We acknowledge and honor the Potawatomi and Kickapoo Tribes as well as the Peoria, Myaami, Kaskaskia, and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ nations, the original people of the land upon which United Catholic Youth Ministries stands.
Dear UCYM Community,
For over five years now, UCYM has delivered vibrant youth and young adult ministry to the young people of the parishes in the Evanston region of the Archdiocese of Chicago and even a little beyond. UCYM was created as a way forward, a vision of what a new reality for ministry for and with young people could be post-Renew My Church. I am personally very proud of what we have accomplished. I also acknowledge that, with Renew My Church, comes change and an openness to what the Spirit calls us to. I am reminded of the line in the Renew My Church prayer that calls us to "surrender our own plans readily." In March of 2023, we found out that St. John Newman Parish would not be renewing its support of UCYM. With that, St. John XXIII Parish has had the opportunity to discern what it wants for its young people as well. It has been made clear that the parish would prefer to go in the direction of a single-parish ministry for young people than continue with the UCYM model. I believe this will be good for the parish as it continues to build a new reality. With some sadness, I am letting the community know that effective August 25, 2023, UCYM will no longer be in service of St. John XXIII Parish. Some news will be forthcoming about the next chapter for UCYM, which has given us a lot of hope. I have resigned from my position within the parish effective the same date and will be moving on. I have been with the Evanston area in active ministry for nine wonderful years. It has been an honor and privilege to have worked with so many incredible people during this part of my journey in ministry and I look forward to what is next. Faith LaVoie and Alex Roman have chosen to resign from their positions with UCYM and remain with the parish to help them transition youth and young adult ministry into a new reality. Barbara Escobar (Associate Executive Director and Pastoral Associate), Sherley Alvarado (Senior Director of Advancement), and me remain committed to UCYM and our mission as employees and leaders. A number of volunteers and board members have also pledged their continued support of UCYM as we move into our next chapter. I continue to be humbled by the support of our team. We leave St. John XXIII Parish recounting the many blessings we shared: a beautiful center that was renovated and blessed during Covid, a wonderful partnership with our school, thousands of hours given selflessly by hundreds of volunteers, fun, innovative, and faith-filled events and programs, and a parish of people who went above and beyond to support our work in every way imaginable. We could not have done it without any of you. I want to specifically point out the work of our Leadership Academy, which is now being used in parishes across the Archdiocese as a model for building young disciples. That legacy started right here in Evanston. Be proud, my siblings in Christ. Be proud. Please be assured of my prayers for everyone during this time of excitement and mourning. With immense gratitude, love, and hope, Oblate James Holzhauer-Chuckas, ObSB Executive Director Dear UCYM Community,
Today is a day of many things. It is a day to celebrate, remember, reflect, pray, and act. Today, we celebrate the day of freedom and an end to slavery. Today, we remember that, while it is a day to celebrate, we have so much work to do to combat racial injustice in our country. Today, we reflect on our own lives and how we, even unconsciously, might participate through our biases and how we can do better to not let our biases affect our actions. Today, we act. We make a commitment to right the wrong that exist in our lives and encourage others. Today, we pray that God continue to work in the hearts of all to stand up to racial injustice. Today is not just a day off for many of us. It is a day of work and a day to stand in solidarity with our Black siblings. UCYM stands against racism and works to correct its biases and the biases and racism that exists in our Church. Please be assured of our prayers, reflection, and action as the leaders of UCYM. In solidarity, Oblate James Holzhauer-Chuckas, ObSB Executive Director Alex Roman Pastoral Assistant
Dear UCYM Community,
I hope the feast of Pentecost was a transformative moment for you and a reminder of the mission we are constantly called to by Christ. Renew My Church was a process that called us all in Evanston to look at our mission and answer the missionary call in our communities. Five years ago, the four (legacy) Evanston parishes of St. Athanasius, St. Joan of Arc, St. Mary, and St. Nicholas came together and set out on a mission for a shared youth and young adult ministry in our region, which became United Catholic Youth Ministries. We set out knowing that this was the direction that our parishes would need to go: sharing resources, personnel to support the formation and mentorship of our youth and young adults, and getting ahead of the curve under one banner. There is honestly so much to be proud of in these last five years and I am personally so grateful for the opportunity to have served our four, now two, parish communities through this ministry. As we also have seen in Renew My Church, change is a constant and I asked our pastors if I could please deliver the news to the parish communities of some important updates. In March of 2023, the pastors of the unified Evanston parishes (Rev. Jean Philippe Lokpo, MCCJ of St. John XXIII Parish and Rev. Kenneth Anderson of St. John Newman Parish), Rev. José Ortiz (Associate Pastor of St. John XXIII Parish), Brian Romer Niemiec (Coordinator of Lifelong Faith Formation for Vicariate II), Dr. Molly Cinnamon (Principal of Pope John XXIII School), and I came together to discuss the future of UCYM as the parishes financial and pastoral needs started to settle. Fr. Anderson shared that it was no longer pastorally or financially prudent for St. John Newman Parish