Registration for PYM weekend events February 2, 2012

Greetings!

Council is over and it is time to shift gears to the Spring. PYM Senior High Weekend at Shrine Mont is coming up sooner than you think and registrations will be available on February 15^th. But before we do that, it has come to our attention that a specific difficulty in the registration process is creating some confusion when youth leaders try to confirm participants registered.

Every year each weekend event attracts around 150 people from parishes all over the diocese. To sign up a parent/guardian fills out the registration form and submits it to our office with tuition. We in turn respond to that parent/guardian with a confirmation. So far, so good.

Each youth participant MUST be accompanied by an adult and in most cases that parish’s youth leader, either volunteer or full time (Note: the name of the youth’s chaperone is required on the form). As youth leaders register their youth, there currently isn’t a way to see which parents have registered youth and taken all the necessary steps, save for actually calling us and asking who has done what. We have two proposed solutions to try and fix this issue:

1.     We produce a “Google doc” which would provide a link to a list of everyone registered for each event. It would be a “read only” document for everyone except diocesan staff. The youth leader and parent/guardian could check the registration and chaperone status of their group. For privacy’s sake, the Google Doc would show only part of a youth’s name and church and nothing else, e.g.  “Michael W – St. Thomas, Richmond”.

2.     We allow one person from each group to register youth. Youth leaders would be responsible to track down each registration, making sure all the members of their group are registered. Please note that the coordinator role would need to be fill be someone in the parish, even in congregations where is no designated youth leader.

Please take the time to write us an email or post a response here. We would really like your feedback on this issue and want to do whatever we can to make it as simple as possible to register for our great events.

J2A pilgrimage possibilities? January 31, 2011

Hey Folks! Happy Monday! We hope you all had a fantastic weekend and are well rested and re energized for the week ahead!

We’ve heard some discussions recently about Youth Pilgrimages and were hoping to hear from you.  For those of you who are planning a pilgrimage for your youth this upcoming year – or those of you who have been on a great pilgrimage in the past – we’re hoping to hear from you!  Where have you been?  What did you do, and do you have any tips for youth leaders who are planning a pilgrimage for the first time?

We know there are many of you who have stories and tips to share, and we hope that you will include them in the comment section below or send us an email.

Thanks!

What is the future of Youth Ministry? Is Your Ministry Distracted? January 19, 2011

I read this article this morning, and it was just too good to pass up.  In only a few hundred words, Brian Kirk begins to dive right into something that has been haunting me recently.  I could attempt to rewrite it, but I think he says it best.

There’s plenty of conversation going around in regards to an “Internet Culture” that is changing the way that we communicate/think/interact with each other.  Our attention span has shortened as we’ve all adapted to a world filled with multi-tasking, pop up ads, and tweets.  (I’m no different: right now I’ve got – literally – 13 tabs running on my internet browser, each representing a project or task I’m “currently working on!”)

Our ministries with and for youth are no different, and there is growing pressure to create an environment for teens that is exciting, constantly changing,  and never boring.  We search out the best games, music, videos in an attempt to keep our teens’ attention for as long as possible, and to show them that our programs are fun enough to make them want to return.  However, Brian asks:

“In our pop-culture inspired efforts to keep teens engaged, are we in essence rewiring their spiritual brains to expect that the Christian faith can be summed up in sound-bites and simple theologies?”

What is the impact of this – not only on our ministries but also on the faith that we are teaching young people?

I have many thoughts on this but I’m afraid they haven’t been effectively processed enough for a thoughtful blog response.  However, this question seems to be at the base of a conversation I’ve been having AGAIN AND AGAIN with youth leaders, both in the Diocese of Virginia and beyond.  In the next few weeks, I will be pulling together a group of interested people in order to have this conversation in a larger setting and hopefully come to some conclusions/decisions/actions in response.  If you are interested in being part of this group, please let me know.

In the meanwhile, I encourage you to check out Brian’s article, and also to read the blog he co-authors – Rethinking Youth Ministry.  I believe I’ve linked to it before, and I generally enjoy reading it.  A book that speaks to this reality pretty clearly is Kenda Creasy Dean’s Almost Christian, and it’s a great place to start if you haven’t read too much about the National Study of Youth and Religion.  In terms of what to do next — well I’m still working on it, but I think there are some answers to be found in the Exemplary Youth Ministry Study.

One thing is for certain: all is NOT lost, and there are still many wonderful things going on in the world of Christian Formation and Youth Ministry.  However, we may need to think WAY outside the box – heck, we may even need to build an entirely new box! – in order to find what is next.

I encourage your thoughts – both as comments to this post and to me individually.  And if you are interested in being a part of an upcoming group (committee, maybe?) whose first task will be taking on some of these questions, let me know.  I’m looking for interested parties now!

Resources from this Article:

Brian Kirk’s Article on Distractional Youth Ministry

Rethinking Youth Ministry Blog

Kenda Dean’s Website – with study guides for Almost Christian!

