I run a Catholic youth group and I would love your feedback good and bad so we can make the experience better. If you are not Catholic, would you consider letting your child attend?

Thanks so much.

No. In fact all religions should be kept as far away from children as possible, and not just because the Catholics like to fuck them.

100%. Teach them about all the different religions, but don't force any upon them. Secularism is the way to go: let people make up their own mind. Don't shove it down their throats. Threatening children with going to the bad place for eternity is just indoctrination.

Not religious and child-free: if I had a child and had made the decision to take it to religious youth groups, it would've been multiple so that the child finds out about the differences in beliefs. It would've been a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and whatever other religion I could find. If it were only Christian groups, then no.

A child should grow up to know that the world is diverse, learn how to think critically, how to question things, and how to think for itself. Once it's adult, then it can join whichever group it wants. Introducing a child to a single view of the world would be counter-productive to its critical thinking skills and diversity of thought.

No sir! I will not have my children taught idolatry.

Only way I'd let my kid attend church in general is if they went to multiple religions so they could understand what other people believe and be informed.

LOL no

Thanks so much. We could have a day where all the faiths in our community get together and learn more about each other.

Why not make it an all-faith group? That way the children are always exposed to all faiths and experience diversity all the time. That could bring all people together.

I went to Christian youth groups/retreats for three different churches when I was a early teen and loved them all. They had these things in common

• run by kind young adults that I admired and connected with easily
• created safe spaces for awkward age kids to connect with each other
• had an outdoor / trip component
• explored values and exposed us to stories/ideas without being heavy handed or judgmental
• also pizza 🍕

Basically they were set up to help and support us, not to judge or control. They taught kindness by example and helped us learn how to be kind to each other.

Questioning / doubting / being confused was seen a way to grow faith - not as a sin or a threat. They let kids talk to each other as we figured out for ourselves what we believed. They shared candidly appropriate stories about their own journeys.

Thank you for wanting to give kids a good experience! Obviously there are folks in the catholic faith who have abused power in the past. Parents will associate you with that so taking safety seriously and encouraging parents to ask questions = important.

It takes time to build up a good community of kids - but once you have it they recruit each other. One of the most effective things you can do is invest in recruiting and training a “jr counselor” kid leadership structure. Having good kids that are a year or two older than you to look up to is really powerful- and older kids who accept responsibility for reaching out to new kids helps create a safe space.

Have in-jokes. Be active. Be silly. Go outside. Kids are so creative and amazing- follow their lead wherever you can.

I went there when I was a kid because I thought that it was mandatory by law. The day my parents told me I did that to please grandma, I stopped going, it's fucking stupid beyond redemption.

Also I predict that OP @freedom222@nord.pub is yet another bot that will ask a lot of questions without answering, or he will delete his account in less than a week.

Why do you want to groom children?

I'm so glad to hear you had such a wonderful time! We do take safety very seriously and we know we have to earn the trust of our community.

A kid leadership structure is a great idea and it will give the younger kids something to aspire to.

This has got to be bait. Nobody is this stupid

I'm sure some of the non-religious families just want someone to mind their children for free while they work but I'm happy to help.

Since we're a Catholic group, we have to deliver on the expectations that Catholic parents have for us so I don't think it would be possible to do it all the time.

Is this what qualifies as trolling these days? Makes me sad.

I'm curious, what expectations do Catholic parents have and how would a multi-faith group not fulfil those expectations? This isn't an aggressive question, I genuinely do not know what religious youth groups do. My guess would be reading their religious book, re-enacting parts of it, praying together, maybe even studying the religious scripts. So I am curious what your group does / would do.

We do a mixture of Bible readings, prayer and fun games but it can be hard to juggle because children like to play and be with each other but the parents want us to help their child prepare for Confirmation.

If we focus too much on Bible teachings than our attendance goes down and if we play too many games, we lose the Catholic identity of the group and the support of parents.

It's hard to keep everyone happy.

No. I don't see enough christian youth groups helping the homeless or actually volunteering at shelters. I think more and more christian youth groups would succeed further if they actually do christian based things.

pretty sure this is a successful troll post

As an atheist/agnostic with kids: very reluctantly and only if there's no other option.

If it was about helping the poor (or even just picking up trash) maybe, but most groups I've seen / participated as a kid were about talking / singing about the Bible.

I will teach them when the time comes in the most neutral way I can, about all religions, how anyone is entitled to their opinion and what limits we impose regarding the freedom of other people.

Kid leadership structure brings out the best in the older kids - often folks will rise to what you expect of them. Expect them to have good ideas, to be kind, to be inclusive and compassionate, to give you honest feedback, to be willing to take feedback themselves. Acknowledge and appreciate their struggles and their growth. It means so so much to get feedback from adults who aren’t your parents at that age!

Good kid leadership makes it cool to be inclusive = healthy group. If insecurity creates cliques and social hierarchy = not safe. Kids might admire and respect you, but what is “cool” will be decided by their peers.. so you pretty sincerely will need help and advice from the older kids to keep the group healthy.

And don’t forget they aren’t just emotional / spiritual / intellectual - kids have bodies. Bring them outside. Play silly physical cooperative non-competitive games. Once they have had exciting shared physical experiences they will be that much more able to engage with each other on deeper levels.

It was very formative for me to be part of those groups. I deeply appreciate the people who make those experiences available - especially folks like you who are earnestly trying to do it well! 🙂

One group I was in would regularly do a white board list of “what is good / appreciate” and “what we can do better / want more or less of”. It was a very positive and egalitarian way for kids to give feedback to leadership as well as to each other. Felt great to anyone who was publicly appreciated and very positive modeling for being open to feedback / valuing improvement. Gave us a real sense of ownership. It wasn’t just the adult leaders making a program for us - it was us helping each other create a group that we wanted to be part of.

Speaking from experience. Religion is for Sunday. Youth group is for fun. Do fun things.

Thanks for explaining. It kind of is what I expected but not fully.

I'm not sure if you're doing it out of conviction or for fun. If it's for fun, there' a good chance just providing a place for children to get to know each other and play, regardless of belief, might introduce you to a diverse and bigger crowd. In the world of mobile phones and social media, parents of all walks of life probably would like their kids to hang out more with others and gain social skills.

Christians are the fucking worst. Go self reflect. Figure out what is wrong with yourself that you feel the need to believe that garbage.

No. Too rapey. And when they're not rapey, they drive children to self-harm. Fuck them.

I'm just here to say that "Y.M.A." makes for a much less catchy chorus, so there's that..

There’s a lot of hate in here for a fairly reasonable question. I’m not religious but this thread is bordering on intolerant.

You might not like it but religion exists in our communities.

I’m not sure if this is trolling given the Cristian/catholic aspect. But that does not mean should can tell people where to go.

Op you may have a better response from dedicated communities. I hope other areas of the fedi serve you a nicer day.

This is a great suggestion. I would love to create opportunities for regular volunteering. thank you.

You can improve them by closing them down.