Last Updated: Tuesday - 01/04/2011

Legal parish launches Life Teen program

LEGAL — A program that is bringing Christ to teens all around the world - to more than 60,000 teens in more than 600 churches - is coming to St. Emile Roman Catholic Parish in Legal.

Called Life Teen, the program is centred around the Catholic Mass and makes faith come alive for teens through Life Nights, Bible studies, prayer groups, retreats, outreach and various social and sports activities.

"All our young people are important to us," says Father Matt Lugowski, pastor of St. Emile Parish. "And it's important that we give them the opportunity to grow in faith and learn about Jesus in ways that are meaningful to them. Life Teen provides that opportunity."

Life Teen was started in 1985 by Father Dale Fushek, pastor of St. Timothy's Parish in Mesa, Ariz. He saw a special need to bring teens closer to Jesus . . . a special need to make the Eucharist - and Mass - more meaningful to teens.

The program has also served communities well in time of crisis. Many teens who attend Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., belong to Life Teen at St. Frances Cabrini Parish. After the tragedy, the church and Life Teen became a gathering spot for healing and counselling.

"Life Teen can make a difference in the lives of our teens," says Pat Letourneau, youth minister for the Legal parish. "Because Life Teen deals with real issues in their own terms, it can help make their faith in God an important part of their lives."

Life Teen starts with the Eucharist, every second and fourth Sunday, starting Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. Our Life Teen Mass will be planned especially for teens and their families. The music, provided by Life Vision of Radway, will praise God and it will appeal to teens.

The young people will do the ministries at the Mass, the homily will be directed to teens and our teens will gather around the altar for the Eucharistic Prayer.

It will be a spiritually uplifting special Mass for teens and - if other Life Teen parishes across the country are any indication - for many of us who are not teens.

Following Life Teen Mass, we'll have Life Night at the community hall for teens aged 14 and over . . . a time when we will make our Catholic faith come to life through teachings, sharings and awesome faith experiences. In short, Life Teen makes it cool to learn about and love Jesus.

For the last four months, Father Matt, a core of 10 young adults, five parent volunteers and the music ministry have been working vigilantly to get this going. Life Teen requires a lot of hard work and a lot of prayer. As we begin this new program in our parish, we ask you for both - our young people are worth it.

For more information about Life Teen in the Legal area, contact Pat Letourneau at 961-4012. For more information on the program nationally, contact the national Life Teen office at 480-820-7001.

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