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MYA PARTY JANUARY 8 2011

 

MYA Workshop Miami October 29, 30, 31, 2010 view album
The MYA had a great Halloween weekend in Miami!! 15 young adults went to Miami October 29-31st for a leadership workshop! Their weekend started with guest speaker Dorothy Polchinski who is the Associate Director of young adult ministry for the archdiocese of Atlanta, GA. On Saturday the guest speaker was Rev. John Cusick, the co-author of The Basic Guide to Young Adult Ministry. The group left Miami with new ideas to bring to Saint Anthony’s Young Adult Group as well as to the parish and community!


MYA DINNER SEPTEMBER 29, 2010

 

 

 

 

St. Anthony’s MYA—Off to a Great Start!

By: Rebecca Dimyan and Lorraine Najam

From the faint scents of kibbee and arguili smoke to the sounds of dabke music and laughter, one could not help but get swept away in the upbeat atmosphere at the Lebanon American Club, Danbury, CT,  on December 26th.  The club was jammed with young adults hailing from Danbury and Waterbury Ct., and Westchester, N.Y., who gathered for the St. Anthony’s Merry (after) Christmas Party.  While the crowd enjoyed the atmosphere—dancing the night away; it was hard for anyone to grasp that the hosting organization had only started working together two months earlier.

Since his initiation at St. Anthony’s Parish in Danbury, CT, Fr. Jean Younes has been committed to attracting the young adults of the parish back to active participation.  Fr. Jean, invited a small group of young adults to attend the first annual Maronite Young Adult (MYA) national conference from October 30-November 1, 2009.  Lorraine Najam, Gessika Al Hayek, David Glynn, and Liz Michael took the trip to Florida to meet with the leaders of MYAs from around the country.  Attending workshops on young adult ministry, group organization, and church organization, the Danbury group took in information from the clergy, keynote speakers, and other MYA boards from Los Angeles to Miami.
               
The small board of the St. Anthony’s MYA returned from Florida with a euphoric sense of optimism about the potential of an MYA in Danbury.  Building on their collective experience from their days in the Maronite Youth Organization, (MYO), they wasted little time and organized an MYO reunion at the church rectory.  On short notice, the “happy hour” event attracted 35 young adults who had participated in MYO through their high school years.  The young adults gathered once again in the church rectory, where they caught up over food and beverages in a light and casual atmosphere.  At the end of the event, Fr. Jean addressed the group about the potential for the MYA at St. Anthony’s and announced the next event. 

With the loving support of the Danbury Lebanon American Club, the MYA board began planning a Merry (after) Christmas Party for December 26th.  Fr. Jean and the rest of the board could not have been more astounded by the turnout of over 70 young adults to the Lebanon American Club.  The food and beverages were provided at a reasonable entrance fee, and arguilis were available for rent as well.  The enthusiastic crowd stayed at the club for more than 4 hours and it seemed everyone was disappointed to end the night.

The board members, credit their success to all they learned in Miami, and they are grateful to Fr. Elie of Our Lady of Lebanon, Miami, FL for all he did to organize the conference.  In addition, the board added several members after their first event and the assistance and organization of Lauren Kilcourse, Eddy Essa, and Elizabeth Ackell was invaluable. Building on the momentum of the first two successful events, the St. Anthony’s MYA will host a third gathering at the end of May and also plan to organize a trip to Montreal, Canada at the end of June.  With the continued support of Fr. Jean and the established Lebanese community in Danbury, the St. Anthony’s MYA plan to make their Christmas Party an annual event and hope to as expand into service and spiritual activities as well.

Name

The name of said organization is hereby known as Maronite Young Apostolate
of the U.S.A.

Structure and Identification

The structure of the organization will be on two levels:
The National level and the local level.
l. National Level

The National level is served by a National Director named by both Eparchial Bishops.

There will be two assistant directors, one from each Eparchy, who will coordinate activities with the National Director and within their respective Eparchies.

In addition to the director, there will be a National Board to help facilitate these activities. The National Director will appoint up to four young adults (two from each eparchy) to serve on the board.

The National Director shall call all meetings of the National Board after consultation with the Eparchial Bishops, which can be held in any format the Director deems appropriate.

2. Eparchial Level

Each Eparchy will be responsible for developing a ministry to and for young adults. The Eparchial bishop and those he assigns will direct this effort.

3. Local Level

A local chapter should be formed by young adults in each Maronite parish/mission under the direction of their pastor/administrator. Young adults who do not have a local Parish or mission will communicate directly with the National Director to coordinate their activities or with the closest parish/mission.


Establishing a Local Chapter
All Maronite parishes/missions form the local chapters of the Apostolate by having a total membership of at least 5 young adults. Those parishes who lack the necessary amount of members to begin a chapter may combine with another Maronite parish in close proximity.

Young adults wishing to join must meet the following qualifications for membership:

- Age requirement 18 to 35
- Active parishioners of a Maronite Parish


Structure of Local Chapter
The local chapter shall be comprised of at least 5 young adults and a moderator to be named by the pastor of the parish/mission.

The young adults of the chapter will then elect a president, vice - president, secretary and treasurer. It will be up to the local chapter to delegate and divide the work as it would like with the approval of the moderator and the Pastor/Administrator.

a.Duties & Elections of Officers.
Election of officers will take place once a year at an annual meeting to be held in the month of the organization’s choosing. The vote of the simple majority of members in attendance shall elect the following positions.

President
The president shall call meetings and set the agenda for the meetings. He/she will work closely with the moderator to keep the organization in focus. The president will be able to appoint special committees or coordinators as needed with the approval of the moderator.

Vice-President
The vice-president shall assist the president in all his/her duties when he/she is unavailable.

Secretary
The secretary shall handle all communication for the organization as well as handle the membership list. He/She will handle the meeting minutes as well as a permanent record of the meetings.

Treasurer
The treasurer shall handle all accounting for the organization’s activities and membership and shall coordinate efforts with the moderator. All bank accounts must bear the name of the Eparchy in addition to the local parish’s name. The Bishop and the pastor alone can sign on all accounts or the signatures of the president and treasurer together as approved by the pastor.

Additional officers
Each chapter has its own needs. Each chapter shall have the flexibility to put its unique signature on their Young Adult Organization. . Committee chairmen may be added as needed. For example, it is suggested that there be a Committee for Public Relations, a Committee for Cultural & Social Affairs, and a Committee for Spiritual Activities. The work of the organization will grow and evolve and so should its structure.

b.Meetings
The local chapter shall hold a minimum of 6 meetings each year. A meeting shall be held when a quorum shall consist of 2/3 of the members. The moderator shall attend all meetings of the organization.


Conclusion
The goal of the MYA on the National, Eparchial and paris (local) level is to assist each young adult to come to a greater appreciation and involvement with his/her faith in God and service for the gospel of Christ and for the needs of others.

For more information about the MYA organization link to this website http://www.maroniteyoungadults.org/default.asp