An emphasis at St. Viator Catholic Community in Las Vegas is its Youth Ministry program and building young faith leaders in the church.
Youth Ministry teens ready to greet guests
That leadership and community building was on full display Saturday as nearly 30 teens from the parish hosted their annual holiday open house. The event is a popular one with children, but it drew adults as well who wanted to get in the spirit.
As in the past, children 18 and under are given an ornament to paint for free. Teen organizers partnered with the ceramic painting studio, All Fired Up in Las Vegas, to obtain the ornaments and glaze paint. At the end of the afternoon, the painted ornaments were taken back to the store to be fired in the kiln and returned in time for Christmas.
Fr. Richard Rinn, Pastor, with Izzy Villagrana
But this was not all work and no play. Thanks to the parish’s Woman’s Guild, guests could help themselves at the hot cocoa station and decorate treats at another station that featured sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles.
At the end of the day, more than 150 ornaments were decorated and all with the help of the Youth Ministry teens, who volunteered to make the event possible.
Teens in front of ornament selections
This fun event helps to kick off the joy of the season. But it also reflects the involvement of these young faith leaders, who are advancing the Viatorian mission of “building up communities where faith is lived, deepened and celebrated.”