Name: Rebecca Judge
Position: Director of Youth Ministry
Parish: Nativity
Office Phone: (703) 455-2400

Website: https://nativityburke.org/cym/edge/; https://nativityburke.org/cym/lifeteen/

Email: rjudge@nativityburke.org; cym@nativityburke.org

History/Resume

In current position since: 2021
Active in Youth Ministry since:  2021

Youth Ministry program includes: Life Teen (9-12 Graders) Sundays from 6:30-8:30pm: includes dinner, fellowship, prayer, and formation
High School Small Groups
Fellowship at Peet's Coffee, Peterson's Ice Cream Depot, and other local spots on FCPS days off
Lenten Soup Suppers
Bilingual Living Stations of the Cross
Edge (6-8 Graders) Select Fridays 7:00-8:30pm and Sundays 3:30-5:00pm
Vacation Bible Camp
Camp on the Edge (summer service-learning camp for middle schoolers)
WorkCamp
One Act Play
World Youth Day

Favorites

Favorite Food(s): Ice Cream

Favorite Band: Twenty One Pilots

Favorite Pastime: Singing / Pickleball

Favorite Saint: St. Hildegard of Bingen and St. Ignatius of Antioch

Favorite Scripture:  John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.

About Me: I was born and raised in Jenkintown, PA. I actually never intended to pursue a career in ministry. After unexpectedly switching my major from mathematics to theology during my time at St. Joseph's University, I began my long journey of discernment that eventually led me to ministry with young people. Through my involvement leading praise and worship adoration, singing in Chapel Choir, leading retreats, participating in service immersions, and more, I grew in my own faith life and felt a call to accompany others in return. It was at SJU that I developed a prayer life and was radically transformed by Catholic Social Teaching and Ignatian Spirituality. These experiences led me to complete a year of service with Bon Secours Volunteer Ministry where I served in a community hospital in Richmond, VA as a Spiritual Care Partner. During this transformative year, I was offered the opportunity to become a sacred listener and keeper of the stories of the patients I visited and prayed with in the hospital. Empowered to live compassionately and radically encounter the poor and suffering in my local community, I grew to see the face of Christ in all those I served. This guided me to pursue a Masters in Theology at the University of Dayton where I was able to offer a pastoral presence while working with undergraduates as a Campus Minister. As I worked with the first-year college students amid their life transitions, I found myself drawn to work with high schoolers who are at such a pivotal place in their faith journeys. After graduating from UD, I packed up and moved to Virginia and have been joyfully serving as the Director of Youth Ministry at Nativity Catholic Church ever since. All of my experiences with music ministry, Ignatian Spirituality, service, pastoral care, campus ministry, and theology have profoundly shaped my ministerial identity. My hope for youth ministry is to create a meaningful, nourishing space where all are free to belong, explore, discern, and grow in the love of Christ.