Calling all teens in Grades 8-12 – do you sing or play an instrument? Join the Sunday 5pm Music Group!
We rehearse at 4:00pm before the 5pm Mass – we’re at St. Paul this Sunday, September 14 and at St. John next Sunday, September 21.
We’re a fun and easy-going group (promise!) – just show up and join in!
If you have any questions, please email Christian Wilson, Youth Music Coordinator, at christian.wilson@sjspwellesley.org
Following the Sunday 5pm Youth Mass at St. Paul – join us in the Parish Hall from 6:15-7pm!
All high school students are invited and encouraged to attend – bring your friends! We’ll start getting to know each other and building our community as we plan together for the year ahead! (And yes, there will be food!)
If you can’t make it this Sunday, that’s ok – come next Sunday after the 5pm Mass at St. John – it’s going to be a regular thing!
For more info and updates visit the website sjspwellesley.org/youth ministry and follow us on Instagram @sjspyouthministry
Please join us on Sunday, September 28 at 10:30am on the St. Paul Lawn for our annual Collaborative Outdoor Mass and fellowship event! This will be our third time celebrating Mass on the expansive lawn in front of St. Paul Church, recreating what Fr. Jim calls “our own Tanglewood East!”
Our SJSP Society of St. Vincent de Paul chapter is once again sponsoring a cookout after Mass, providing hotdogs, hamburgers, and veggie burgers for all! Please plan to bring a side dish/salad to share if you are able!
So that as many members of our community as possible can join together for this special liturgy and fellowship event, there will be a reduced Mass schedule at the parishes on the weekend of September 27-28…
My name is Elsi Ojanen, and I am from Hampton, New Hampshire. I graduated in 2024 from the College of the Holy Cross with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Religious Studies, and I am currently pursuing my Master’s degree in Theology and Ministry at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College.
I have been blessed with opportunities to lead and facilitate retreats and love working with people of all ages in their journeys of faith.
Most of all, I love Jesus with my whole heart, and I am excited to continue my time here at the Collaborative in this new role and for all that God has in store for us this year!
In 2024, the Archdiocese of Boston lowered the ordinary age of Confirmation from Grade 10 to Grade 8, to make the grace of this Sacrament available to young people in greater numbers, to strengthen the role of families in the faith formation of their young teens, and to facilitate a renewal in family engagement in the life of the parish, especially Sunday Mass.
As a result, this past spring, 234 young people in Grades 8-12 received the Sacrament of Confirmation at our Collaborative – an exponential increase in the number of newly-confirmed high school teens needing a robust youth ministry program to help them stay connected to their faith during a time of great transition and growth in their lives…
The Archdiocese of Boston is calling on parishes to embrace a new vision of faith formation – one that supports parents in their role as the first teachers of the faith, facilitates lifelong faith formation for all generations, encourages missionary discipleship in addition to catechesis, and engages the talents of the whole parish community.
This past spring, 234 young people in grades 8-12 received the Sacrament of Confirmation in our parishes, exponentially increasing the number of high school teens who need a robust youth ministry program to accompany them during this time of great transition and growth in their lives. Being ready to accompany these newly-confirmed teens on their journey and helping them stay connected to their faith, their parish, and each other is vitally important – for them, for our Collaborative, and for the Church…
At the end of our last Sunday 5pm Youth Mass before the summer break, Fr. Lesley called the high school seniors forward to receive a special blessing as they prepare to step into a new chapter of life. After imparting the blessing, he reminded them:
“And now seniors, turn toward the community –
See the faces that have loved you and prayed for you.
Know that as you go forth, you are never alone.
Go, not in fear, but in faith.
Called to be heralds, even amid hardships, always magnify love.”
Every year, our Sunday 9:00am Family Mass and 5:00pm Youth Mass programs go on their own “summer vacation” from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend.
This Sunday, May 18 will be our last 9:00am Family Mass (and Coffee & Donuts!) and last 5:00pm Youth Mass until September 7, so be sure to join us!
On Monday, April 21, following the announcement of Pope Francis’ death, WCVB5 Boston produced a report on local reaction to the news – Catholics across Massachusetts mourn pope, praise groundbreaking papacy.
As part of that report, WCVB reporter Ted Wayman reached out to Kelly Meraw, our Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, for a video segment: How Pope Francis changed the lives of these Massachusetts residents which appeared on the evening news broadcasts.
They spoke in particular about the Holy Father’s special connection with young people, and about our Collaborative’s pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Portugal in 2023.
DID YOU KNOW THE WEEKEND OF APRIL 25-27 IS THE GLOBAL JUBILEE OF TEENAGERS? Let’s join our brothers and sisters at the Natick Catholic Collaborative on Sunday, April 27 for a special half mile Eucharistic Procession around the Natick Common to celebrate the amazing teens who help make our local Catholic community so strong and vibrant. The procession will follow the 11:00am Mass at St. Patrick Church (gather in front of the church at 11:45am.) All teens, families, and parishioners are invited to join the Procession! Rain or shine! Click here to sign up to walk with Jesus!
Questions? Please contact Dawn Sullivan of the Natick Catholic Collaborative: dsullivan@natickcatholic.org