Saturday June 30
DIE HARD
   Things are changing. Lay Ecclesial Ministry needs more John McClains. "For a church long perceived as bastion of male privilege, it’s striking that these new lay professional roles are held disproportionately by women." As of 2005, roughly 80 percent of lay ecclesial ministers in the United States were women. Read more here.
LIVE FREE
   We (as in the need-to-be-named MEGHAN and I) went to the famous Senator Theatre yesterday to watch Die Hard or Live Free. This is part of a movie franchise that is three years older that the need-to-be-named MEGHAN! Movie was the best of the week, so far! Summer Movie Count: 7 [culture]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
   (In honor of the first half year of Inside the Actor’s Studio – - who’da thunk it would have lasted this long?? – -  we are re-running the Quotes to Note)  From Dobie Moser: So it is in their friendships, their family, and their work, in their studies, and in their sports- – It is a day-to-day discipleship and the church is a place where they should discover it, embrace it, learn more about it and develop the skills an tools to live it.   [studio]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
   From Bob Perron Young people today obviously want some relationship with (God.)  I don’t know if they can put their finger on what that looks like and they aren’t looking for the religious answer. Thy want something that touches their hearts, something that makes them know that (God) is present.    [studio]

Friday June 29
DRIVING LESSON
   Life feeing a little mundane?  Not enough adventure for you?  Always remember, then, to take a kid out for a driving lesson! That’ll get your heart pumping!!!  This the same daughter who reports that she only scans this site to see if her name – -  MEGHAN – - is mentioned! Between this and the driving lesson, MEGHAN should be doubly happy. (Click on pictures to enlarge)  [family & friends]
OPRAH IS QUEEN
   From Ocean’s Thirteen today we (as in MEGHAN & I) learned today that even men’s men like George Clooney and Brad Pitt are incapable of resisting the charms of Oprah.  Good flick. Another reasonable sequel. Summer Movie Count: 6 [culture]
SPIRIT: I’VE GOT NOTHING
   Today, I’ve got nothing to write about.  "Writer’s Block", blogging fatigue, author anxiety, call it whatever – fact is … I’ve got nothing. The full article and others are available in the bi-weekly newsletter to which you can subscribe from this page.  [blogging]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
   From Leroy Orie: So often, many youth (and adults too) are so paralyzed with the fear of failing that they end up doing nothing.  They only stay with the safe things which may only be one or two things, unfortunately, so their world is very myopic.  [studio]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
  From Sr. Jude Ruggeri: Programs are not necessarily ministry.  (They) are important, it’s an aspect of ministry, but (programs) are not ministry. Right now, I find that many of our youth ministers, because of lack of time and lack of personal resources are very much into programs.  And not necessarily ministry.  It doesn’t make a difference what the program is; it’s easy, it’s all set up for them.  They run to it, they can follow it like a cookbook recipe, bit the more important thing is (the) forming of relationships with young people.  [studio]

Thursday June 28
WEB 2.0 AND THE NEXT GENERATION OF YOUTH WORKERS
  Younger employees — like that new batch of college grads hitting the market right now — are going to be pushing employers to use Web 2.0 technologies on the job. And if their companies don’t start adopting them, younger workers will most likely just start using them on the sly. Make the youth ministry connections and read more here.  [culture]
SPEAKING OF WHICH
  Ladies and Gentle-persons:  The Steubenville Hand-Motions You-Tube Challenge (clearly a Web 2.0 deal) is officially on!  [youth ministry]
SHREK IS KING
Shrek the Third was enough to renew one’s hope regarding franchise movies and sequels.  Very enjoyable! Summer Movie Count: 5 [culture]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
  (In honor of the first half year of Inside the Actor’s Studio – - who’da thunk it would have lasted this long?? – -  we are re-running the Quotes to Note)  From Sarah Hart: When I really just stared doing this and was so trying to get my legs and to figure out how it how worked and what it meant to do all this, (Jesse Manibusan) taught me a great prayer . . .”Help me get out of the way Lord.” And that has been the prayer that I prayer every single time I do any event…  Get me out of the way, God.  Get me out of the way and let me truly be an empty vessel that you might work through me.   [studio]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
  From Mike Carotta: (Being a disciple involves. . .) a movement from beyond “believer.”  I think that the data tells us that kids already believe. The question is:  What’s the difference between a believer and a disciple that’s not exactly the same?  After a life of this work, I am so excited that the church and its documents are saying let’s make discipleship the primary focus because it matches up with the data that says to us (that) kids already believe but it is this belief that’s comfortable.   [studio]

