Joe Mele has joined the staff of St. John the Evangelist parish in Frederick as Youth Minister.  He replaces Cassandra Anderson who is now at St. John in Severna Park.

Growing up in the Bronx, Joe was raised in a Catholic family, however his religious experiences were mainly confined to Sunday and Holy Day Masses.  While attending New York Military Academy, he joined the local Catholic Youth Organization, mainly, as he explains, as a way to get out of study hall on Sunday night.  After attending the first few meetings, he felt drawn to youth ministry.  What began as a ploy to get off campus, became a doorway through which Joe discovered his calling.

Joe quickly became more and more active in the youth program, and was soon elected to a parish-level office, and then a county-level office.  He began visiting neighboring parishes, attending retreats and peer ministering to other youth. 

Joe went on to earn a bachelors degree in counseling and religious studies from the University of Scranton.  While in college he was a volunteer youth minister at St. Patrick’s parish in Scranton.  After graduating college he served as part time youth minister at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Silkworth, Pennsylvania. He then was the youth minister at Church of St. Luke, in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, before coming to St. John’s, Frederick.

In addition to his job at St. John’s, Joe is working on a masters degree in pastoral counseling at Loyola College in Baltimore, as well as a graduate certification in youth ministry from Seton Hall through the Center for Ministry Development.

As youth minister at St. John’s, Joe is responsible for middle and high school youth ministry, 6^th-12^th grade faith formation, the parish confirmation program and the young adults program.  Joe is also active in the parish Knights of Columbus, and lives in Frederick. 

When asked what keeps him going, Joe said that he draws strength from his life as a Catholic.  “We are all on a journey to Christ…and we all need to be the best we can be –a reflection of Jesus Christ in the world.”

Welcome, Joe, to ministry in Central Maryland from your friends at CEM!