More information about the National Study for Youth and Religion

The Exemplary Youth Ministry Study Website

Have you ever gone on a mission trip? April 27, 2010

Tell us about it! We are very interested to hear what other folks and other organizations are doing. If you have gone or are going on a trip in the near future tell us about it in the “post comment” section of the blog. Thanks again, and we hope to hear from you all soon!

PYM Senior High Weekend April 13, 2010

…. was a blast!  Thanks to all who made it out, much fun was had by all.  Our keynote speaker, Paul Canady, was great – the workshops and small group conversations got “deep” – and the Capture the Flag game was EPIC!  Check out some pictures from the event, and put our fall dates on your calendar now!  We hope to see many new faces at our upcoming weekend retreats.

PYM Musicians

Saturday's Outdoor Eucharist

Having fun at PYM!

Good times and crazy clothes at the Dance

8th Grade Weekend: October 8-10 at Shrine Mont

6th/7th Grade Weekend: November 12-14 at Shrine Mont

A few notes:

• We are now accepting applications for next year’s PYM committee.  If there is a youth (rising 9th grade through 12th grade) who is interested in joining us, please have him/her email or call Paris or Michael and we will get an application to them.
• We are considering adding a Fall “Diocesan Youth Day of Service” to next year’s schedule.  Are there times (MONTHS or particular “blackout dates”) that would be particularly difficult for you to accommodate?  Scheduling things is always a challenge, but if you have suggestions for dates to AVOID, please either comment on this post, or email the Diocesan office.  Thanks for your input!

Planning future mission trips?? April 9, 2010

Good Morning and Happy Friday to everyone!

As most of you know Senior High weekend is only hours away and we couldn’t be more excited! But before we take off we wanted to be sure to get one last update before the weekend begins.

This is an interesting article about mission trips and what often happens when trip planners make common mistakes. It gives a perspective you probably haven’t heard before and we think you might appreciate, so check it out!  After you’ve read it – add a comment, this week’s post is “interactive!”

CLICK HERE!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!!

How do you feel about all the snow this year??? March 2, 2010

A   I Love snow, bring it on old man winter!

B   No biggie, I drive a subaru.

C   Good chance for me to catch up on my DVR and “Man vs Wild”

D   If I see another snowflake I’m moving to South America…..

E   My fireplace and I have rekindled (no pun intended) a wonderful relationship which I will soon neglect……..again.

Post your responses as comments!

Top 5 Service Activities for Youth October 22, 2009

Got your attention?  Good, because I want your input!

PYM has been talking about service, and is interested in incorporating more activities that help remind youth about giving to others in their events.  Which leads me to wonder…… What are some really great/functional/age-appropriate service activities for groups of middle and/or high schoolers?  I would love to hear what has worked or not worked for your church.

For instance, the youth group I worked for before coming to the Diocese did a project during a lock-in that worked out well.  The youth decorated brown lunch bags, and then stuffed them with granola bars, peanut butter crackers, a bottle of water, etc.  We stood outside the doors of the church that Sunday and handed them out to the families in our church.  The bags were to be used to give to panhandlers who would walk up to car windows asking for money.  (I know that the best approach is to offer panhandlers information about where to find the closest shelter or community center, but this allowed the families in our parish to “do something” that wasn’t just giving money or looking away.)  The parish loved the idea, and they were talking about the project for months to come.

So – youth professionals…. it’s time to share those ideas and thoughts.  Let us know what has worked, what doesn’t…. what  you might like to see tried.  Who knows?  One of the suggestions posted here may just be the next “service activity” that you see at an upcoming PYM weekend!

Summer Reading! July 2, 2009

As the hectic pace of the program year starts to mellow into the warm days of summer, many people find that NOW is a good opportunity to catch up on reading they’ve been meaning to do, or expand their reading repertoire.

So, with that in mind – what are YOU reading this summer?

I have picked back up C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity to read with the St. George’s staff, while at the same time tackling Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.

What are you reading – what has been the best (or most challenging) read of 2009 for you?  I’d love to hear what all of you, dear readers, are diving into this summer, as well as suggestions of great books (about Christian Ministry or otherwise)!

Some other suggestions:

• The Godbearing Life by Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (not about ministry, but an easy-to-read fictional tale that had me hooked the entire way!)
• The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollen (changed my eating life, literally.)

Musical Interlude June 2, 2009

I’m a tad, er, passionate about discovering and listening to new and wonderful artists – and it seems that summertime always brings with it waves of great (and not so great) music.  I try not to stick with one genre, but explore it all.

So, I heard this song – the tail end of it – on the radio the other day, and it stuck with me.  When it popped up later on that day as part of a podcast I was listening to, I decided to check it out.

What do you think about this? What does it say to you, as a Youth Leader, as a Christian, as a listener?

AND – while we’re on the subject – what are some of the best “secular” songs that you have heard that speak a truth about faith and God? Yes, “question of the week” is back.

I look forward to seeing your responses!