With the support of the congregation and the diocese and under the guidance of the Rev. Michael Ramsey-Musolf, assisting priest, they organize a haunted house in the parish hall on Halloween night for young people in the neighborhood; participate in the Los Angeles AIDS walk; conduct a toy drive for children at a local battered women's shelter; join neighborhood clean-up projects; host Christmas and Valentine's programs for residents of a local convalescent home; and raise funds for causes such as the diocesan response to the Southern California fires in 2003.

A desire to help others inaugurated the youth group three years ago at Halloween. “We wanted a haunted house for kids in the community," said Nancy Frausto, 20. "We started with four teens in the youth group.” In 2003, the haunted house drew more than 400 neighborhood children.

The older members, who are college-age, function as mentors to the younger ones, helping them take on leadership responsibilities. “I try to leave as much of the leadership to the youth themselves, providing input, logistical support and theological direction as needed,” said Ramsey-Musolf, who works as a theoretical nuclear and particle physicist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Miguel Urbina, 20, who serves in the U.S. Army, said that the youth live in an area that most would consider the ghetto. “We wanted to make the church attractive to the community, to enhance the community, to help out around here doing things."
“From the outset," Ramsey-Musolf said, "this ministry has emphasized service to the community. If there is one thing I would like the youth to remember about their experience at All Saints, it is that to be a Christian means endeavoring to serve one's neighbors in the world in Christ's name.”

No pray, no play

Ramsey-Musolf also emphasizes the importance of sharing with one another the joys and troubles in their lives and of praying about them together. “At the end of each weekly youth meeting, we always gather in a circle of prayer,” he said. “Of course, there are opportunities for fun and fellowship, like trips to Magic Mountain, movies, pool parties; but to partake; the youth must participate in worship on a regular basis. To paraphrase a rule that one of my mentors enunciated, it is ‘no pray, no play.’”

All Saints' rector, the Rev. Bill Leeson, has been instrumental in drawing youth into the parish. Bishop J. Jon Bruno of Los Angeles also visited the youth during one of their weekly Tuesday night meetings.

“[Bruno] has provided concrete support to our ministry,” said Ramsey-Musolf. “I know that both the youth and I are grateful for this support, and I think the parish and diocesan support is really a model for effective support of parish-based youth ministry.”
Apart from the rector, the church has little paid staff. Ramsey-Musolf is a volunteer, hoping, he says, to transform lives.

“He loves us,” said Frausto. “Father Mike showed me it’s important to be here. He travels all over the world, but he calls us and sees how we’re doing. So, I show up.

“Kids come here, stick around, then they come to church,” said Frausto. “They’d never had church in their lives. Now, they’re acolytes. They bring more people to church. It’s important to have that spiritual aspect in your life.”