THE CAMPUS MINISTRY PROGRAM

As leaders in the field of the youth apostate, your task will be to help your parishes, dioceses, associations, and movements to be truly open to the personal, social and spiritual needs of young people. 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 excisable community.
                               Pope John Paul II, "Listen to the True Word of Life, 1993

Bishop Ready High School affirms its commitment to respond to the call of Pope John Paul II to work with our youth through the establishment of the Office of Campus Ministry. The goal of Campus Ministry is threefold:

1. To empower our students to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today,
2. To draw our students to responsible participation in the life, mission, and work of the Catholic faith community, and
3. To foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person.

The Directors of Campus Ministry does not complete this task on its own, Campus Ministry's role is to weave these goals into every aspect of school life and to provide the resources to do so.

WORSHIP
Bishop Ready students and faculty take ownership of school liturgies as ministers and preparers. A Liturgy Committee, comprised of students and faculty and directed through the Chi Rho class, prepare each all-school liturgy. Liturgies held during the school day but not all-school liturgies are prepared by Chi Rho students and other interested persons.

Each year, Catholic students are invited to take instruction and training to be commissioned as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist. All students are invited to be trained for and participate in the ministries of the Word, music, art, environment, and preparation. Bishop Ready students are given the opportunity to lead and participate in other time-honored liturgies such as Liturgy of the Hours, Liturgy of the Word, Communal Penance service and reconciliation, Stations of the Cross and the Rosary.

RETREATS
Bishop Ready students take "time-outs" during the school year in the form of retreats. Each retreat is planned to meet the needs of students in an individual grade level and is planned by Campus Ministry in conjunction with faculty and Chi Rho students. These experiences are often gender segregated and include topics such as Social Justice, Scripture, life after graduation, communication, prayer, morality, and team building to name a few. Retreats are held at various locations throughout the Columbus area. This school year, campus Ministry hopes to involve all seniors in an overnight retreat led by outside facilitators. Retreat days, whether in-house or off campus, are mandatory for all students in all four years at Bishop Ready High School.

RESOURCE CENTER
Campus Ministry has resources for prayer, Scripture study, music, liturgical drama, retreats, communication, and moral and spiritual development available to students and/or their parents, faculty and staff. Materials may be borrowed throughout the school year by signing them out with the Directors of Campus Ministry.

A FORUM FOR STUDENT CONCERNS
The Office of Campus Ministry is a forum for student causes and concerns. Students enlist Campus Ministry to facilitate projects which address needs identified by students that may result in students using the Bishop Ready community to assist an individual or an organization or a student forming his/her own on-going organization. Students may also be assisted by Campus Ministry in advocacy issues as they arise. Campus Ministry is open to students who wish to talk about their personal situations, referrals are made to on-campus and off-campus personnel as necessary. At times, students find Campus Ministry a comfortable place to regain their footing for everyday life.

LIVING THE GOSPEL MESSAGE
Living the Gospel Message is a service learning program in which all Bishop Ready student participates. The goals of Living the Gospel Message include a deepened understanding and experience of the principles of Catholic social teaching, particularly human dignity and solidarity, a growth in self-awareness, a stronger integration of spirituality into the student's life, and broader sense of community. Students participate in Living the Gospel message each of their years in school. Guidelines have been developed to meet the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and social needs of the students.

PARISH YOUTH MINISTRY
Even though our young women and men are students at Bishop Ready, they are urged to remain active in their local parish/church. A Catholic high school and its theology classes do not replace parish community and involvement. Campus Ministry will assist students in maintaining a relationship with their parish/church youth ministry coordinator if needed. Campus Ministry is available, though, to assist all students while at Bishop Ready and to enable students without parish youth ministry to be involved in Diocesan activities that require adult supervision.

Campus Ministry will publicize any parish youth ministry event and news that students make available. It is advisable to inform theology teachers of upcoming events/activities as early as possible so information can be dispersed in a timely fashion. All official diocesan events will be announced as information is received. Information is shared via PA announcements and are posted outside Campus Ministry. Stay tuned and listen up!

REGULAR DIOCESAN EVENTS/ACTIVITIES
The Diocese of Columbus has an excellent Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. The Office (OYYAM) sponsors several events on a regular basis.

The Diocese sponsors a Senior High School rally on a regular basis. This event usually takes place in March. It has taken place at ODU and the Salesian Center in recent years. Each year, high school students and others gather at St. Joseph cathedral to begin a pilgrimage of praying the Stations of the Cross. This pilgrimage is a four mile pilgrimage through downtown Columbus with stops for prayer and reflection at various locations. This is a wonderful way of joining with youth from throughout the diocese to publicly pray for justice through the stations.

The Diocesan Youth Council, DYC, is an advisory council consisting of students from around the diocese. The purpose of the council is to meet with OYYAM officials to discuss possible events for high school students. The council is responsible for planning and implementing events. Applications are available toward the end of each school year through Campus Ministry and parishes. Leadership and fun training is provided throughout the year. The council usually meets once per month at various parishes.