Saint Thomas the Apostle Youth (STAY) Group

The youth group at St Thomas is known as STAY, and membership is open to high school students. Generally, STAY meets on Sunday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in the Church's Parish Center.

The purpose of STAY is first to provide a place within the Church that belongs to high school students. It is too often the case that youth ministry is not given enough emphasis in a parish's life, leaving teens without a strong sense of belonging. STAY provides that place. While there are adult leaders, an important part of the planning of STAY's activities comes from student leaders themselves. STAY is a group for teens run by teens.

STAY's activities fall into three equally important categories: Service, Social & Spiritual.

Service: Recognizing our call to services, members of STAY participate in various types of service activities. From feeding the hungry, to providing companionship for the elderly, we try to address a wide range of needs through our service efforts. Through activities and fundraisers, we address issues that have an impact not only on our local community but also on national and international levels as well.

Social: Recognizing that we are called to build community, an important aspect of STAY is social. We enjoy each others company and a good amount of the time we spend together is spent having fun. Whether watching movies, sharing a meal or playing games, it is all an important part of building community.

Spiritual: Recognizing our call to grow our faith, we spend a good amount of time on our spiritual lives. Examples include discussing current events and how they implicate our faith, exploring different methods of prayers, fasting together during Lent, and exploring questions of our faith and spirituality.

STAY is open to anyone in high school. If you are interested in joining or just checking out a meeting to see what we are about, please contact Chris Haddad at 231-1308 or by email at haddad81@comcast.net.