Grown Up Soda

Dear St. Thomas Family, Beth Spizarny is our devoted youth minister.  Since she began working here in 2006, she has transformed the youth program into one that is both substantive and amusing for our youth.  That’s a tough balance to strike, and she has struck it.  Her creativity combined with knowing what tough challenges our youth face has helped tremendously in engaging our children with the faith. Yours in Christ, Father. Chas Canoy

From Beth Spizarny, our Youth Minister

I am an Ann Arbor native and have been an active parishioner at St Thomas for the past eleven years.  In 2005 I graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.  After graduation I traveled to Calcutta, India to serve the poor alongside Mother Teresa’s Sisters for nine months.  Upon returning, I joined the staff at St Thomas as the part-time Youth Minister.  I became the full time Youth Minister in August of 2007 to better serve the needs of our teens.

As Youth Minister I run our middle school youth group, Grown-Up Soda, and our high school youth group, The Village.  In addition, I direct our week long Vacation Bible School program for children between the ages of four and twelve each summer.

Our parish mission is ‘Encountering Christ’. My mission through our youth programs is to prepare our teens for that real encounter with the Risen Lord.  Adolescence is an incredibly formative time in our lives, and often, in the midst of basketball practice, math homework, and sleepovers, the voice of Jesus is drowned out.

Junior high tends to be the first stage in our lives that we begin to recognize our faith as personal.  Teens in early adolescence have questions about God, faith, and spirituality.  They have a hunger for spiritual and social connection.  Grown-Up Soda (GUS) exists to meet this hunger for connection.  At GUS we accept their questions and present to them the reality of God through meaningful relationships.  Grown-Up Soda meets twice each month:  once for a social outing and once for a night of games and discussion at the Church.

High school is generally a time of questioning and personal growth.  At The Village we celebrate the union of faith and reason with our slogan, ‘Real Questions, Real Dialogue, Real Faith.’ We recognize that there is a spectrum of faith in the teens of St Thomas.  Some of our teens may have doubts like our patron St Thomas did.  Others have already joined St Thomas in those words of faith, "My Lord and My God!”  As a group, The Village’s mission is to prepare each of us for our encounter with the Risen Christ, especially in the Blessed Sacrament. The Village meets every Sunday night from 5:00-6:30pm, and has socials and retreats each semester.

Vacation Bible School exists in response to Christ’s own request:  “Let the children come to me!” Every summer over 150 children and 40 volunteers gather to celebrate our faith through this unique weeklong program.  Last year our theme was ‘Heroes in Heaven’, and we learned about the saints.  This year our theme is ‘Growing in Grace’, and we will be discovering the sacraments!  For many of our children, VBS serves as a first introduction to the faith.  VBS is a beautiful, experiential way for kids to see Jesus loves them through crafts, songs, games, story time, and snacks.  Join us for VBS this year- June 22-26, 2009.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord in such a faith-filled and dynamic parish!  The past three years have been challenging, rewarding, and surprising.  I look forward to many more years of serving Jesus in the teens of St Thomas.  Please pray for me and all those who serve our teens through The Village, GUS, and VBS.

Sincerely,

Beth Spizarny