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By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer
ATLANTA — Barb Garvin’s office is full of pictures of
her kids.
The smiling faces in brass, plastic and wooden frames display a
rainbow of nationalities and colors. Only two images are those of Garvin’s
biological children—the others are simply those who hold a special place
in her heart.
Originally the associate director of youth ministry for the
archdiocese, Garvin assumed the post of director of youth ministry May 15 after
a restructuring in the archdiocesan religious education office. She brings with
her 16 years of youth ministry experience and a strong commitment to the
office.
A Georgia resident since early childhood, Garvin grew up in
Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Atlanta. In high school, she became heavily
involved with Young Life, a Christian youth movement usually associated with
Protestant churches. Her involvement in the group, she believes, was
instrumental in establishing her vocation in youth ministry.
“The difference is that my Young Life leader was Catholic and
really wanted to feed us back into the church,” she said. “So I
became very involved with this non-denominational Christian organization that
fed me back to the church. It was a very natural progression to work with
kids.”
Through her involvement in Young Life, she met Rick Garvin, her
husband of 25 years. The couple has a son and a daughter, 20 and 23 years old
respectively.
The family belongs to St. Pius X Church in Conyers and it was at
the parish that Garvin began her lifelong love for and commitment to youth
ministry.
Volunteering as a middle school catechist for four years, Garvin
was asked to begin a youth program. She started the program in 1988 and led the
middle school, high school and confirmation groups at the parish. She stayed in
that position until she began her job at the archdiocesan office on July 1,
2000. The experience of ministering in one parish for so long was invaluable to
Garvin.
“I would not trade having stayed in one parish that long for
anything,” she said. “I have a history with those kids that has been
really important to me. The kids who were entering first grade when I started
there just graduated from high school.”
The decision to leave the parish, Garvin said, was not an easy
one, but she knew that the timing was right. Her children were no longer at
home and she knew that she could bring stability to the office.
“I see a lot of turnovers in youth ministry,” she said.
“I feel like the gift I brought is that I did stay in one place for so
long and I learned how to work through the ups and downs and the changes in a
parish.”
Garvin added that she would like to show other youth ministers
that their positions can be permanent.
“I hope to build up other youth ministers to stay long term,
so that they can see that youth ministry is a viable, good choice for
life,” she said. “Kids need to see that faith doesn’t come and
go. They need to see consistent role models who allow their faith to let them
work through the hard times.”
Garvin now hopes to be a fixture in her office on the seventh
floor of the Wachovia Building, where the archdiocesan religious education
offices are located. It is not a position into which she walked blindly. During
her years at St. Pius, where she and her husband still are parishioners, she
often worked on projects and served on committees for archdiocesan youth
events. She hopes other parish youth ministers will become involved on the
archdiocesan level.
“I really want to empower other youth ministers to take on
leadership roles in the archdiocese,” she said. “Everything is
centralized in this office, but there need to be joint ventures between the
archdiocese and parishes so that we’re meeting the needs of the kids and
the adults that work with the kids.”
Garvin also hopes to encourage certification among those who work
with youth. Garvin holds a specialty certificate in youth ministry from the
Center for Ministry Development in Naugatuck, Conn.
“These volunteers already have a love for the kids, but we
need to make sure that they learn the foundations of our faith,” she said.
“We have to make sure we are giving the youth quality, strong,
doctrine-backed programs.”
Referring to the “Renewing the Vision” document on youth
ministry by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Garvin said she hopes
all parishes in the archdiocese are or will become “youth friendly”
churches.
“(The youth) are the church of today as much as they are the
church of tomorrow,” she said. “The more we walk hand in hand as a
parish to minister to them, the more we build up the church.”
Sitting in her office, surrounded by photos and thank-you cards
from the teens that went through her program at St. Pius, Garvin said
relationships are the best part of her job.
“It’s a relational ministry,” she said. “I am
lucky in that I have been in it long enough to see kids come full
circle—kids that I doubted that anything I said ever got through to them
that call me and tell me how something made a difference in their lives.
That’s the most beautiful benefit—to touch lives—and I know that
my life has been touched.” |
