A Message from Bishop Sauls….. April 10, 2013

Greetings Youth Leaders!

 

The Episcopal Church has recently shared with us a letter about scholarships available for various types of applicants and their educational pursuits. If you or somebody you know meets their criteria and might be looking for some additional funding please have them click HERE to get more details. Please note that every application for the scholarships must be signed off on (either by signature or letter) by a Diocesan Bishop. Please feel free to be in touch with us and we can connect you to the Bishops Office here at Mayo House. Please note the deadline for applications is April 30th so don’t delay!

YLC meeting in Alexandria tomorrow night (NOT canceled as of 10am Wednesday) March 6, 2013

Greetings Youth Leaders!

I hope all of you are in a safe place for the snow storm. As many of you know last night we had our first YLC meeting here in Richmond and it was a huge success. We’re scheduled to have another meeting at Grace Episcopal in Alexandria tomorrow night and as of now that meeting has NOT been canceled or postponed. We are still planning on having the meeting as scheduled.

We will post here if that status changes as soon as we know so feel free to check back periodically. Stay warm everyone, and if you have to drive somewhere today be very careful!

Dates, Dates, And More Dates! March 1, 2013

Greetings Youth Leaders! Happy Friday!

 

The Diocese of Virginia (and the National Church) have finalized the dates of a number of events happening in the next 18 months and we wanted to share them with you as soon as we could. Please note that these are all new so please make sure you make note of the changes, even to the programs that we do every year.

 

PYM Sr. High Weekend: November 8 – 10, 2013 @ Shrine Mont

PYM 6^th/7^th Grade Weekend: March 28 – 30, 2014 @ Shrine Mont

PYM 8^th Grade Weekend: May 16 – 18, 2014 @ Shrine Mont

 

Youth Leader Connection Meetings:

September 17^th, 6:30 – 8:00 in Fredericksburg (location: *TBD)

September 19^th, 6:30 – 8:00 at Church of Our Savior in Charlottesville.

 

*If you’re a church in the Fredericksburg area and would be willing to host us on that date, please let me know. We’ll bring all the materials, all you need to provide is the space!

 

Episcopal Youth Event 2014: July 9-13, 2014.

 

EYE 2014 will take place in Philadelphia, PA at Villanova University. This is the first time EYE has ever been in our province (province 3) so this is very exciting! Here is a link to the church center’s page about EYE, http://www.episcopalchurch.org/youth-ministries. You can also check them out on Facebook here, https://www.facebook.com/EpiscopalYouthEvent. It’s still very early and information will be coming out slowly as the event draws closer but we just wanted to let you know now so you can start chatting it up with your current 8^th – 11^th graders. Your current seniors will not be eligible for this event after graduation.

 

In 2011 our diocese sent a group of 16 to St. Paul, Minnesota @ Bethel University for what was truly a fun and memorable adventure at EYE. We hope to take somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 in 2014. That also means maintaining a ratio of roughly 5:1 youth to adults, so we’re going to need some adult chaperones as well. We’ll advertise/talk about this several times over the span of the next year but please do keep it in mind, and if you are interested, let us know!

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Upcoming Events February 27, 2013

 

Greetings Youth Leaders! Two things to highlight today……..

 

PYM Sr. High Weekend Registration is now officially open! We are accepting registration forms for you and your high school aged youth from now until April 3^rd, which is the Wednesday before the weekend begins. Here is a link to the forms: http://www.thediocese.net/Events/EventView.asp?EventID=1790.

Once you have registered Meg Schwarz (mschwarz@thediocese.net) will send you a confirmation letter that has helpful information to review with your youth about the weekend itself. Our keynote speaker this year will be our very own Bishop Suffragan Susan Goff, which we are very excited out! I will be sending more details out about the weekend as it draws closer but please feel free to talk it up with your youth and get registered as soon as you can.

 

Youth Leader Connection Meetings are happening next week! Just a reminder, these meetings are for anybody working with youth fulltime, part-time, or volunteer. You don’t need to bring any materials, we’ll supply everything. Please pick whichever date is closer to you to attend; we hope to see you all there!

 

March 5^th, 6:30 – 8:00 PM @ St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, VA.

March 7^th, 6:30 – 8:00 PM @ Grace Episcopal Church in Alexandria, VA.

Youth Leader Connections February 15, 2013

Greetings Youth Leaders!

I hope you are all well and that Lent is off to a good start for each of you. I am writing to formally announce a new program our office has created called “Youth Leader Connections” or YLC. YLC gatherings that will take place twice a semester dedicated directly to those who work with youth in our parishes.

The meetings themselves will provide opportunities to explore and discuss the unique challenges youth workers in our diocese face while strengthening networks and building collaborations. They are intended for ANYONE who works with youth: part-time, full-time, or volunteer. In fact, we encourage entire youth ministry leadership teams to attend these events together.  We hope to offer a chance for youth workers to visit and get to know one another while exchanging best practice resources, and other aspects of their work. YLC gatherings will create communities of youth workers who can support each other, pray with and for each other, and learn from one another.

Each meeting will last 90 minutes and will take place on either a Tuesday or Thursday evening. The format will include time to socialize, a large group forum, and potentially some small group workshops or discussions.  It is our hope that each of you will be able to attend one per semester, whichever one is closer to you. It’s also our hope that the meetings will be fun and a great use of everyone’s time. We are very interested in hearing from you as we develop the program so if you have ideas or suggestions of activities or other content, we’d love to hear them. Our meetings for 2013 are as follows:

March 5^th, 6:30 – 8:00 PM @ St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, VA.

March 7^th, 6:30 – 8:00 PM @ Grace Episcopal Church in Alexandria, VA.

