MYO's Mission

MYO Constitution and Bylaws

Want to start a MYO in your parish?

Home

Who and what is the MYO?

We are a Maronite youth and young adult organization based in the United States. The Maronite church is an eastern branch of the Catholic Church, however, it still has its own liturgy, canon law, and patriarch. It began in the 4th century when a small community of Christians near Antioch gathered around a holy man named Maron. People came to him for spiritual guidance. He also served people by blessing the sick and sinners, and later on many miracles were attributed to him. Our culture is influenced by our ancestors, the Phoenicians.

Back to Top          Home

Mission Statement

The primary purpose of this organization shall be to promote the spiritual welfare of its members, to strengthen youth groups in the Maronite faith, to have prayer days, to learn more about each other and to grow socially and intellectually.

Our goal is to build a community of teens and adults. In this community, we hope to strive opportunities for the development of personal faith, service to others and systematic instruction in our Maronite religious tradition. To achieve this goal, we will:

* participate in liturgies
* hold annual and regional youth retreats
* assist the needs of local parishes
* support eparchial organizations and activities
* hold weekly meetings and prayer services
* organize fundraisers for local churches
* hold social events to promote American Lebanese heritage
* understand and promote "Faith of the Mountain" series
 

Back to Top          Home

Article I. Name
This organization shall be known as MYO, Maronite Youth Organization.

Article II. Objectives
The primary purpose of this organization shall be to promote the spiritual welfare of its members, to strengthen youth groups in the Maronite Faith, to have prayer days, to learn more about each other and to grow socially and intellectually. "We shall aim to be as enthusiastic about our Church as we are on the football field."

Article III. Membership
Membership shall be open to any teenager, ages 13 to 22 years old.

Article IV. Officers
Officers of this organization shall consist of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Sergeant-at-Arms.

Article V. Board of Directors
The Youth Board, Officers, Pastor, and Core Group shall be considered the Board of Directors.

Article VI. Elections
Section 1. Nominations for any office will be accepted from the floor at the November meeting.

Section 2. The nominees will be placed on the ballot and be voted on by written ballot at the election meeting in December.

Section 3. The nominees will be placed on the ballot and be voted on by written ballot at the election meeting in December.

Section 4. Officers shall be elected for a term of one year; but not more that two successive terms in the same office.

Section 5. A vacancy occurring in any office except the presidency shall be appointed by the President with the approval of the Board of Directors.

Section 6. No officer shall be elected unopposed.

Article VII. Amendments
This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at a regular meeting provided such amendment has been submitted for reading at the previous meeting.

Article VIII. Divine Liturgy
There shall be a liturgy offered once a month, usually the first Friday or Sunday. The music will be selected by the MYO and the lectors and servers shall be MYO members.
 

BY-LAWS

Article I. Duties of Officers

Section 1. The President shall be the presiding officer at all the MYO meetings. He/she shall represent the MYO in all official capacity. The President shall appoint all standing committees, subject to the approval of the Youth Advisory Board, and shall keep in contact with each committee. The President shall be a member of the Core Group after his term of office has ended.

Section 2. The Vice President in the event of the inability of the President to perform his/her duties, shall perform the duties of and have the same authority as the President. The Vice President shall be the chairman of the Program Committee and Coffee Hours.

Section 3. The Secretary shall keep an account of all the regular meetings. He/she shall also keep accurate and current copies of the constitution, by-laws, and standing rules of this organization. He/she shall coordinate Spiritual and Telephone Committees.

Section 4. The Treasurer shall manage all MYO finances, deposits, and shall disburse same under the supervision and order of the Pastor. He/she shall also give a monthly report to the organization. An annual report shall be given to the Pastor no later than February.

Section 5. The Board of Directors in conjunction with the Pastor shall meet periodically to plan the calendar of events and special functions.

Article II. Standing Committees

Section 1. There shall be four standing committees, namely, Spiritual, Telephone, Coffee and Program who will work with MYO officers.

Article III. Duties of Committees

Section 1. The Spiritual Committee will plan liturgical celebrations; check the obituaries; send a card to any member who is ill.

Section 2. The Telephone Committee shall contact all members at the discretion of the President.

Section 3. The Coffee Committee shall check that coffee is on and doughnuts are available on Sundays.

Section 4. The Program Committee will plan special events and social activities or parties for the members.

Article IV. Meetings

Section 1. The regular meeting shall be on the first Thursday or Sunday of the month. The agenda for the meeting will be prepared by the officers several days before each meeting.

Section 2. The election of officers shall take place at the December meeting.

Article V. Dues

Section 1. Dues may be any reasonable price agreed upon by the officers and shall be paid annually as soon as possible. The fiscal year is from January 1 to December 31.

Section 2. Members have the privilege of voting if they have attended one half of the meetings and functions.

Article VI. Prayer

Section 1. The MYO members will pray as a group on the first Friday of every month. They will participate in the Divine Liturgy for their special intentions and for all families in the parish.

Section 2. A spiritual theme will be discussed or a Bible study will be held after the evening mass on every first Friday to continue the spirit generated at the retreats.

