Middle School Youth Activities
Middle School Retreats are a wonderful annual activity that we have for the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade youth of our parish. The retreats take place at the beautiful San Pedro retreat center which is just down the road from St. Stephen. The day is centered on showing the youth that church activities "can" be FUN and we are building community among them. Inspirational talks are given by teens of the LITES high school program and focus on the different aspects of the Eucharist, and the impact that Eucharist has on each of us. The day is filled with lots of fun activities, games, and the true presence of Christ.
Middle School Youth Group meets once a month on Sunday evenings at the church. All students who are in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades are invited to participate in a HUGE variety of fun activities that are scheduled throughout the year. Some evenings are holiday themed and others are themed around some of their favorite foods. We also have evenings that center around playing CRAZY games, such as Minute to Win It, Deal or No Deal, The Amazing Race or Survivor, just to name a few. Other popular activities include Water Nights, Glow Bowling, and trips to the area theme parks and other attractions. ALWAYS remember that EVERYONE IS WELCOME; they do not need to attend St. Stephen to attend any of our activities. The MORE THE BETTER!
Summer Trips - During the summer we have weekly outings to many of our youths' favorite activities in Florida: beach trips, canoeing, swimming at the local springs, and visiting the area water parks. We also have events with needy children in the community by providing games and activities for them.
Pay It Forward takes place once a month on Saturday mornings. We perform many types of community service activities that vary in many ways. Some of the projects we do are cleaning up elderly parishioners' yards, feeding the area homeless, or baking cookies for area shut-ins. These are just a few of the things we LOVE to do for others.
Mission Trips - We attend an annual mission trip through the Catholic Heart Work Camp Program. For the past 2 years we have gone to the Tampa Florida camp. The trips have been life changing for both the youth and adults who chaperone them for the week. The week is spent reaching out to less fortunate people and the projects vary as much as the people we serve. The camp also allows everyone to deepen their "Catholic" faith with other teens from all over the country. The camp staff have a true gift of engaging our youth and getting them all fired up about their faith and what God has planned for them in their lives.