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Upcoming Events:
Souper Bowl Sunday
When: Weekend of Feb. 1, 2
Where: St. Mary, St. Philip and St. James after all masses
What: Collecting money for Market Sunday and the Grafton Food Bank
Needed: Youth to help collect
Signup: Here
Snow Tubing Party
at Ski Ward
When: Friday, Feb. 14th 5-7pm
Where: Ward Hill, but carpooling from St. Mary's lower parking lot at 4:15pm for those interested.
Cost: $25.00 per person: includes food & drink + 2 hours of tubing! **
RSVP & Online Payment: Here
Ski Ward Waiver required! Print form from here and complete beforehand. No one will be allowed to carpool without the signed form!
** Scholarships are available. Email YouthGroup@stmarysgrafton.org to apply.
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GCYG Wants YOUth!!
It's hard to believe we are in our third year! What started as a hopeful wish to engage our youth in September 2017 has blossomed into a vibrant ministry, linking Religious Education, Ministry and Outreach with acitivities in and out of Church!
Our youth have served meals at shelters, made gifts for our Homebound parishioners and raised money for the Grafton Food Bank. We also have a lot of FUN with activities such as Bowling, Snow Tubing and Touring the "Christmas Festival of Lights" at LaSalette Shrine!! Whatever we do and wherever we go, we provide a safe, nurturing place for like-minded youth to hang out and have some fun.
We usually meet the first Friday of the month and almost always have food. That's why we coined the phrase "Join GCYG on First Friday's with Food, Fun & Faith!". Read below for Flocknote, Registration and Face Book information, as well as a listing of all our past activities.Don't forget to check out our Upcoming Events section for details and signup links!
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Join Our Flocknote Group:
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Registration Form:
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2019-2020 Calendar of Events:
Click here for the calendar!
Want to find out more about our group??
Email us at youthgroup@stmarysgrafton.org -
Find Us On Facebook @gcyg.grafton.ma:
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Youth Group Service Projects:
-- We created Christmas cards and crafts for ~40 Homebound
parishioners at all 3 Catholic churches on Friday, December 6th, 2019.
-- Helping serve at the semi-annual Veterans' Lasagna Dinner, Monday,
April 15th, 2019.
-- We created Easter cards and crafts for ~24 Homebound parishioners at
all 3 Catholic churches on Friday, April 5th, 2019. The children also led
Mary's Way of the Cross for the congregation at St. Mary's.
-- Preparing a meal for IHN House on Monday, March 11, 2019. Leaders
and youth members delievered the meal and Easter goodie bags and
shared in the meal with residents.
-- Helping serve at the semi-annual Veterans' Lasagna Dinner, Monday,
October 15th, 2018.
-- Helping at the "Grafton Celebrates the Holidays" Frosty StopSunday, December 3rd, 2017 from 12-4pm-- Meal preparation for IHN (Interfaith Hospitality Network)
St. Philip Parish, helping out however needed
Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017 from 2:00–4:30 pmPrepared a meal at St. Mary's Kitchen, then brought it to IHN to
share with the residents.
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2019-2020 School Year:
Wright's Farm Dinner and Lights at LaSalette Shrine on 12.27.2019
We had our largest group yet with over 30 parents and children taking in all the lights and attractions at the "Festival of Lights" at the Shrine of LaSalette in Attleboro! It was a wamr and crowded Friday night! Photo album coming soon!
Luminaries on Display 12.24.2019
We collected donations for parishioners to offer luminaries in honor of loved ones. They were put on display for Christmas Eve Masses at all 3 Grafton Churches. Photos coming soon!
Christmas Party on 12.6.2019
At our second annual Christmas Party, we enjoyed a wonderful spaghetti & meatball dinner made by the Skrowneck family (& friends) with salad and dessert from the Verdolino family. Thanks!!
Our teen leaders Delaney and Courtney shared the origins of Santa Claus. Delaney shared fond memories of celebrating Christmas in Germany and their special traditions, like putting gold coins in the kids' shoes! Our kids got coins of chocolate instead of gold, but you can't eat gold!
Another special activity was making crafts for our Homebound parishioners. We hope they enjoy them! The evening was also enhanced with Christmas music with Bryan on piano & Courtney on guitar and with a fun game led Delaney & Courtney. We love seeing our youth getting involved in many ways!WISHING ALL A VERY JOYOUS, SAFE
HOLIDAY SEASON FILLED WITH LOVE AND PEACE!
Pizza Party & Game Night on 11.1.2019
We had over 20 youth join us for pizza donated by Pepperoni Express and ice cream donated by Swirls & Scoops with soda donated by Polar Beverages! We are very grateful for our sponsors!
Amy Crossin hosted our very own version of "Hollywood Game Night", all about Saints. It was hilarious! We then went to the 7pm All Saints Mass upstairs. What a wonderful way to spend a Friday night!
3rd Annual Bowling Party @ Bowlero 10.4.2019
What a great turnout for our bowling party! The kids enjoyed pizza, chicken fingers and drinks while bowling for 2 hours. Bowlero was kind enough to give each student a $5 arcade card. Thank you! Another great First Friday with Food, Fun and Faith!
Our Annual Kick Off on 9.29.2019 was Awesome!
