is Pilgrims of Hope for Creation, which coincides very nicely with the Jubilee Year. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Robert Bullard, also known as the Father of Environmental Justice. You can attend this event with your youth group or group of students as Track 2 of the Teen Jubilee Service Project and Pilgrimage!
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LET ME KNOW IF YOU...
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Have any questions about field trip forms for daytime or overnight activities. You can find links to all of the forms on our youth ministry leaders’ page.
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HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS MINISTERS:
Do you have any news or updates to share about ministry in your school? If so, please let me know!
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- 4/5/25: Confirmation Retreat (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Bothell)
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4/26/25: Local Teen Jubilee / Season of Service Project Add’l Info and Registration
- 5/3/25: Confirmation Retreat (St. Nicholas, Gig Harbor)
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5/8/25: Coworkers in the Vineyard Lay Ministry Convocation, Vietnamese Martyrs Parish, Tukwila Add’l info and registration
- 5/10/25: Confirmation Retreat (Mary, Queen of Peace, Sammamish)
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6/10/25: Annual Faith Formation and Youth Minister Conference (Alexander Brunett Retreat Center, Federal Way) Add’l info and registration
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7/7 – 7/12/25: Camp Solanus for Girls (Middle School) (Black Lake Bible Camp, Olympia): https://www.stnicholascc.org/new-camp-for-girls
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8/10 – 8/15/25: Camp Solanus for Boys (Middle School) (Camp Hamilton, Monroe): https://www.stnicholascc.org/camps
- 8/12 – 8/14/25: Unplug with the Lord Retreat (High School) Retreat (Alexander Brunett Retreat Center, Federal Way)
- 8/23/25: SAVE THE DATE : Youth Minister and Volunteer Training (Holy Family, Kirkland)
- 11/15/25: SAVE THE DATE: CYC 2025 (Saint Martin’s University, Lacey)
- 3/21/26: SAVE THE DATE: MSE 2026 (Kennedy Catholic High School, Burien)
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