Choosing church

Actively helping others is a focus of the St Mary’s Youth Group in Blenheim. Its sessions start again next week and a co-ordinator Mieke Hilhorst says separate programmes are run for junior and senior groups.

Mieke is better known for her work as a portrait artist but last year she kept her easel folded away to concentrate on youth work and her theological studies towards a Certificate in Catholic Youth Ministry.

It is a qualification for people who minister with youth and young adults in a Catholic context and want to deepen their own faith and spiritualty.

Mieke admits it is a reversal of how she felt a few years ago and actively stepped away from her family’s faith, deciding it was no longer relevant to her.

‘‘I [had been] educated at St Mary’s School then I moved away from Catholicsm for about 10 years.’’

Returning to Blenheim, however, she applied for the youth group job to supplement the money she earned as an artist.

Gradually, her faith in Catholic teachings was restored and this time at a much deeper level.

‘‘As a child the deep theology doesn’t sink in. You have to be an adult to think about why we do this. ‘‘Then I started studying theology.’’ Boys and girls in the St Mary’s Youth Group meetings attend either the year-9 and year-10 junior sessions on Wednesdays, or the year-11 to year-13 ones for seniors on Tuesdays. Juniors have usually all attended St Mary’s School, Mieke says, but the seniors often bring along non-Catholic friends.

Everyone is welcome and she loves it when the invited friends gain a faith in Christianity.

Camps are held throughout the year and music and liturgy are regular parts of the weekly sessions. Activities are also organised to raise money and awareness for people in need.

Last year St Mary’s youth raised $9000 so a borehole could be installed in a Kenyan village, providing the 500 villagers with fresh running water. The youth group also sponsors a boy through Child Fund in the same village.

‘‘One of the biggest parts of our groups is to encourage [teens] to see outside of themselves,’’ Mieke says.

Youth also need to be celebrated, she adds. ‘‘There’s so many great things happen about youth in our time which we sometimes overlook because we only see the bad.’’

In her studies, Mieke has looked at the needs of youth in New Zealand and hopes to use her art to raise awareness of them. Bullying, depression and suicide are three of the biggest issues, she says.

‘‘Self-harm is a big one and, for girls, self-image. I looked at masculinity, self esteem, things like that.’’

New Zealand society might be largely secular but religion encourages people to look out for one another.

For more information about the St Mary’s Youth Group, which meets at 7pm on Tuesdays for seniors and 6.30pm on Wednesdays for juniors, phone Mieke Hilhorst on 027 749 919.