The Young Christian Life youth group at St. Elizabeth Church in Aiea began with a simple belief — that youth were not the church of tomorrow, but rather the church of today. Now, 20 years and hundreds of members later, YCL continues to play a vital role by encouraging teens to take pride in their faith and to get involved in the parish community. The youth group will mark its anniversary with a Hana Hou retreat, open to all members from the past 20 years, in July.
Former St. Elizabeth pastor Father Bob Phelps conceived YCL while he was serving in Guam. He felt that instead of having adults oversee all aspects of a parish, youth should be included in ministry, church projects and Mass. He decided that peer ministry — young adults mentoring and supervising teens — would be the best way to get youth involved.
When Father Phelps, a Capuchin Franciscan, came to Aiea in 1989, he established the ministry with a three-day retreat — YCL’s Weekend 1. Later he added a Sunday-night Mass just for youth and young adults, where they did everything from lector to perform in the choir; the Mass quickly became one of the most popular offered at St. Elizabeth.
The weekend retreats, held once or twice a year, have since become a teen or young adult’s formal introduction to YCL. Known as Lifers, the new members are encouraged to get involved in the youth ministry, which offers a wide range of fellowship activities as well as church and community projects.
In addition to the retreats, weekly prayer meetings and youth Mass, Lifers are involved in a variety of service projects with the Institute for Human Services, Hawaii Foodbank, World Vision, Catholic Relief Services and many more. The community outreach extends throughout the diocese as well, with Lifers facilitating retreats for religious education programs and helping other parishes start their own youth ministries.
With the completion of Weekend 36 earlier this year and the Hana Hou retreat approaching next month, YCL shows no signs of slowing down after two decades of ministry at St. Elizabeth.