Assessment Item Two: Religious Education The Church has a problem, attracting youth.

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Francesca Bleeker

Assessment Item Two: Religious Education

The Church has a problem, attracting youth. The Church needs youth to keep the Mass going, because as the old get older, the young get less interested. Churches in Canberra are already taking action to attract young people. There are youth groups that hold concerts, parties and get togethers so that people of the same age group can meet and relate to each other.

The youth of today has not been brought up in a Church based community as the Generations before them had been. Young people have less knowledge of the history and meanings of Church, Mass and the Bible. This makes it hard for a teenager to sit though a Mass. Children that have been brought up in a Church going family generally have bad memories of being dragged into a Church and having to sit for what seems like hours on end listening to the Father preach. If younger children were taught to understand the meanings of what each part of Mass stood for a greater respect for the Church would be found.

The time that Mass takes up is valuable, to both teens and the parents who have to take them. Mass is often a very long process and working parents cannot spare what precious time they have to spend upwards of an hour in Church. Some Parishes in Canberra have taken this into account and provide different times, days and lengths of Masses to provide for all those out there that often cannot find the time to attend a congregation. Teenagers are renowned for their lack of ability to concentrate for large amounts of time. A long Mass will bore teens and this will push them away from the Church when they are older. Memories of being bored will put anybody off going anywhere again.

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The Church needs to get involved with youth and the problems that children face. Young people need to be supported though life, and Churches are a community that should be aiding in this support. A counselling group, or a youth centre where teens can ask about their troubles and get answers that are normal and down to earth would be an excellent idea to get youth into Church. Members of the Church community also need to bring themselves down to the same level as the young people in the congregation. Ministers need to have conversations with the youth as ...

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