Section 3. MYO meetings will begin with special prayer services or scriptural focus and reflections.

Back to Top          Home

How to Attract Students to your MYO

1. Make one or two minute announcements for 2 or 3 Sundays before the program begins. Announce goal, provide motivation, encourage sign-up today. MYO members can be in lobby or other assigned room to register members.

2. Make church bulletin announcements.

3. Provide "census" cards and pencils passed to all teenagers after Liturgies (survey youth in parish).

4. Prepare posters for church lobby and meeting rooms. Use pictures of MYO activities and members.

5. Make person to person visits. Be an MYO 'fisher' of those not attending.

6. Make phone calls to invite new members.

7. Talk to the Parish Council and other organizations.

8. A few days before the meeting begins, mail students reminder, such as postcards.

9. Keep members satisfied, enthusiastic, and spiritualized.

Initial MYO meeting

It would be nice to have two advisors for the youth group, preferably one male and one female. These advisors are adult members of the parish and are elected by the pastor. They are responsible for making sure meetings run accordingly and are present at each of the group's functions. First meeting would typically run as follows:

Step #1: Invite all youth to come to a planning meeting. The advisor or pastor will call each personally and organize the meeting agenda.

Step #2. Agenda for planning meeting.

a. Prayer

b. Pass out Needs Assessment sheet. (found below)

c. Set goal to meet the needs of youth.

d. List the different functions to achieve this goal.
Examples: Hold weekly meetings, provide special monthly liturgies, hold two retreats, organize a weekly service project, hold special events once each month, elect youth group officers, schedule two social trips, etc...

e. Role description of officers are explained.

f. Elections and voting.

g. The Constitution and By-Laws are explained.

h. Program for the year is discussed. A calendar of events is prepared to be passed out at next meeting.

i. Plan the following detailed strategies for all the activities which will take place:
* Who will be in overall charge?
* Who will assist?
* What times and dates?
* What facilities?
* What permissions are necessary?
* How will we advertise?
* Registration/finance?
* Recruiting adult help?

j. Closing Prayer

Needs Assessment for your Parish Youth

Pass out a sheet of paper and have each member answer the following questions:

1. Do you feel our parish offers activities teenagers seem to want or need? Explain.

2. How do you feel about the youth activities you have attended in our parish?

3. What seems to be the main problem or areas of concern in your life right now?

4. In general, how do you feel about our parish and its relationship with the young people here?

5. What types of youth programs, activities or structure for MYO would you like to see in this parish? Prioritize them?

6. What topics do you wish to be discussed at future MYO meetings?

Suggested Youth Activities

January -- Super Bowl pizza party
February -- Sweetheart's dinner dance
March -- Youth Retreat, overnight vigil at church (Lent)
May -- Mother's Day brunch, Talent show
July -- Diocesan Youth Workshop Enrichment, baseball game
August -- Parish festival or youth picnic
October -- Halloween party, Invite another parish youth group
November -- Thanksgiving Food Drive
December -- Christmas nativity play, decorate church & hall

Other events could include guest speakers, spiritual retreat days and special liturgies.

MYO Monthly Meeting Agenda

This sheet can be filled out by the secretary and filed at church. It should include the date and time and the meeting could be as follows:

1. Prayer service and discussion

2. Minutes - given by the Secretary

3. Treasurer's report

4. Topic to be presented and the presenter (optional)

5. Old business
a. ex: car wash fundraiser

6. New business
a. ex: raffle tickets

7. Assignments for next month
a. Prayer Service
b. Special topic to be presented and the presenter
c. Other

8. Comments

9. Closing Prayer

Why do Youth Groups Fail?

Some reasons may be:

1. Lack of interest on part of youth.
2. Incompetent adult leadership.
3. Indifference and lack of support of clergy.
4. Poor organizational planning.
5. Over-emphasis of one area of the program.

Some youth see nothing worthwhile or exciting in MYO meetings. Some may have few or no friends attend regularly. Meetings should be dynamic and worthwhile.

In most instances, groups fall apart because of incompetent leadership. Creative and sensitive adult leaders are essential to any effective youth program.

The clergy themselves need not be expected to take an active leadership role, however, their support and interest in youth are necessary.

Poor planning and implementation of programs and activities can be detrimental to MYO. Various committees should be set up to represent different interest categories. Youth and adults should plan together.

Balance in youth groups is necessary. Spiritual - the sharing of the gospel message, the Work, Celebration of the Eucharist, Mysteries, prayer sessions, scripture study groups. The creating of community - listen, help, share, serve, get involved in the parish life. Guidance, healing, justice, service and enablement are all necessary in youth groups.

Follow a strict planning model:

A. Analyze Needs (Needs Assessment Sheet)
B. Establish Objectives (Set Goal for youth group)
C. Design Programs (List different functions for year)
D. Implement Programs (Carry out plan-DON'T CANCEL EVENT)
E. Evaluate Programs (Evaluation sheets for feedback)

Back to Top          Home