Wednesday June 27

KRISTIN WITTE IS
"INSIDE THE YOUTH MINISTERS’ STUDIO"
<<Enter the studio here.>>  The wonderful thing about tiggers is tiggers are wonderful things! Their tops are made out of rubber; their bottoms are made out of springs! They’re bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy; Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun! But the most wonderful thing about tiggers is I’m the only one!
  Each guest inside the studio has been fantastic and unique and here comes another wonderfully distinctive voice, this time addressing pastoral care.  Everyone sit back and practice their listening skills, ok?    [studio]
MILLER KIDS HAVE BROKEN
"INSIDE THE YOUTH MINISTERS’ STUDIO"
All right, who left the studio door unlocked???  For the next three weeks, the kids will be making cameo appearance on the podcasts.  Today, the oldest, Nichole, offers introductions.  [studio]
FANTASTIC?
All right I have a tried and true method of judging movies… If it doesn’t keep me awake, it’s probably not so good.  The first Fantastic Four wasn’t great but I stayed awake. Last night, Meghan (youngest daughter) and I went to Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Fell asleep – - – twice!! Truly awful. Summer Movie Count: 4 [culture]

Tuesday June 26

CHALLENGES OF DISCIPLESHIP
Mike Todd recently blogged that "It’s time for us to become what we claim to be – The People of God. This is as opposed to what we seem to really be – The People Loosely Affiliated With Some Vague Notion of God."  This generated a response which included this quote from Wilber Rees: "I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please."  Here’s a hard question… How much Jesus are you willing to purchase?  Here’s an even harder question… How much Jesus am I willing to purchase?  [church]
DEATH. LIFE. ART. IMITATION. WRESTLING.
   Back in the day, I was a fan of wrestling- Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Andre the Giant… Recently, I’ve been tuning back in.  I In the last few days, there was a questionable story line involving the alleged "death" of Vince McMahon which I thought would eventually prove to be a rip-off of the Death of Superman comic-book series.  Today, it was announced that, in real life, WWE wrestler Chris Beniot, his wife, and their son were found dead in Atlanta. Reality is often much more than we could ever imagine.  [culture]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
  From Kim McMillan: These kids that we work with- they have the gift. And gifts come from God. (My job is) to help them uncover them. . . Maybe I name them. .  . I encourage them to share them. Give them a safe venue to use them. And help the parish to affirm them. And by that they are empower to lead others.   [studio]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
  From Bill Lage: At any type of event when we gather youth together, the goal is to have them bring something with them (home) from it. To have that pride of what they are and who they are. And to really spread the word.   [studio]

Monday June 25

HARDER, BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER
  It’s been a little while since we’ve shared some YouTube joy. Here’s a little inspiration for your day.  Stick with it- -  the first forty seconds don’t even hint as to how cool the rest of it is…  [culture]
SMARTER
  Just sending a little love to my three brothers – - all younger. A new study, published in the journal Science suggests that firstborns do indeed turn out sharper than their brothers and sisters, no matter how parents try to compensate. My three younger siblings should all read here. [family & friends]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
  From Mark Moitoza: In the military setting, we have the great opportunity to interact with many different mentors – adults who are living their faith as disciples of Jesus Christ.  They really have the opportunity to share those experiences with young people.  The many ways that we can empower young people is by helping them to see positive examples of mentors or leaders in our faith comminutes who really are excited about being Catholic and want to share those experiences with young people. [studio]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
  From Steve Angrisano: I think the biggest challenge facing youth ministers is a separation of our personal spirituality and our work. I did a youth ministers’ retreat recently and this became a big topic of conversation. (Many suggested that) there is no separation between my faith and my work. I have discovered in the last two years that is a very dangerous way to look at the world.. . . If I had to choose between being a child of God that sits here in my chair and experiences his love or being on the stage, I would have to choose being in the chair.  [studio]

