A Catholic Altar Call for the Youth Group? Deal or No Deal?

[McKevin]

I gave a Stewardship witness in my parish last fall and may have the opportunity to share my story with the high school youth group. In a nutshell: A preacher’s kid grows up attending holiness services in the hayloft of a barn in Kentucky complete with baptisms in the pond with the cows who are cooling off in the water…later in life I come home to the Catholic church and learn about the Eucharist and the fullness of the faith so at the end of my talk with the youth I would like to give a good old fashioned and somewhat protestant altar call, only I would make it Catholic…with the help of a guitar player from our praise band we would sing “Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling” and ask the youth to “come home” to the faith that their parents are raising them in. As a PK and an adult who has preached in my protestant church the Lord can give a good invitation through me. They are so blessed to be raised in the Catholic Church instead of a barn-church :clapping: Only we would take their information and then follow up with them to attend the Sacrament of Reconciliation…what do you think? “Deal”? or “No Deal”?

 

[alexaustralia]

Hi McKevin,

Go for it!

I recommend you to look into a youth group that began in US called LIFE TEEN they help facilitate parishes to bring back the youth with resources etc. I am pretty sure there will be several parishes that would run LIFE TEEN around your neighborhood. Our parish started it here in Australia and have had some national conferences to spread it. Their motto “Bringing Teens Closer to Christ”

The main focus on LIFE TEEN is ther Mass and to make teens feel part of the parish (rather than a separate youth group that does their own thing after mass). Hence at my parish we have a “teen” mass (any one welcomed ofcourse) were we allow teens take active roles (lectors, eucharistic ministers etc). As part of the mass celebration teens are welcomed infront of the altar to show parish recognition that they are valued members.

Teens are not the future of the Church…they are the Church

Best of luck
PS try to make reco as welcoming as possible…music dimmed lights and candles tend to be good

US site lifeteen.com/

My parish lifeteenaustralia.com/castlehill/lifeteen/

Cheers

Alex

 

[Victorious]

If we eradicate the differences between the Catholic Church and Protestant churches, we’ll deprive Protestants of reasons to cross the Tiber. There are converts who cite the difference in worship as the very thing that attracted them to the Catholic Church in the first place. Don’t try to take that away from them.

P.S. The Mass doesn’t need improvement (and “improvements” not approved by Rome are illicit anyway). As for Life Teen: we need a smiley that pukes.

 

[McKevin]

If we eradicate the differences between the Catholic Church and Protestant churches, we’ll deprive Protestants of reasons to cross the Tiber. There are converts who cite the difference in worship as the very thing that attracted them to the Catholic Church in the first place. Don’t try to take that away from them.

P.S. The Mass doesn’t need improvement (and “improvements” not approved by Rome are illicit anyway). As for Life Teen: we need a smiley that pukes.

FYI: This is to be held at the mid-week youth group meeting and not at Mass and I have never seen anyone puke with a smile on their face.

 

[Michael_Francis]

Keep the Charity up please.

 

[Tietjen]

I gave a Stewardship witness in my parish last fall and may have the opportunity to share my story with the high school youth group. In a nutshell: A preacher’s kid grows up attending holiness services in the hayloft of a barn in Kentucky complete with baptisms in the pond with the cows who are cooling off in the water…later in life I come home to the Catholic church and learn about the Eucharist and the fullness of the faith so at the end of my talk with the youth I would like to give a good old fashioned and somewhat protestant altar call, only I would make it Catholic…with the help of a guitar player from our praise band we would sing “Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling” and ask the youth to “come home” to the faith that their parents are raising them in. As a PK and an adult who has preached in my protestant church the Lord can give a good invitation through me. They are so blessed to be raised in the Catholic Church instead of a barn-church :clapping: Only we would take their information and then follow up with them to attend the Sacrament of Reconciliation…what do you think? “Deal”? or “No Deal”?

I voted “No Deal.” What could come of the Alter Call thing that wouldn’t happen without it? Protestants believe that after such an “Alter Call” the individual becomes a Christian and is saved. Why confuse the youth? The “Alter Call” is not a Sacrament. It won’t “save” them. So why mimic Protestants? Of course I have absolutely nothing against speaking with the youth and even the “following up” afterward. But I’d hate to think that some in the audience might leave thinking that they have somehow done something positive by coming forward. I’d suggest simply having a forum with the youth and helping them enroll in RCIA or invite them to join the Youth Group. Help them to learn about Catholicism and guide them. The alter call means nothing.