We started with 4pm Mass and our fantastic Youth Band led by Patty & Chuck Brown. Then we enjoyed hotdogs, chips, mac-n-cheese and more! We played volleyball games with a purpose as Mrs. Farland combined Fun & Faith on the different styles of evangelization.
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2018-2019 School Year:
2nd Annual End-of-Year Ice Cream Social
On Sunday, June 9th 2019, ~10 kids and their families joined us for ice cream to celebrate another great year for GCYG. All kids in grades 5-10 received a FREE small ice cream. We talked about the Worcester Bravehearts game on June 14th and the GCYG group event, including free baseball caps and a fireworks display after the game!
Mary's Garden Planting & Cinco de Mayo Party
On Friday, May 3rd, the youth had a great time planting flowers and sprucing up Mary's Garden at St. Mary's. Be sure to check it out the next time you are there!
For their hard work, the kids were treated to a Taco Fiesta with all the fixings for Cinco de Mayo, graciously provided by the Skrowneck family. There was an ice cream cake decorating contest, corn hole, hit the pinata, limbo stick and music. Check out our Facebook album here!
Everyone also listened to an inspirational message from Chris Stefanik on "Why does God let us suffer?" You can view the video here.
Serving at the Veterans' Lasagna Dinner Apr. 15th, 2019
The kids did a great job helping with setup, serving and cleanup at the Lasagna Dinner for our honored Veterans !
Check out our Face Book photo album here.
Making Crafts & Easter Cards for
Home bound Parishioners and
Leading Stations of the Cross
On Friday, April 5th, our youth made handprint Easter cards and crafts that were delivered to ~24 Homebound parishioners across all 3 Grafton Catholic Parishes. The parishioners were so happy to be remembered in this special way at the holiest time of the year.
Pictures coming soon.
2nd Annual Lenten Fish Dinner 
On Friday, March 22nd, everyone who attended thoroughly enjoyed the yummy baked haddock, green beans, mac-n-cheese and salad catered by Bushel 'N Peck in Grafton. Soft drinks, coffee & tea quenched our thirst and all the tasty desserts satisfied our sweet tooths. All graciously served by our GCYG Youth and Leaders.
What a wonderful way to break bread with our community!
Check out our Face Book photo album here!
Prepare a meal for IHN:
On Monday 3/11, the youth group helped prepare a full meal for the residents at IHN House in Worcester. Delicious turkey casserole, salad, fruits and yummy homemade cupcakes made for a great meal! We even made Easter goodie bags for the kids. The GCYG members enjoyed breaking bread and sharing in fellowship with the lovely families at IHN.
Check out our Face Book photo album here!
Dealing with Stress & Anxiety:
On Friday, March 1st, Fr. Leo lead a multi-media presentation in St. Mary Parish Hall on stress, anxiety, depression and other topics. He provided a lot of resources that will soon be posted on our website.
Then Fr. Hanlon lead a guided meditation in the Church. We hope to have the recording available online soon. With Faith, Family and Friends, we hope all our youth feel they can seek help to discuss their feelings and work through their issues. You have the support of many!
Snow Tubing at Ski Ward:
All the kids (and Ed) had great fun Snow Tubing at Ward Hill on Friday, Feb. 15th. It was an unbelivably warm 45+ degress out! We ended the evening with some food and headed back to St. Mary's!
What a great way to kick off Winter Break! Check out our Face Book Photo Album here!
Souper Bowl Sunday Collection:
We collected spare change in soup pots after all Masses during Super Bowl weekend, Feb. 2nd & 3rd, 2019. St. James collected a thrilling $1,384.00 to help the Grafton Food Bank and St. James' own food bank. St. Mary/St. Philip collected a whopping $942.77 to help Market Sunday.
What a way to TACKLE HUNGER! Those donations will go far helping feed hungry Grafton residents!Way to go Parishioners and
An Entertaining Evening with Fr. Ed Hanlon:
"Why got to Mass?"
On Friday, January 4th, 2019, Fr. Ed lead an entertaining and interactive discussion on the different part of the Mass and why it is to important to our Faith to attend weekly Mass.
Afterwards, the kids enjoyed playing basketball and playing games, working up a sweat and appetite that was satisifed by our Ice Cream Sundae Bar!
La Salette Christmas Festival of Lights:
Thursday, December 27, 2018. The group enjoyed a delicious family style dinner at Wright's Farm with yummy roasted chicken and sides. Then we roamed among all the beautiful Christmas Lights and displays at The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette's Annual "Festival of Lights". It was much warmer this year and an even bigger group!
Check out the photo album on Face Book here
First Annual Christmas Party Dec. 8, 2018:
We started off the evening with 4pm Mass at St. Mary. We
preceded downstairs to the Parish Hall where we lit the candles for the 2nd Sunday of Advent and discussed the history of the Advent Wreath.
We said grace and then everyone enjoyed pizza, salad, drinks and desserts. We had fun games and prizes. Mr. & Mrs. Rodrique spoke with the kids more about Advent and the meaning of preparing to receive Jesus. What a wonderful night with some new members and sharing good times!
Check out some photos on Face Book here.
Original Design Christmas Bookmark Contest!!
CONGRATULATIONS to our winner Myena Verdolino! Her artwork will be featured on the front side and the other artists will be featured on the back sides of the bookmarks that will be handed at Christmas Masses at St. Mary's with a wonderful free book from St. Mary's Parish.
