St-Denis Parish has launched a Youth 3.0 initiative, a name that makes reference to computer literacy. Discover RJM and their work... as well as their website.

What is RJM?

Rameaux Jeunesse Montréal is a movement of young Catholic adults that emerged following a series of meetings, reflections, and discussions that were shared over coffee and tea. As a result, many suggestions and shared experiences among those who participated were gathered, and brought the group together. The following provides some background on how the movement came to be 😊!

Some of our shared concerns:

• The Church The Church is not always fully-equipped at a local level to accompany young professionals and care for their spiritual needs.’
• The majority of the population, be it in our social or professional circles, or sometimes within our own families, is no longer practicing the Christian faith
• It is therefore difficult for many young people to get through these challenging years of adult life (ages 20 - 40+ ) without the support or accompaniment of community, friends, or family.

What can we do? 

• Break down social isolation among Catholic young adults. 
• Develop connections, foster new encounters and offer mutual help. 
• Offer diverse activities regularly that are relevant to the age group and daily life of members.
• Meet regularly to share our faith, the Gospel, and to help others. 
• Support and get involved in the activities of the Church, in an intercultural and intergenerational community. 

It is within this framework that several activities have already been initiated; to find out more visit: https://sites.google.com/view/rameauxjeunessemontreal
As a result, this group facilitated the possibility for young people to discover and choose how they wanted to serve and give back to the community.  One such member, who is a programmer analyst by profession, donated time and skill to build a wonderful website for the parish community of Saint-Denis in Montreal: https://sites.google.com/view/eglisesaintdenismontreal/accueil#h.lz18tfsxak0z. The site was launched on Palm Sunday, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic!

Bible Study

Among our list of activities offered are:
Virtual Bible Study 📖🔍
•    To take a break and immerse yourself in the sacredness of the Holy Scriptures by video conference 📚.
•    🕔 Saturday at 5 p.m., via the cloud platform Google Hangouts; write us to receive the login link at: rameauxjeunessemontreal@gmail.com

This is a study and sharing group reflecting on the Word of God. We address several important themes in the life of Christians, such as the Beatitudes and the mission that we are called to as followers of Christ.  We dedicate one and a half hours bi-weekly to the study of a biblical text. 
Each study session follows a general format: an opening prayer, the presentation of newcomers, followed by an initial reading of the text to allow participants to identify and formulate any questions they may have, a time of sharing, a time for reflection on what we have learned, and concluding with a closing prayer.    

The first of this series of gatherings took place on February 29, 2020, prior to the onset of the pandemic. Since public-health measures were imposed, we have not yet had the option to meet a second time in person.  So we decided to continue the Bible study activity virtually, having transitioned online via the cloud platform Zoom.  This enabled individuals from other Montreal parishes to join us. Bi-weekly meetings take place on Saturdays; the next is scheduled for June 13 at 5:00 p.m. If you are interested in participating, write us at rameauxjeunessemontreal@gmail.com or eb.rameauxjeunnessemontreal@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you! 

An online approach for the catechumenate

An online approach has been adopted to help provide accompaniment to a young catechumen named Marco, who began his faith journey towards Baptism two months ago.  The first two-month step was made with individual meetings on Zoom.  When Marco felt ready to move on to the next stage, a support group was organized, comprising peer young adults who are involved with RJM.  The first catechesis with this sharing group will run weekly from June 11 to July 16, again, using the tool Zoom together with PowerPoint support.  
Those participating will receive the session content in advance to facilitate an in-depth exchange.
Duration of each session: 90 minutes.

The Month of Mary, online

Throughout the month of May, we met online to receive the Pope’s teachings on Mother Mary, followed by a joint praying of the Rosary.  The last meeting of the month was very moving, as each participant openly shared reflections on their own personal relationship with Mary, testimonies that embodied great diversity given the various countries of origin being represented, i.e.  Mexico, France, Cameroon, Canada, Haiti, Brazil. 
Duration of each session: 90 minutes

‘COCO’: Deconfinement Co-ordination Committee, via Zoom 
Beginning June 16 - Committee tasks:
•    Compile as comprehensive a list as possible of all parishioners 
•    Establish an approach for recruiting volunteers 
•    Plan a volunteer schedule, observing diocesan guidelines
•    Establish a timeline based on the diocesan webinar held on June 16
•    Identify and evaluate needs for the church and the basement 
•    Create a communications plan to address the broader public based on our community’s networks.  Example: website, Facebook page, email contacts, telephone network, mailings, home delivery of information, etc.