 

[puzzleannie]

fine you can have such a prayer service during a youth group meeting, event or retreat, but it is not part of the liturgy of the Church, so it would not happen at Mass. They do something similar at STeubenville youth conferences when they ask those who are discerning a religious vocation to come forward. We also do something similar in Confirmation meetings when we ask candidates to make a commitment to the process of preparing for the sacrament. Do not try to do what the rites of the liturgy and sacraments already do, such as the Confirmation rite. It is fine to have re-commitments and such reflections on our baptismal promises as part of such events, but they do not replace liturgy.

Our Church is very rich in rites, prayers and worship for all occassions and all stages of life, we have no need to invent anything else.

 

[McKevin]

The alter call means nothing.

I think that you all may be getting hung up on the terminology. This is my fault, I should not have referred to this as an “altar call”, since there is no altar present in the youth room. Basically, this would be an invitation for those in attendance to make a commitment or a recommitment to follow Christ.

I consider this a very Catholic thing, considering the first large “altar call” (or invitation if you prefer) is recorded in the book of Acts and was given by St. Peter himself - Acts 2:41 says "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day."

Why do Catholics view this style of evangelism as being protestant? As the first Pope, St. Peter sure seems like a leader worth following

 

[JimO]

I’d be very careful with this and would seek the counsel of a good priest. Perhaps you could frame it as a renewal of their baptismal vows and the commitment to Christ that they made at Confirmation. Followup with Reconciliation would be awesome.

 

[Tietjen]

Why do Catholics view this style of evangelism as being protestant? As the first Pope, St. Peter sure seems like a leader worth following

McKevin, I apologize for assuming that you were suggesting what protestants view as a “saving act” (Salvation). I was raised Catholic and after I was 20 I left the Church (I was stupid) and started attending a Baptist church. I stayed there for about 15 years and saw MANY “alter calls.” So, when I hear (or in this case see) the term, bells go off in my head. I came back to the Church about 5 or 6 years ago and embarrassed it. Because I had made the mistake and left the Church for so long, I was starving and so I, through priests and lots of reading on my own, craved to learn as much about the Church as I could. The more that I learned, the more that I loved Her. I don’t really consider myself to be anti-protestant, however, I some times am too quick to pounce when it comes to things that appear protestant, especially when I see those things coming into the Church. Again, I apologize. There is nothing wrong with inviting youth to commit themselves to Christ. It’s just not something that will solidify their salvation as some in protestant denominations believe.

 

[jmcrae]

Deal, but …

There is actually a liturgy for this that you can use; no need to reinvent the wheel.

What you do is you have the kids renew their Baptismal promises in a group (use the formula from the Baptismal rite) and then have them come forward one at a time to receive a small cross traced on their forehead, with some words like “Be renewed in your faith,” and the child responds, “Amen.”

 

[McKevin]

McKevin, I apologize for assuming that you were suggesting what protestants view as a “saving act” (Salvation). …Again, I apologize. There is nothing wrong with inviting youth to commit themselves to Christ. It’s just not something that will solidify their salvation as some in protestant denominations believe.

No worries here, I’m still learning the differences in terminology. There are some good words in your postings!

 

[McKevin]

Deal, but …

There is actually a liturgy for this that you can use; no need to reinvent the wheel.

What you do is you have the kids renew their Baptismal promises in a group (use the formula from the Baptismal rite) and then have them come forward one at a time to receive a small cross traced on their forehead, with some words like “Be renewed in your faith,” and the child responds, “Amen.”

Wow! I never realized this. Do you have more info on this? This is good stuff! But it does lead me to believe that all of the kids would come forward for this and that some of them would just be going through the motions. Do you think it would be Catholic to offer this rite to those who want to respond? But then it may lose it’s liturgical structure…maybe going through the motions is better than not going through the motions even if it doesn’t mean anything to them at this particular stage in their journey

 

[jmcrae]

Wow! I never realized this. Do you have more info on this? This is good stuff! But it does lead me to believe that all of the kids would come forward for this and that some of them would just be going through the motions.

That would be fine.

Do you think it would be Catholic to offer this rite to those who want to respond? But then it may lose it’s liturgical structure…maybe going through the motions is better than not going through the motions even if it doesn’t mean anything to them at this particular stage in their journey

To be Catholic is to be part of a group. We aren’t “individuals” in the Protestant sense - we don’t have a “personal relationship with Christ” apart from our membership and participation in the Church, so even if they are non-active members of the group, this reaffirmation of faith still pertains to them, and they should participate in it. It’s okay if some of them don’t really understand what’s going on, as long as you do your best to make sure that you explain it as well as you can.

One thing that is a real witness to me on this issue is when members of our L’Arche community (profoundly mentally and physically disabled) come to Mass and affirm their faith in the Apostles’ Creed. Someone might ask, “What kind of faith could such people have, since they seem to be just barely human; they can’t even care for themselves, or utter a coherent sentence,” and of course the answer is that, because they are Catholic, they have our faith - and as members of our group, that’s all they need.