September 17^th, 6:30 – 8:00 PM @ Location: TBD* (Fredericksburg, VA)

September 19^th, 6:30 – 8:00 PM @ Location: TBD* (Charlottesville, VA)

*If your church would be willing/interested in hosting one of these meetings, please be sure to let me know. We bring all the programming and supplies, all you provide is the space!

Please pass this along to other youth workers in your parish and let me know if you have any questions!

Feel Like Cutting a Rug??? February 8, 2013

Greetings Youth Leaders!

 

As some of you already know, on Saturday, February 16, members of the Diocese will join together at St. George’s, Fredericksburg in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. This event will include a litany of repentance, led by our own Bishop Johnston, and a Celebration of Hope led by the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori.

 

Youth and children of the Diocese are invited to participate in a group dance at this event! Participants should watch the choreography (posted on YouTube with music and without music) and arrive at St. George’s at 8 a.m. on Saturday, February 16 for rehearsal. Please wear a white shirt and black pants! RSVP to Lisa Girdy at lmdesign26@yahoo.com.

 

Visit stgeorgesepiscopal.net/freedomandhope for more details!

Province Youth Event 2013 (March 1st-3rd) February 1, 2013

Greetings Youth Leaders,

Happy Friday! I am writing you all today to talk about another upcoming youth event OUTSIDE of our diocese. This one is happening the beginning of next month.

Province Youth Event or PYE is a youth event sponsored by all 13 dioceses in our province that is for high school aged youth. The event is March 1^st to the 3^rd and will look a lot like a PYM Weekend at Shrine Mont in terms of programming. A group from our diocese went to the event last year, which was at Peterkin Conference Center in Romney WV, and I think they would tell you it was a pretty good time.

The weekend will take place at NorthBay Adventure (http://www.northbayadventure.com), which is a fabulous facility that includes a rock wall, massive gymnasium, bay front beaches, ropes course, and a pretty impressive zip line. If you watch the video on their homepage you’ll get a better idea of the location. That’s not to say you’ll be spending all of your time hanging in a tree but my understanding is that we will have access to the entire facility during down time.

The weekend will cost $150 per participant and you are welcome to bring anyone you want! Several of the groups attending will be going as a youth group so if you wanted to present this opportunity to your youth group that would be awesome. I (Michael Wade) will also be traveling to this event with Paris Ball so you can send youth with us as well. We will be carpooling like we did last year and will arrange pick up spots along the way to NorthBay.

Please don’t hesitate to let me know (mwade@thediocese.net) if you have any questions about the event and/or if you’re interested in attending. Talk to you soon!

EYE 2014 Mission Planners Wanted! January 30, 2013

Greetings Youth Leaders! We hope this message finds you all well. We apologize for being so bad about updates this past month but now that Council is in our rear view mirror we can shift gears to the new semester and beyond.

The lead up to EYE 2014 has begun! The Episcopal Youth Event is a global event presented by the Episcopal Church. Every three years, youth throughout the Church come together, sharing their energy and spirit to “continue the active ministry as members of the Body of Christ.” The location has not yet been decided, although somewhere in Province 3 is a definite possibility. Applications are now being accepted to be a Mission Planning Team Member, as part of the lead up to EYE 2014.

What is a Mission Planner? 
EYE is a global event, and it takes a lot of hard work to present. The Episcopal Church is asking for volunteers to help plan and run the event. Students currently in grades 9-11 are welcome to apply, as well as leaders over 25 years of age. All are expected to take their faith seriously, and desire to help the Church’s greater good. Working EYE is great experience for young people, and it will be an unforgettable time!

Do I Qualify?
Volunteering as a Mission Planner is a certainly a big commitment, and not one to be made lightly. Students will be expected to have interest, passion, and skills in all forms of service. They should be confident, hard-working leaders who can work alone or in groups, stay on task, and find motivation within, all while being supported by family and community members. You will miss school, and most likely other events like sports, social events, etc. Consider your level of commitment before applying.

When Will I Start?
EYE 2014 is slated to take place in July 2014. However, the Mission Planning Team will be expected to commit to the following dates:

April 11-14, 2013

October 10-13, 2013

February 20-23, 2014

April 24-27, 2014

EYE 2014 (either July 7-13, 14-20, or 21-27)

All travel expenses will be covered, plus food and lodging.

If you are interested click HERE for more information and how to apply:

 

Advent Resources, Pt.3 December 17, 2012

Greetings Youth Leaders!

It seems like this month has flown by in a flash, can you believe we’re only 8 days away from Christmas? As most of you finish up your last week in the office before the holiday we wanted to offer you and your youth one more batch of resources to help enrich your advent season. Check them out and tell us what you think!

-Our very own Emily Cherry here at Diocese of Virginia has posted a collection of Advent Resources on our home page. Check them out here.

-Episcopal Relief & Development  have put together a beautiful Advent calendar that’s available to print off as a PDF. They also have linked here a place to give charitable gifts to a variety of causes via online contributions.

-For those of you who love Pinterest (don’t  we all?), The Society of Saint John the Evangelist have put together another Advent calendar with daily meditations, a special Advent word, or some beautiful Advent related images. Click here to check it out.

-Are you hosting a “white elephant” gift exchange this year? Those are really fun, but if you’re looking for a cool twist on and old classic click here to see a great way to have a “Secret Sandy” event to help with the Hurricane Sandy relief effort.

New Job Listings! December 12, 2012

Greetings Youth Leaders!

We have just received several new listings for positions with The Episcopal Church Center, The Diocese of Washington, and with Episcopal Community Services in New Orleans, LA. To check them out click on the JOB LISTINGS tab on the top right of our blog in the light blue section. Please feel free to pass them on to anyone you think might make a great fit. We’ll be updating the page from time to time with new listings so be sure to check back periodically. Thanks for all of your support!