Liturgy/Worship/Spiritual Life Committee:

                                         Members of the Committee

                                         Cheryl Duda                                 

                                         Theresa Buoninfante

                                         Deacon Robert Clemens

                                         Tom Hoffman

                                         Nancy Orzola

The liturgy committee oversees the organizational aspect of the daily liturgical life of the parish in an  effort to enhance the spiritual life of all parishioners. The liturgy committee also concerns itself with ensuring that all who need to be catechized receive proper catechetical instruction.   
One  of the tasks of this committee is to recruit, train, and schedule the different  liturgical ministries. Parishioners wishing to find out more about any of the following liturgical ministries may contact the Liturgy committee at (914)476-6676

Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist: The service of the Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist are twofold: to assist with distribution of the Eucharist at parish Masses and to bring the Eucharist to the homes of those unable to attend Church because of sickness, age, or disability.

Click Here to view the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion schedule.

Lectors: Lectors are entrusted with the proclamation of the Word of God to the people during Mass and other occasions of worship. A Lector strives to present the Word of God with clarity and distinction so that it is not merely “read” but fully understood by the community. Click Here to view the lector schedule. Altar Servers: Fosters spiritual growth and development amongst the youth of our parish through active participation in the Mass. The servers assist the Priests at Mass and other Eucharistic celebrations. Those wishing to be altar servers must be in the 4th grade or above having received their First Communion.

Click Here to view the altar service schedule.

Music Ministry: Provides music for all liturgies during the year, enhancing the liturgical celebration by adding to our prayer and lifting the communal spirit. The musical tradition of the Church is a treasure of great value, bringing together sacred words with sacred music. Various choir opportunities available include children’s choir, teen choir, fold choir, and adult choir.

Ushers: The Usher is usually the first representative of the parish encountered by people coming to Mass. Ushers serve the parish community by being a visible sign of "welcome" to members of the parish community and visitors alike. They greet people in the name of the parish community and help to make them feel at home. Children in grades 4 and above are invited to become ushers at the Childrens Mass while adults serve at the other masses.

Youth Ministries: The youth group encompasses all young people in the parish in the 8th grade and beyond. It consists also of young adults. Membership to this group is therefore, open and free to all within this category who seek to grow in faith, spirituality, interpersonal relationships and human maturity. There is a spectrum of programs and activities available that aim at achieving the above cited goals.

This is what is needed: a Church for young people, which will know how to speak to their heart and enkindle, comfort, and inspire enthusiasm in it with the joy of the Gospel and the strength of the Eucharist; a Church which will known how to invite and to welcome the person who seeks a purpose for which to commit his whole existence; a Church which is not afraid to require much, after having given much; which does not fear asking from young people the effort of a noble and authentic adventure, such as that of the following of the Gospel (John Paul II, 1995 World Day of Prayer for Vocations)

Following the time tenured conviction of the Church that her future lies in the hands of the young, St. Bartholomew's parish community is totally united to this conviction of the Church and through the creation of the youth group, seeks to make this real. The frame work of its program and activities is shaped after the guidelines and recommendations of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) in the documented titled; renewing the Vision: A frame Work for Catholic Youth Ministry, 1997. The document offers practical direction for the Church's ministry today and in the future. In summary, it offers to all parishes and youth minitries a new approach in a form called "Comprehensive Youth Ministry." This is a holistic approach that targets an all round development of the young person, body soul and spirit. This draws on three primary goals; first, to empower the young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today. Second, to draw young people to responsible participation in the life, mission and work of the Catholic faith community. Third, to foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person.

The comprehensive youth ministry is what we try to implement fully here at St. Bartholomew's parish. This approach tries to develop the youth to not only grow spiritually, mentally, emotionally and in human maturity but also in faith; to become fully catholic and participate in the life and mission of the Church. In our programming we do not fail to ensure the application of the eight components of the comprehensive youth ministry which include: Advocacy, Catechesis, Community life, Ministry for Justice and service, Evangelization, Leadership development, Pastoral care, Prayer and worship.

You will have to find ways of involving young people in projects and activities of formation, spirituality, and service, giving them responsibility for themselves and their work, and taking care to avoid isolating them and their apostolate from the rest of the ecclesiastical community (Pope John Paul II, Christ Invites, Reveals and Sends, 1993).

