WCACYM helps youth ministers become integrated into the life of Christ.

Dating back to 1988, the organization focuses on a comprehensive, family supportive youth ministry and promotes advocacy, collaboration and support among Western Canadian youth ministers and the ministry they are trying to achieve.

Hagemoen said he fully supports the vision and goals the association has in mind.

“Youth ministry is integral to the life of the parish and the Universal Church,” he said.

“The big issue, of course, is looking at how youth ministers take time to be healthy in their own lives, as they not only perform their youth ministry, but also do everything else that they do.”

The four-day event began with a retreat, led by Hagemoen, and finished off with two days of professional development workshops, including a presentation by ex-B.C. Lions football player Jamie Taras.

Through the workshops, the youth ministers learned and reflected on a wide variety of topics, including the importance of leading a balanced and healthy life, finding structured support in parishes and contributing to a positive youth ministry culture. The youth ministers also spent time discussing the needs of their youth.

Hagemoen said that finding balance in all of this and continually “fuelling up” with Christ through His Church is a task that needs constant attention.

“The minority of youth ministers are full-time and many of them are volunteers. So the whole issue of the personal full health including spiritual health of how they’re doing is a very important task.”

In addition to the workshops and retreats, the youth ministers “fuelled up” by celebrating meals together — both sacramentally at Mass and during lunch and dinner — and held a silent auction   and a sports-themed banquet.

Hagemoen stressed this type of community, comparing it to the communities of early Christians as depicted in the Acts of the Apostles.

“The (youth ministers’) faithful carrying out of their ministry not only impacts the youth they serve, but the wider Church in a number of ways that they may not be aware of,” he said.

Specifically, Hagemoen explained that youth ministers being faithful to their calling will support all of the facets of the parish.

“One of the ways that youth ministers contribute to the life, mission and ministry of the Church is by helping others, including the clergy, who are trying to be faithful to living the fullness of their ordained priesthood. (They) keep us accountable to the walk of faith,” Hagemoen said.

Of course, he said, there needs to be that constant reminder to take a step back and take care of oneself, in order that youth ministers can serve both their youth and their God.


“In addition to the horizontal perspective of fuelling up, there is the vertical perspective of being fuelled up by the Lord.”

(Keong, 21, is an English literature major at the University of British Columbia.)