to continue having UCYM serve as its youth and young adult ministry and that they would be seeking alternative avenues for having ministry for youth and young adults. St. John Newman Parish will not be renewing the UCYM agreement and will be discontinuing its pastoral and financial support effective July 1, 2023. I pray for a successful next chapter for St. John Newman youth and young adult ministry. Following this announcement, we were asked to downsize our staff and significantly reduce operational costs for the coming fiscal year as St. John XXIII Parish would be the sole parish supporting us. I want to thank our admin leaders for coming together and discerning for many hours how our staff would be restructured in response to the financial hardships of St. John XXIII Parish. I also want to thank our staff, especially those who lost their job and remain committed volunteers. Like any ministry, we would not be able to support our young people without the commitment of volunteers. I would like to share with you who our employees are:
I also want to thank our board of advisors, under the leadership of co-chairs Claire Labbe and Gabriela Zarate, for being committed to helping us discern how UCYM can maintain its strong ministry in our community. I believe that, through the intervention of the Holy Spirit, our UCYM community will persevere through this time of change. I have been humbled by the commitment our leaders have shown and I remain committed to them and UCYM. Please be assured of my prayers for the parish communities as they continue into the next phase of building the new reality and answering the call to missionary discipleship. UCYM stands ready to continue to serve our youth and young adults. In Christ’s peace, Oblate James Holzhauer-Chuckas, ObSB Executive Director Dear UCYM Community,
There is a lot to celebrate and observe in the month of June. In the Church, we celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Immigrant Heritage Month, and PRIDE. We also observe Juneteenth and intentionally recall the work needed for racial healing and justice in our country. June is one of the months in the Church where we are strongly called to mission. UCYM is a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming community. We model the ministry of Jesus Christ that goes to the margins and helps bring people closer to Christ and His Church. We celebrate PRIDE by praying for more open and welcoming spaces in our Church for our siblings in the LGBTQ+ community. We pray for more open minds and hearts that are ready for accompaniment and to show compassion and empathy. We pray for an end to prejudice, hatred, and exclusion. During this PRIDE month, UCYM reaffirms its commitment to being a safe space where everyone is welcome, seen, affirmed, and can belong. Our Church needs young people and young people need faith in their lives and the Church is a space to learn and grow in faith. Let us pray for the ability to find more common ground and realize that is in the mission of Jesus Christ. Peace, Oblate James Holzhauer-Chuckas, ObSB Executive Director Alex Roman Pastoral Assistant Dear UCYM Community, We have fielded a couple of inquiries from community members this afternoon following the release of the report from the Attorney General office's investigation of allegations of child sexual abuse against clergy in the six Illinois Catholic diocese over a period of nearly 90 years. The report (named the Report) addresses both how dioceses responded to such allegations in the past and current policies that help ensure the safety of children and support the healing of survivors. These documents always hit me hard because children are our most precious gift. We, as Church, are called to teach, love, and protect God's children, but instead there are those who would do otherwise. To say it is heartbreaking is an understatement. It gives me pause and allows me to remember why I take on the extra work of being a safe environment administrator for multiple organizations besides UCYM. It gives me pause and calls me to pray for a conversion of heart for those who, especially in power, would use that power and their influence for evil against our children. It give me pause and calls me to prayer and a prayer that brings tears to my eyes as I know it brings tears to God's eyes when things like this happen. I pray for our clergy, especially those who champion protection of children. I know so many and I want to say thank you and encourage you to always go the extra mile where it counts. I pray for survivors of abuse and that they remember God's love, despite the betrayal from those who are meant to represent Jesus' ministry. I pray for parents and caregivers of survivors and abusers. I pray for our Church, that we continue to be a safe spiritual home for all. Please be assured of my unwavering commitment to the mandates and policies of the Archdiocese and steps we take here at UCYM to keep our children safe. I remain committed as does my administration and team. Please check our website (link below) to see what steps we take to keep our children safe. If you need to talk to someone, please do not hesitate to reach out. God's peace, Oblate James Holzhauer-Chuckas, ObSB Executive Director Picture Credit: Josue Ortiz |
Young Adult Journey with God - Voices of Hope | |
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“God became one of us so that we may become more like God.” Growing up, this quote from St. Athanasius of Alexandria always pointed me to ways of finding hope, especially in times when there was plenty of reason to lose hope. Living an authentic Catholic faith hasn’t always been rainbows and butterflies, but it’s not always supposed to be. The Apostle Peter, Jesus’ right hand, was the best among the Apostles and models for us that, even in moments when we doubt or even deny Jesus, we can always turn back and follow Jesus again. Sometimes, this can be scary. Life can give us plenty of reasons to find an easier way than faith to guide us, but it is our hope that leads us to the love of Christ and how that love becomes alive in our daily decisions.