Sunday June 24

PROFILE
A new study, TIME magazine this week takes a look at JFK’s presidency because "Now, in many ways, we are at a pivotal moment similar to the one in 1960 when Kennedy was elected. . . We reassess the Kennedy presidency not only from the perspective of the 1960s but from today’s as well. Indeed, the premise of this series is to view history through contemporary eyes and to mine it for ideas and examples that can shed light on our world today."  Take a look at the Kennedy impact on power, race, faith, and elegance all here. [culture]
COURAGE
Last night, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra generously played the soundtrack underneath a showing of the Wizard of Oz. Courage! What makes a King out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk, in the misty mist or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot?
  What have they got that I ain’t got? Courage! Summer Movie Count: 3 [culture]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
  From Terri Telepak: I think a big part of Goal One of Renewing the Vision (which is “to empower young people to live as disciples) is a social justice or service outreach where we become Christ for others.  You actually put on the towel and wash the feet of your friends. We do that by performing the corporal works of mercy by feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. . . The goal is equipping our young people to be able to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. [studio]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
   From Bob Rice: You just never know what happens. As I was there, every Sunday,  talking to those junior-high kids, trying to get them to pay attention- -  walking away every Sunday thinking nobody listened to a word a said (that) this was the biggest disaster of a ministry I can have… That ministry, in his words, saved his family and changed the entire direction of his family. That’s what is what is so exciting about ministry to me.  You go in with a plan and God does something else. (It’s about) faithfulness and not success. [studio]

Saturday June 23

CARDINAL KEELER

   The Boss is recovering from brain surgery that occurred earlier this week.  There is a good video interview retrospective of his service to the church. It is two years old and can be found here from Canada’s Salt and Light TV. He tells the story of World Youth Day and how it has led into the annual Archdiocesan Pilgrimage for Youth and Young Adults. [church]
COMMENCEMENT

   Condoleezza Rice at Boston College: The first responsibility is one that you have to yourself, the responsibility to find and follow your passion. I don’t mean just any old thing that interests you, not just something that you could or might do, but that one unique calling that you can’t do without. As an educated person, you have the opportunity to spend your life doing what you love and you should never forget that many do not enjoy such a rare privilege. As you work to find your passion, you should know that sometimes, your passion just finds you.  [culture]
QUOTABLE QUOTE:
RESPONSIBILITY IS NOT TO YOUNG PEOPLE
  (In honor of the first half year of Inside the Actor’s Studio – - who’da thunk it would have lasted this long?? – -  we are re-running the Quotes to Note) From Gene Monterastelli: Inside the Youth Ministers’ Studio: The last time that you were out and saw a great adult to a good job of coordinating (youth) ministry services, it looked like…?
Gene: It looked like someone managing a whole bunch of adults. Their responsibility, on some level, wasn’t to the young people, at all. They were definitely the public face and they were the ones that did the greeting at the door, but most of their work was coordinating with the adults to make sure everything that was happening was happening well. It was the (other) adults job to interact individually with the young people. It was other high school students’ job to interact with the students coming through the door.  [studio]
QUOTABLE QUOTE: SPARKLY AND LUMINOUS
  From Anne Marie Cribben: Anne Marie described that her job description includes being sparkly and luminous. "I wear glitter daily," she suggested.  "I think the sparkly and luminous is part of just the joy that comes with youth ministry. I think that it is a definite job requirement… that there is a love and passion for (our ministry) and it comes out in the joy that we have for the work.  [studio]

Friday June 22

GOODBYE SPRING

   Yesterday was the first day of summer – the longest day of the year– and it felt it.  I crashed hard for the weekend! [blogging]
COMMENCEMENT

