Life Teen strengthens our teens’ Catholic identity, while rooting them firmly in Christ and in His Church. Life Teen leads teenagers and their families into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church. With the Blessed Virgin Mary as our intercessor and guide, Life Teen seeks to unleash the fullness of the Sacramental power present within the young Church.
St Hilary Parish is blessed to welcome Matthew Schechter, our new Director of Faith Formation for Teens and Young Adults!
Before coming to St Hilary and Akron for his first time to adopt on this position, he lived at Damascus Catholic Mission Campus for two years as a full-time missionary. While Matthew was a student at The Ohio State University with a Bachelors Degree in Neuroscience, he encountered Jesus in a powerful way and it set him on a trajectory to be a missionary set aside by the Lord. In college, he lived in households owned by Saint Paul’s Outreach, and there he grew in deeper trust with God that his life was to be a monument to the zeal of the Lord. He formed a missionary core that would cover the campus loving students and fulfill the Great Commission: preaching the Gospel and teaching all that Jesus commanded.
His hunger for the Gospel to be seen as the greatest love story ever told led him to become a missionary at Damascus. There he annually encountered 10,000 youth along with their families, and through bold acts of faith, led groups of kids and adults to surrendering their lives to the Lord, declaring Jesus to be the Savior of their lives, and assisting them in receiving Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The result was through the two years he was there that 30 kids decided to enter into the embrace of the Catholic Church.
Matthew got married this May and followed the Holy Spirit here to St Hilary! He is excited to see a family of young worshippers “in spirit and in truth” be birthed here, and who are ready to reach the lost, the addicted, and the forgotten with the healing power of the Gospel.
Teen and adult musicians provide the music for our Sunday 5:30 p.m. Mass. The ministry’s contemporary Catholic Christian music is an uplifting and moving departure from traditional worship music. Guitars, percussion, piano, and vibrant, heartfelt vocals are needed.
“Serving the parish through music has made me a better musician and a more faithful person as a whole. I truly believe this ministry has deepened my relationship with God and strengthened my friendships with others.” – Annie Hart
“Becoming involved in music ministry allowed me to deepen my faith in ways that I had never imagined. I have greatly grown in appreciation for the mass, adoration, and worship in general.” – Maggie McCarron
“Music is the door to the soul. Being able to worship through music with my students and parents, as well as the parish strengthens my faith relationship with God and unites us all as one family.” – Jamie Kovarik
“Helping out with music ministry really introduced me to what it means to give back to the church community. After I discovered that I had a natural gift for music, it simply didn’t make sense to keep this gift to myself, and I wanted to put it into the service of God. I quickly discovered that it simply felt right to use my gifts to help my parish family develop their relationships with God, all while diving into this relationship myself.” – Michael Garvin
Time Commitment: Required rehearsals are at 4:00 p.m. on Sundays, prior to Mass.
Contact: Stephen Garchar sgarchar@sthilarychurch.org