Youth and Young Adult Service Committee:

This is the committee that is responsible for the organizing and coordinating youth activities in the parish and has the charge from the pastoral council under the following guidelines,

 Coordinate all youth activities in the parish.

• Initiate programs that will help the young people of the parish understand their call to holiness so as to live their Christian faith in accordance with the teachings of the church
  
• Encourage young people's active participation in the Church activities, on the Parish, Archdiocesan, National, and on International levels.
  
• It shall cooperate with the parish music director to ensure that those young people with singing talent and ability are supported and encouraged to enroll in the youth/tenn choirs in the parish.
  
• Foster unity, mutual love, self respect, understanding and cooperation amoung all Catholic Youths.
  
• Help form responsible young people who will use their God-given talents and skill for the welfare and development of the Church and their Community.
  
• Motivate our young people and offer them a forum to freely discuss and debate issues directly affecting them in the Church and in the Society.
  
• Motivate and encourage the young peole to participate actively in the leadership role of the Church and the political life of the Society.
  
• Provide the young people an opportunity for systematic study and discussion on matters of religion and practical Christian living. It shall also initiate programs that will challenge the general knowledge of our youths on the Bible and the teachings of the Church on social and moral issues.
  
• Initiate programs and activities which will provde opportunity for the young people of the parish to come together at least once a year to celebrate, socialize, interact and share with each other.
  
• Work in collaboration and in harmony with other youth groups and Movements in the Archdiocese and beyond.
  
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Programs

The present initative in youth activites in the parish came into being in March of 2006. During this time we have found good use of the comprehensive youth ministry approach; because, it offers us a lot of flexibility in programming and use of the same. The following programs exist for now even as we seek to develop more to help fulfill the charge given to the committee by the pastoral council and in answer to the universal vision of the Church.

We do have a youth mass celebrated every Sunday at 5:00 PM

The 5:00 PM youth mass is lead by the youth choir

We also have in place a biweekly Youth Nite where the youth come together for two hours

We also have begun to implement a celebration of the world youth day at the parish level, the first being last year, 2006.

We have in the works, mid-night runs to help serve those in desperate need.

We also have in the works a community assistance program where vistis will be made to seniors apratments, hospices, old peoples home etc to help in any way necessary and other similar or relevant assistance that can be offered.

We also have summer camps in view

We also have retreats and such similar gatherings away from home in mind.

Soon we shall commence full participation in all Archdiocesan youth activities.

Youth Nites

Our youth nites are held every other week at 6:00 PM through 8:00 PM immediately following the youth mass at 5:00 PM in the school gym. Usually we open and end with a prayer. Then we stetle down to the program of the day which can be a talk, a discussion, a celebration or any such similar events.

The meetings go through various timed segments moderated and coordinated by a different member of the committee each time. We have brakes in between when we have refreshment. We try to end the meeting in good time to give the youth time to have some play ball for sometime before the hour tops 8:00 PM.

Activities

Our activities at youth nites include age specific discussions. Community building exercise and game; social nights when we just socialize; play cards, games etc. We also use video documentaries and films at times to generate and stimulate discussions on a given youth topic. We also bring in from time to time experts to give talks and field questions from the group. We also encourage healthy interactions amongst the members of the group to help them develop trust and confidence in each other. The games and exercises are often simple and the goal or objective behind them are self evident and easy to understand. These generally serve as ice breakers and discussion generators. We also try to make sure that those who want to play ball have time to do that.

Community Support

So far the youth and young adult group in the parish enjoys the support of the Parish Pastoral council. The youth serve as lectors, lead the choir and also serve on the altar at mass. The measured publicity at mass so far has created a general community awareness and support of the new initiative in youth ministry. However, the goal is to have the youth participate in every sphere of the parish life bearing in mind all the components of the comprehensive youth ministry so that they can mature over time in taking part in the Churches life and mission and at the right time as full fledged adults, assume those key roles and leadership positions as people of mature faith in the community when the time comes. At such a time they would have been tenured as individuals with the requisite experience acquired in full and active participation in youth and young adult activities.