   Tony Snow at Catholic University: Faith is as natural as the air we breathe. Religion is not an opiate, just the opposite. It is the introduction to the ultimate extreme sport. There is nothing that you can imagine that God cannot trump. As Paul said “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And once you realize that there is something greater than you out there, then you have to decide, “Do I acknowledge it and do I act upon it?” You have to at some point surrender yourself. And there is nothing worthwhile in your life that will not at some point require an act of submission.  [church]
QUOTABLE QUOTE: MY HOLY DOORS
   From Mark Pacione: Young people are my “holy door” always.  They are the door to what is holy. They are the door to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They are the door to my faith. [studio]
QUOTABLE QUOTE: PASSIONATE ABOUT JESUS
   From Mike St. Pierre: (re: Catholic Identity) A lot of communities struggle with how do we use this institution, whether it is a hospital or a high school, to pass along our heritage, but the more proximate question for me is how do I help that teacher who is passionate about lacrosse; how do I help them be more passionate about Jesus?  [studio]

Thursday June 21

MASTERPIECE
I’m teaching the last class of our six-session Seminar in Youth Ministry this afternoon.  It is a class that I take great pleasure in offering as I am rather proud of it and how it developed.  If I had to only do one presentation for the rest of my life, this would probably be the one I choose. [work day]
EVAN ALMIGHTY
Finally, after having the benefit of a preview screening of Evan Almighty, here is a discussion guide for your own local use. Movie opens tomorrow,  June 22nd.  [culture]
COMMANDMENTS FOR DRIVERS
Mark Butler from Columbus writes: You may have heard the recent news reports about the Vatican’s new "10 Commandments for Drivers."  The actual 36-page document is entitled, "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road" and it contains information on the moral aspects of driving as well as exploring the images of the "road" in Sacred Scripture.
  Although the media has focused on the guidelines for drivers, the document also expresses the Church’s commitment to social justice for others found on the "street", including prostitutes, runaways, and the homeless.
   The document is an excellent resource to use with teens that are either preparing for their driver’s license or are new drivers.  It also compliments existing catechetical programs on Catholic Social Teaching.
    Mark has posted the document here.  [youth ministry]
COMMENCEMENT
Alice Walker at Naropa University: When it is all too much, when the news is so bad meditation itself feels useless, and a single life feels too small a stone to offer on the altar of peace, find a human sunrise. Find those people who are committed to changing our scary reality. Human sunrises are happening all over the earth, at every moment. People gathering, people working to change the intolerable, people coming in their robes and sandals or in their rags and bare feet, and they are singing, or not, and they are chanting, or not. But they are working to bring peace, light, compassion to the infinitely frightening downhill slide of human life. [culture]
QUOTABLE QUOTE: ALLELUIA
  (From Sr. Eileen McCann:  (Discipleship is about transmitting) the message that we are both Good Friday and resurrection people. Sometimes when we use that word, discipleship, we get sucked into that Good Friday image – the notion that we need to suffer, that we need to do the hard stuff which is certainly a part of it  – but there is also a joy that come with that. . . . But, the big thing to teach young people is that Good Friday and Easter Sunday are one event and without Good Friday, there would be no Easter Sunday. And without Easter Sunday, Good Friday does not make any sense. . . There is Alleluia that goes along with (our faith.) [studio]
QUOTABLE QUOTE: GOAL OF MINISTRY
   From Mark Oestreicher: This is an area where a lot of youth workers and churches, in general, go wrong in terms of discipleship and that’s they just treat it (discipleship) as a program or a component of their youth ministry rather than the goal of the ministry. The command of Christ is that we go into the world and create disciples. And that’s what the whole point of youth ministry is about.  . . . Discipleship is what we should be all about. [studio]

