Saint Anne Young Adults

Mission Statement

To foster an environment where Catholic young adults in their 20s and 30s from the Greater Houston-area, single and married, can connect for faith formation and fellowship through spiritual, service, social, and sports activities.

Through the volunteer efforts of the officers, Saint Anne Young Adults organizes 10-15 events focused around our branches for you to participate in every month. We encourage everyone to try out events in the different areas, meet new people, and grow in your faith life.

Are you one of the over 500 people getting our weekly newsletter? If not, sign up. All of our events, plus additional local church events are shared through the newsletter. Also, we have a Facebook Group where events and other information is shared.

If you have any questions, feel free to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For questions about events for specific areas, see the Officers below to e-mail them directly.

Officers

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the membership requirements?

You must be at least 21 years old and a member of the St. Anne Community.

Is this a singles only group?

No, while a large portion of the members are single, the group is open to all young adults both single and married.

What is the average age/age range of the group's members?

The overall age range is 21 to 39, with the majority of the members between 25-35.

How many members are in the group?

We send our weekly newsletter out to over 1,000 people and have over 2,000 on our Facebook Group. Not everyone attends every event. Attendance at any event can range from 5 to 75 people depending on the event. We encourage people to attend events within the different areas to find their favorites.

How do I find out about the group's activities?

Every week we send out a weekly e-mail listing of the upcoming activities. Also, every month we have our monthly Meet & Greet. Whether you have been attending St. Anne for years or just started, come to the meet and greet after the 11:00 a.m. Mass on the last Sunday of the month (noon in the St. Teresa Room, located in the Parish Center) where you can learn more about SAYA's spiritual, sports, social, and service events.

If I am new to the Church, do I have to come to a Meet & Greet before I can attend a SAYA event?

No, we welcome new members at any event. Since many of our activities occur somewhere besides the church, some people prefer to come to a Meet & Greet first so that they know they will be able to find us. However, we love to have new members join us at any time.

Can I bring my friends with me to events?

Absolutely. We are always welcoming of all those interested in our activities.

Spiritual

The goal of the spiritual branch of SAYA is to bring you closer in your relationship with Jesus through both SAYA hosted and church planned events. Specifically, we seek to foster your spiritual development through educational, experiential, and fellowship opportunities.

We offer Bible studies throughout the year. Some are seasonal (Lent, Advent), and others are planned in conjunction with St. Anne’s Adult Faith Formation ministry.

Through the years of SAYA, we've offered a variety of events based on demand and availability of resources. These events have included praise and worship, adoration, discussion groups, video studies, women's and men's studies, confession, rosary-guided prayer, and many others. We also try to keep you informed of other local Catholic spiritual events.

We also try to keep members informed of other Catholic spiritual events occurring locally. Although SAYA may organize retreats on occasion, we more often help connect members to retreats that are being offered by any of the wonderful retreat centers located in the greater Houston area.

For people who are interested in additional spiritual direction, St. Anne Catholic Church can help you connect to people who serve as spiritual directors.

Sports

We currently have four seasonal sport leagues: kickball, softball, indoor volleyball, and foam dodgeball. We occasionally host other events as well, such as ultimate Frisbee and mud runs. All of our sports are co-ed and open to young adults ages 21-39.

We accept players of all competition and athletic abilities. When signing up for a sport, players rank themselves on a scale of 1 – 10 in terms of their competitive level and athletic ability. Coaches and sports directors use this information when drafting players for teams to make sure players are equally distributed among teams.

For the seasonal leagues, games are typically held on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.

• Kickball - in the winter from January-March
  
• Softball - in the spring from April-May
• Volleyball - in the summer from June-August
  
• Dodgeball - in the fall from September-November

League: SAYA has its own sports league, to promote competition with fellowship at the forefront of play. We play teams who choose to have a team within SAYA. The league is not limited to parishioners of St. Anne. Church and young adults from all over the Archdiocese form teams and play in the league. We typically have 200 players per sport depending on the facility capacity.

Playing Field: Softball and kickball games are held at the participating churches home fields. Most of these are at the parish while some are at nearby public schools or parks. Volleyball and foam dodgeball games are mainly played at St. Anne and occasionally at other churches/schools in the Archdiocese.

Our sports leagues continue to grow! The number of teams depends on the sport being played. Volleyball is our largest sport with over 250 players and kickball is our second largest with consistently over 200 players.

Registration/Fees: Our registration fee is published in the newsletter when enrollment starts (currently $25). If players need a jersey for the league (i.e. they are a new player or new to that team) the fee for the jersey is an additional $15. So playing on a league never costs more than $40 – a great bargain compared to the sports leagues in Houston. We also donate money to the St. Anne Scholarship Fund each year, to provide tuition assistance to exemplary athletes at St. Anne Catholic School.

Rules: Each sport has its own set of rules. Coaches of each team know the rules, as well as the sports directors, and distribute the rules to the players at the beginning of each season.

Social

The goal of the social branch of SAYA is to provide opportunity for fellowship and community with other young adults in a social setting. 

Our Social officers organize social events and activities for our members. We host events like happy hours, dancing, movies, trips to the museums, go-karts, laser tag, etc. The objective is to create an atmosphere where members can come together and have fun in a safe environment.  

With all the opportunities in Houston, there are plenty of activities that fit within our mission of building community.

If you plan on attending an event, other than the monthly Meet & Greet as your first event, it is a good idea to contact the event sponsor to let them know you are coming. That way, the sponsor will know to look for you at the event and can include you in any event details or changes. Officers often wear name tags at events to help identify the SAYA group. 

Anyone can sponsor an activity for the group. There is a monthly meeting where ideas for activities are discussed. Please contact one of the social chairs to get an event on the monthly calendar. 

Being a sponsor for a social event means you are in charge of planning and coordinating the event. You will serve as a contact point for all members to find out more about the event. You must attend any event that you sponsor. If you have an idea for a social event, please think about being a sponsor! The more sponsors we have, the more we are able to broaden our appeal and provide a variety of diverse events to the larger young adult community.

Service

Volunteer

The goal of the SAYA Service branch is to come together to serve those around us, whether that be at St. Anne, other Catholic efforts, or local causes that have the need for volunteers.

What volunteer activities do we do?

We volunteer in a wide variety of activities and with different populations. Some events are recurring, and others are one-time special events.  Some of the events that we host are:

• Help at Casa Juan Diego, Houston's Catholic Worker house
• Volunteer with All Saints Food Pantry
• Volunteer at the Christian Community Service Center
• Support and volunteer at the St. Anne Fall Fiesta and the annual Gala
• Work with Habitat for Humanity
• Host the annual blessing of pets on St. Francis of Assisi's Feast Day
• Seasonal events (Thanksgiving canned food drive and Christmas party for St. Anne's Care Team)

When do volunteer events occur?

We try to host two to four volunteer events a month. The All Saints Food Pantry event takes place during the weekday, but most other events occur the weekend.

How much time do I need to commit?

Events typically run for three to four hours.

How do I find out about what events are taking place?

The SAYA Newsletter provides all information regarding service and other events. It is available at the beginning of each week. You can also find us on Facebook, where we create a Facebook event for our service events.

How do I get directions to the event? Does SAYA carpool to the events?

We always include the address of the event location. Contact the host of the event if you would like more detailed information or are interested in carpooling.