 

[Sabda]

What you do is you have the kids renew their Baptismal promises in a group (use the formula from the Baptismal rite) and then have them come forward one at a time to receive a small cross traced on their forehead, with some words like “Be renewed in your faith,” and the child responds, “Amen.”

Yes, I would do this. I would NOT call it an altar call. Use Catholic terminology. It’s nice that you want to show them the Protestant faith. However, I would make sure and give them the Catholic side as well. You might actually end up leading some of these kids OUT of the Catholic Church otherwise. Protestants have altar calls. Catholics have renewal of Baptismal vows every Easter. Also during that same week the priest renew their priestly vows at the Chrism Mass.

so at the end of my talk with the youth I would like to give a good old fashioned and somewhat protestant altar call, only I would make it Catholic…with the help of a guitar player from our praise band we would sing “Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling” and ask the youth to “come home” to the faith that their parents are raising them in.

I originally voted against this and it’s because of the above. The way you have this worded is very Protestant. Like I said you need to use Catholic terminology. Otherwise you could very easily end up leading some of these kids out of the Catholic Church. I don’t think you want to do that. I strongly agree with the poster that suggested talking to your priest about this.

 

[McKevin]

I would NOT call it an altar call. Use Catholic terminology. It’s nice that you want to show them the Protestant faith. However, I would make sure and give them the Catholic side as well. You might actually end up leading some of these kids OUT of the Catholic Church otherwise. Protestants have altar calls. Catholics have renewal of Baptismal vows every Easter. Also during that same week the priest renew their priestly vows at the Chrism Mass…The way you have this worded is very Protestant. Like I said you need to use Catholic terminology. Otherwise you could very easily end up leading some of these kids out of the Catholic Church. I don’t think you want to do that. I strongly agree with the poster that suggested talking to your priest about this.

Thanks for the feedback but I have a couple of contentions. First, I’m not wanting to share my protestant faith. Second, a renewal of the baptism vows sounds great, but the sad truth is that most of these kids don’t experience that - is an invitation to draw closer to Christ really considered a protestant thing?

I’m talking about a parish with 1300 high school kids on the roster, but about 75-100 attending youth group meetings - shouldn’t we do everything we can to help these kids draw closer to Christ and reach the 1200 who aren’t attending youth group? Even if it is non-traditional by most Catholic standards?

I appreciate the advice of talking to our priest, I’ll send him a link to this thread and get his opinion

 

[demerzel85]

For Catholics lets just throw the entire term ‘altar call’ right out of the window or flush it down the toilet bowl, cause in the very first place there is no altar to speak of. The very purpose of the altar is to offer up a pleasing sacrifice to God, and the only worthy sacrifice is Jesus himself.

But back to the concept at hand. More accurately it is just a renewal of the Baptismal Vows (which has been very poorly translated into English). The experience in itself really pales in comparison to the Sacrament of Penance and the Sacrament of the Eucharist. When all is said an done, its just another person praying for you and the Holy Spirit sometimes manifesting visibly. I myself am a charismatic, but the most charismatic hymns are in the Gregorian notation.

 

[McKevin]

But back to the concept at hand. More accurately it is just a renewal of the Baptismal Vows (which has been very poorly translated into English). The experience in itself really pales in comparison to the Sacrament of Penance and the Sacrament of the Eucharist. When all is said an done, its just another person praying for you and the Holy Spirit sometimes manifesting visibly. I myself am a charismatic, but the most charismatic hymns are in the Gregorian notation.

Thanks for you thoughts. But I don’t agree…reciting liturgical prayers and vows is beneficial for those who believe and “get it” but there are so many Catholics who don’t know the water that they have been swimming in their entire lives…these are the ones that we’re going after. The harvest is plentiful even within the church.

 

[steveandersen]

No offense McKevin but it feels a little too Protestant for my tastes, I’m an old fashioned sort and feel uncomfortable even with Catholics Charismatics or those folks who insist on holding/waving hands during the Our Father so don’t take me as the final word, but alter calls and cows in the baptismal font ………maybe I just lack imagination or charity but it just isn’t the Church I was raised in.

 

[jmcrae]

Thanks for you thoughts. But I don’t agree…reciting liturgical prayers and vows is beneficial for those who believe and “get it” but there are so many Catholics who don’t know the water that they have been swimming in their entire lives…these are the ones that we’re going after. The harvest is plentiful even within the church.

What is it exactly that you are trying to get them to do?

It seems as though they are already coming to Mass and living their faith. What more could one want of them?

Not every kid is “into” the youth group experience - the majority just want to work at their part time job, get some spending money, get good grades at school, and hang out with their close friends. The important thing for them is that they come to Mass on Sundays, and as long as they are doing that, they’re doing just fine.