Wednesday June 20

CLAYTON IMOO IS
"INSIDE THE YOUTH MINISTERS’ STUDIO"
<<Enter the studio here.>>  This just goes to show you the breadth of the Catholic youth ministry field.  We’ve had youth ministry leaders from the parish, diocese, and nation. We’ve had singers, comedians, dj’s, jugglers, and authors. And now he have. . .  an ice hockey fan! (We’re trying this whole ecumenical thing! It’s a little uncomfortable.)  Give a welcome to Vancouver’s own, Clay Imoo, and cross over whatever the borders that separate us and understand that, as always, we have more in common than not!   [studio]
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
  In times of uncertainty, leave it to our Brother Blue to remind me that I just might be able to get by…  Thanks, Gene! [funny stuff]
SOCIAL NETWORKING
  All right, so I am a blog writer… which seemingly only one-eighth of my generation is involved in. How are you doing with this social networking stuff compared to your generation, dear blog reader? Check out the chart here. [blogging]
COMMENCEMENT
Tavis Smiley at Rutgers University: The tragedy of life does not lie, young folk, in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It is not a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not a disaster to not be able to capture your ideals, but it is a disaster to have no ideals to capture. It is not a disgrace to not be able to reach all the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for.  [culture]

Tuesday June 19

THE DEAD FUEL PUMP
   Seemingly, there are a few events that can block you from going into the office.  Oh, well, Monday was a good day to work from home, anyway!  [work day]
THE TIME HAS COME
   Rev. Pope Benedict XVI addresses young people in Assisi: My dear youth, your presence here today in great numbers is a sign of how much the figure of Francis speaks to your heart. I willingly give you once again, his message, but above all his life and his testament. The time has come for young people, like Francis, to commit themselves and learn how to enter into a personal relationship with Christ. The time has come for us to look upon the history of this third millennium which has just begun a history that needs more than ever to be lifted by the Good News of the Gospel. Read it all here. [pope]
COMMENCEMENT
Rev. Peter J. Gomes (Professor, Harvard University) at Augustana College: Around this time of year I have an annoying habit of asking people, like you seniors, “Do you have a job?” You resist answering that question, but I repeat it, “Your mother and I want to know, do you have a job?” By job we don’t mean simply something that gives you a salary; I think we really mean: “Do you have a purpose? Do you have a calling? Do you have a vocation?”
   I want to suggest to you that whether or not you have a job, everyone has a vocation, and that vocation is to live a life that is worth living. The best advice I can give is that which St. Paul gives us in Romans 12, where he says to the likes of you, who all look alike from here, “Be not conformed to this world.” Do not join the throng. Don’t get lost in the crowd. Don’t be a part of the cookie-manufactured college generation, but stake out for yourselves some extraordinary, maybe even eccentric, piece and place of the world, and make it your own. [church]
QUOTABLE QUOTE: CAN’T FIGHT THAT
   From Becki Kamen: I think that just found that God has given me the gifts that I need to serve in this role, in this ministry.  It’s something I feel that I do well and that I able to make a difference in the lives of our young people and their families. I can’t fight that. If that’s what God has given the gifts for, then I need to keep on doing it.  [studio]
QUOTABLE QUOTE: ONE SOLID VISION
  From Michael Hart: What we learned about the Vision of Youth Ministry: "We don’t have one solid vision for ministry with young people.  But, for the last two decades, we’ve look to the United States and particularly that statement as out guiding principles. The (Australian) bishops have offered different pastorals and a number of statement along the way but not as significant as a Vision of Youth Ministry and Renewing the Vision. [studio]

Monday June 18

THE CHURCH IS GROWING

   Confirmation is: To have our young people step forward to say ‘Amen’ accepting that gift, the Church is being strengthened. If they truly live from it, the Church is growing. New disciples are being created and deepened in their commitment to the Lord.  Read more here. [confirmation]
COMMENCEMENT
   Archbishop Timothy Dolan at Franciscan University in Steubenville: Can you all remember a little over two years ago, when Pope Benedict XVI began his service as the successor of St. Peter? Do you remember? The world waited to hear what this towering intellect, this brilliant scholar, this first-rate cerebral theologian would say at his opening Mass. All the commentators had their reference books, the Denzinger, and the theological dictionaries because they didn’t know what highfaluting words were going to come from his mouth. And from this professor, now the Vicar of Christ on earth, came a statement so basic that it left the commentators scratching their heads. So simple that it is downright profound. What he said was, "The most important thing in life is friendship with Jesus."  [church]
QUOTABLE QUOTE: SITTING IN AWE
  From Mike Patin: It helped me see- this is what youth ministry is about. They talked about their personal relationship with God. They talked about their dreams and how they would approach careers and still be people of faith and I sat there in awe. . . [studio]
QUOTABLE QUOTE: I’VE BEEN BLESSED
From Anna Scally: I feel its my responsibility with the life I have been given. . . I’ve been blessed with people in my life who loved me and believed in me, and I know that I would have called that (experience) ministry.  [studio]

