Our Journey to Adulthood (J2A) Program here at St. Peter’s is one of our brightest ventures.
J2A consists of a Rite-13 division for 11-13 year olds; the actual J2A group for 14-17 year olds, and a Young Adults in Church (YAC) component. It is a values-based education spun around Christian principles and relevancy for today’s world.
Damon Piatov and Rebecca Peiffer are the current leaders of Rite-13, while Glynn Matthews Jr. and Victoria Paradise split the duties of the J2A segment. While YAC is not formally recognized as a functioning group, we have one college-aged young adult (Maria Matthews) who assists in running one of our Sunday school classes
Since
its inception in 2000, the J2A program has undertaken two pilgrimages and one
mission trip- vital components of the overall program. Our inaugural group
traveled to
Our
mission trip in the summer of 2006 took 5 youth and two adults to the White
Earth Reservation in northern
Currently , our youth attend classes on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. On the first Sunday of each month, the youth are expected to serve on the altar during service, as well as other adult duties. Third Sundays are reserved for the youth’s assistance in running the nursery and Sunday school classes with the younger children.
As one might gather by now, we place a significant value on the nurturing and growth of our youth as they progress into adult church roles.We intend to continue this tradition for our future generations as well.
St. Peter’s collaborates with several other parishes in the Eastern Erie Deanery, as far as youth activities and events. Although we have just begun this collaborative process, we are very excited about the possibilities of sharing and spreading the word of God via our youth.
You may direct any questions or inquiries regarding our youth activities to Tom Tripp (Education Team leader) at 839-5868 , or reach him at