Parish youth gather for weekly morning Mass

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications
 
Nine middle and high school age parishioners of Storm Lake St. Mary Parish tried something new on Sept. 9 – attending 7 a.m. daily Mass as a group. After the Mass, they enjoyed donuts together in the parish center before heading off to their respective schools.
 
Amy Halder, Parish LifeTeen leader and St. Mary School student and family advocate, said the LifeTeen leadership team of herself, Kim Foell, Deb Peters and Dayna Toft, is encouraging students to make time for Mass each Tuesday morning and enjoy a light breakfast and social time following Mass.
 
Last spring, as the academic year ended, Halder felt the call to find a way to “connect with the middle school and high school students outside of a school setting.” She had read an article in The Lumen in 2023 about students at Humboldt St. Mary Parish who were encouraged to attend early morning Mass once a week and then enjoy donuts together afterwards.
 The number of participating students is growing.“I thought it was so great and it was getting community members involved with the youth,” Halder explained.
 
The LifeTeen leadership selected Tuesday mornings for the project as Father Brent Lingle, pastor, had a regularly scheduled daily Mass at 7 a.m.
 
“We were intentional about picking Tuesdays because we have adoration afterward – not only are they experiencing Mass but they get to take part in adoration as well,” she pointed out.
 
The group ran the idea by Father Lingle, who was supportive of their efforts to strengthen the faith lives of the young Catholics.
 
“One of the most important things we can do for the kids of our parish is to connect them more closely with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and with a supportive and loving community,” he said. “Our youth group leaders are doing just that. It is so good to see so many of our kids coming to daily Mass so early on a Tuesday morning, spending a few moments with Jesus in adoration after Mass and then spending time with each other before they head off to their schools. Building good spiritual habits as young people will serve them so well in their lives.”
 Parishioner and school parent Kelli Berg helped to advertise the Tuesday Masses and Halder talked directly to students to generate interest in the effort.
 
“I asked some students if we did something like this, would you come. A lot of students said yes,” Halder said.
 
At the first Mass the students were encouraged to attend, six St. Mary School students and three Storm Lake Community School students participated. Others indicated they were interested but had scheduling conflicts including family responsibilities, field trips and others.
 
In the following weeks, more students made the extra effort to be in the church pews at 7 a.m. on Tuesdays. The LifeTeen leaders made sure the students sat near the front so they “could really be a part of it.”
 
Halder noted that her twin high school daughters also awoke early to be at the church for morning Mass.
 
“I was impressed as a mom that they got up early to be there at 7 a.m. on a school morning,” she said. “I’m glad all the kids who came made that sacrifice of time to get up and be here. It says a lot for them and their parents because some of them aren’t drivers yet.”

 Social media posts encouraging the Mass attendance were created in English and Spanish for the diverse parish.Halder is hopeful that students feel welcome to participate on Tuesday mornings if their schedules allow. She discovered many students and adults were not familiar with daily Mass – usually with no music, smaller crowds and shorter homilies. One teacher told her that she didn’t think attending Mass at 7 a.m. would allow her to be in her classroom in time to start the school day. 

“I’m not sure people understand that a morning Mass is just shorter than a (Sunday) Mass. You’re done by 7:30 a.m. and can get to obligations you need to,” she said, noting they will be communicating that time frame out to the parish community.
 
The LifeTeen leaders are accepting contributions to ensure donuts and beverages are available for the students each week following the Mass and a few minutes of adoration. (Those interested in helping can contact Halder at [email protected].)
 
“We would love to see many kids,” Halder stressed, noting they have been pleased with the turnout to date. “We know we’re doing the right thing and planting seeds of faith – experiencing Jesus in that way.”

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