Sunday June 17
COMMENCEMENT
Tom Brokaw at Skidmore College: You’ve been told during your high school years and your college years that you are now about to enter the real world, and you’ve been wondering what it’s like. Let me tell you that the real world is not college. The real world is not high school. The real world, it turns out, is much more like junior high. You are going to encounter, for the rest of your life, the same petty jealousies, the same irrational juvenile behavior, the same uncertainty that you encountered during your adolescent years. That is your burden. We all share it with you. We wish you well. [culture]
QUOTABLE QUOTE: CALLING THEM FORTH
  (In honor of the first half year of Inside the Youth Ministers’ Studio  – - who’da thunk it would have lasted this long?? – -  we are re-running the Quotes to Note) From Irene Friend: (To empower young people to lives as disciples) means calling them forth, challenging them, encouraging them and walking with them to live the values that Jesus modeled for us in every day life, at school, at work, with our families and our friends – - – To be a person of compassion and empathy, of loving care and concern, in service to those in need and a champion of worthy causes and centered in prayer and worship. [studio]
QUOTABLE QUOTE: THE SUBVERSIVE WAY
From Bob McCarty: (Catholic youth ministry has truly been a blessing to my own spirituality and to my own faith journey. I just have loved this ministry and it has been a wonderful opportunity for me to combine my gifts with my passion. . . (but also) Catholic youth ministry is a wonderfully subversive way to change the church.  [studio]

Thursday June 14
CLOSED
On a staff overnight tonight, separated from the world and the internet. Then, I hope to make some time for writing not for the WorldWideWeb. Site is closed for the long weekend… will post again on Sunday! [blogging]
DISCIPLESHIP, DISCIPLESHIP, DISCIPLESHIP
  The Pope opened a diocesan conference in Rome on religious education: "We must launch a special call to be disciples of Jesus," he concluded, "to those young people who appear particularly attracted and fascinated by friendship with Him. . . Educating in the faith, in discipleship and in witness means helping our fellow man, or rather it means helping one another, to enter into a living relationship with Christ and with the Father. . . It is important therefore that the will and desire to be participants in the missionary vocation of the Church, in all situations and circumstances of life, takes root in believers’ hearts. Indeed, we cannot keep the joy of the faith to ourselves, we must spread and transmit it. … It is here, to a large degree, that we find the new evangelization to which the beloved John Paul II called us. Read more here, [pope]
TIME TO GET SERIOUS
Saying it is time to get serious about reaching young people, the Archdiocese of Miami and St. Thomas University have teamed up to create an educational program that will train and certify Catholics as youth ministers. “We can no longer afford to have people doing this just out of good will and good intentions,” said Sr. Ondina Cortés, director of youth and young adult ministry for the archdiocese. “They need to be properly trained. They need to learn to do it in an effective and safe manner.” Read more here.   [youth ministry]
QUOTABLE QUOTES ALL QUEUED UP
  Starting Sunday, two-by-two, the site will be celebrating the first half-year of work on Inside the Youth Ministers’ Studio and bring forth  the Quotes to Note from the studio’s various visitors. So, here comes some summer reruns!  But, if you have not visited the studio, summer might be a good time for a download and a listen!  [studio]

