RESOURCE - NFCYM Prayer Corner

Greetings from the Youth and Young Adult Ministers Retreat on Hood Canal at St. Andrew's House. Given the opportunity for prayer we have had on retreat here, I wanted to share a good resource for prayer that NFCYM has in case you haven't found it yet. Blessings!

RESOURCE - Youth Development - Assets

Ever wonder what youth ministry and construction have in common?

What we do in comprehensive youth ministry provides not only an understanding of our Catholic faith and Christian call to discipleship but also promotes healthy youth development.

From the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM)...

"...Imagine a building under construction or renovation, especially one whose inner structure has been severely damaged. Often, the construction company will erect a scaffold around the building to support it and "hold it up" while the internal pieces are strengthened. Then, when it can stand on its own, the scaffold is removed, piece by piece, a little at a time. As the building develops more of its internal structure, the external scaffolding is slowly removed.

In many ways, adolescent development should take the same course. Each young person is developing an internal support structure—the other image here is "backbone" or "spine," as in describing a person of strong character as someone with "real backbone." But that construction cannot happen in a vacuum. He or she needs the support (scaffold) of family, school, church, and community for that development to take place..."

Many of you have probably heard of the Search Institute and their list of 40 assets. They have a number of good resources for those of us working in youth ministry, even as entire faith communities to help us understand youth development better and create more effective ways of supporting youth and their parents during this important time of adolescence.

REGION XII Meeting - Portland, OR

Frances, Bridget and I just returned late yesterday from the Region XII Youth and Young Adult Ministry Gathering in Portland, OR that took place May 5-7. All in all, it was a fruitful meeting that gave us an opportunity to conduct business related to the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), do some reflection on "Co-Workers in the Vineyard", talk about the goings on in our respective regions, share resources and approaches to ministry and hear from collaborating members Jeanine Boucher-Colbert (CRS) and Tom Tomaszek (OCP). Dioceses from our region that were represented were: Helena, Boise, Spokane, Baker, Portland and Seattle. We look forward to sharing with you the fruits of our experience in the months to come.

RESOURCE - My Catholic Voice

Are you seeking the inspiration or content that is present at the national gatherings of youth ministry but don't have the time or resource to make it happen? mycatholicvoice is a Catholic website that offers much more but I want to specifically point out in this entry that you can download presentations from NCCYM for your own benefit or for your core team of leadership. Just go to the main page and do a search for NCCYM+presentations. As with anything on the internet you should always check the source for authenticity and relationship to Catholic Church teaching. Given that the NCCYM presentations are from the event sponsored by the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry you can be sure they are grounded in our faith and will be a great tool for use in your ministry!

Catholic Climate Covenant:The St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor

From the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry:

The Catholic Coalition on Climate Change is about to launch a new and ambitious effort: Catholic Climate Covenant: The St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor. If you have not already received it, your pastor should be receiving soon a resource mailing on this material.

This resource encourages Catholic individuals, families, parishes, schools, and other Catholic organizations to take the St. Francis Pledge and includes:
· A welcoming letter from the honorary chairman of the campaign, Bishop William Skylstad, and ideas for implementing the program
· A poster with the primary message of the Campaign: Who's Under Your Carbon Footprint
· The Pledge and ways to fulfill the Pledge

You can go to this link to review this material:

http://www.nfcym.org/connected/ENG_covenant_flyer_sent_to_dioceses.pdf