The love of God has had many faces on my journey. Starting with my moms, who embody God for me, adopted me, chose me, just as God chose me. The lessons they taught me, the way they put forward their faith as a guide in their actions was something that rooted faith in me. It wasn’t always through going to church, but the constant return to the Gospel that always gave me such hope. As I got older and my family started to fall away from the church for very just reasons, specifically parish life, I had fears that I would lose my way, but I kept my hope in many things and, as my interest in studying theology grew, I turned to the Word of God. A fun fact: the phrase, “Do not be afraid” is written in the Bible 365 times. For me, especially after discovering this, it became a daily reminder from God to live fearless and not just to trust in God’s mysterious ways, but to be aware and be in touch through discernment. That was a daily choice, and it still is. Every day, I wake up and have hope in God through my relationships with family and friends.
My relationship with the Church has been complicated. Due to my strong advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, women’s rights and ordination, and tensions with the idea of not only existing within but serving in a patriarchal hierarchy that has often resulted in alienating those who I love, I often found myself clashing with my peers, teachers, clergy, and others who hold stronger to the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church without any considerations for reform. I also found in the Church, however, many friends, mentors, clergy, and, eventually, my religious community (The Order of St. Benedict), who had common elements on their journey that allowed for mutual accompaniment. In the same vein, I also learned the importance of the universal call to accompaniment of my sisters, brothers, and siblings in Christ who don’t share my views and that, though our approaches may be different, we are to work together for the common good.
My parish growing up starts its mission statement with “All are welcome.” In the Body of Christ, we are all welcome because we, though different, form one body together. This is something I have held onto and will never let go of. That welcoming, that togetherness in Christ, is faith because though we do not all worship the same, have the same theological approach, or follow the same vocational calling, we are all bound to each other by the love of Christ, the same love that we are supposed to embody for others so that they, too, might have hope in a world that severely needs something to believe in, something to place our hope in. Every day, I strive to give hope to anyone whose path I cross.
The love of God has had many faces on my journey. Starting with my moms, who embody God for me, adopted me, chose me, just as God chose me. The lessons they taught me, the way they put forward their faith as a guide in their actions was something that rooted faith in me. It wasn’t always through going to church, but the constant return to the Gospel that always gave me such hope. As I got older and my family started to fall away from the church for very just reasons, specifically parish life, I had fears that I would lose my way, but I kept my hope in many things and, as my interest in studying theology grew, I turned to the Word of God. A fun fact: the phrase, “Do not be afraid” is written in the Bible 365 times. For me, especially after discovering this, it became a daily reminder from God to live fearless and not just to trust in God’s mysterious ways, but to be aware and be in touch through discernment. That was a daily choice, and it still is. Every day, I wake up and have hope in God through my relationships with family and friends.
My relationship with the Church has been complicated. Due to my strong advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, women’s rights and ordination, and tensions with the idea of not only existing within but serving in a patriarchal hierarchy that has often resulted in alienating those who I love, I often found myself clashing with my peers, teachers, clergy, and others who hold stronger to the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church without any considerations for reform. I also found in the Church, however, many friends, mentors, clergy, and, eventually, my religious community (The Order of St. Benedict), who had common elements on their journey that allowed for mutual accompaniment. In the same vein, I also learned the importance of the universal call to accompaniment of my sisters, brothers, and siblings in Christ who don’t share my views and that, though our approaches may be different, we are to work together for the common good.
My parish growing up starts its mission statement with “All are welcome.” In the Body of Christ, we are all welcome because we, though different, form one body together. This is something I have held onto and will never let go of. That welcoming, that togetherness in Christ, is faith because though we do not all worship the same, have the same theological approach, or follow the same vocational calling, we are all bound to each other by the love of Christ, the same love that we are supposed to embody for others so that they, too, might have hope in a world that severely needs something to believe in, something to place our hope in. Every day, I strive to give hope to anyone whose path I cross.