Wednesday June 13

DOBIE MOSER IS
"INSIDE THE YOUTH MINISTERS’ STUDIO"
<<Enter the studio here.>>  Dobie Moser stops in the studio and discusses our role as animator of gifts.  If we, as Church, are able to this, those who are involved in Church would then fully claim it as their own.  What a revolution that would be!!! Give Dobie a listen.  [studio]
CHURCH BLOGGING 103
Four Catholic blogs/websites that I read daily for news updates include Rocco’s Whispers in the Loggia, Dave’s Catholic Report, Amy’s Open Book, and Catholic News Service’s home page and news hub.  [blogging]

Tuesday June 12

CHURCH BLOGGING 102
Is blogging a spiritual discipline? Andrew Jones suggests it is because to blog is to find oneself in a place of praise, accountability, vulnerability, integrity, service towards posterity. Read more here. [blogging]
THE EAGLE AND CROSS AWARD RECEPTION
A reminder: On almost all of the pictures, if you click ‘em, you will get the fuller, larger picture.  Do that with the pic on the right.  Isn’t that a gorgeous award? It what our office designed when the NFCYM switched over to the their recognition pins. (What ever happened the the St. Timothy glass acrylics?) Anyway, yesterday was an occasion for Cardinal Keeler, Bishop Malooly, youth ministers, parents, and friends to celebrate some wonderful young people.  [work day]

Monday June 11
CHURCH BLOGGING 101
   Kurt Johnston is the junior high pastor at the legendary Saddleback Church. He has send a memo to his staff and volunteers regarding blogging.  The outline notes are:
> Use wisdom in what you post.
> Use wisdom when linking to other people’s blogs.
> What you post is permanent.
> Remember, you are a minister of the Church and a representative of Christ.
Read the whole thing here.  (Thanks, Ian, for the info and links!)   [blogging]
MANHATTAN
Is an old Woody Allen movie with a beautiful soundtrack animating a great vision of the city and the clever dialogue of complicated characters.  Example- – - Yale: You are so self-righteous, you know. I mean we’re just people. We’re just human beings, you know? You think you’re God. Isaac Davis: I… I gotta model myself after someone. Watched it at the American City Diner.  Summer Movie Count: 2 [culture]

Sunday June 10
COMES TO MEET AND REASSURE US
   The Holy Father reflects on Corpus Christi: For every Christian generation, the Eucharist is the indispensable nourishment that sustains them as they cross the desert of this world. The world is made arid by ideological and economic systems that do not promote life, but rather mortify it. Ours is a world where the logic of power and possessing dominates more than that of service and love; a world where often the culture of violence and death triumphs. But Jesus comes to meet us and reassure us: He himself is the bread of life. Read more here. [pope]

Saturday June 9
"IT’S NOT RIGHT!"
The world is just so damn odd somedays.  It is wonderful that we have YouTube to document religious moments such as this guerilla paparazzi encounter with Richard Simmons as few days ago when Ms. Paris was first going to jail. At the end of the day, perhaps we should all be praying for Paris Hilton!   [funny stuff]

Friday June 8

RISK FACTORS
    Suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescents,” according to background information in the article. “In 2003, 6.5 per 100,000 U.S. teenagers aged 14 to 19 years committed suicide.” In 2005, more than 8 percent of high school students reported one or more suicide attempts in the previous year. Childhood sexual assault has been linked with depression, alcohol use and violence, making it a likely risk factor for a suicide attempt. “Dating violence has also been shown to be associated with depressive symptoms and multiple health-compromising behaviors,” the authors write.  Read more here. [youth ministry]
SPIRIT: EXTRA-ORDINARY TIME
   Pentecost, Memorial Day, the first of June, the end of the school year. each can serve as a day of beginning, a opportunity for resolution, a moment of commencement for renewed and changed life. The full article and others are available in the bi-weekly newsletter to which you can subscribe from this page.  [blogging]

Thursday June 7

THE TONE IS TURNING III
Tony Campolo is a hero of mine.  The fact is that there are two thousand verses of Scripture that talk about caring for the poor.  I don’t care whatever else you into if you ignore what the bible is really about – helping poor and oppressed people – you missed the message of Jesus.  The only description that Jesus gives of Judgment Day is how we treated the poor. It’s Matthew 25, I was hungry, did you feed me??  There is no Christianity that does not tie us up with the poor and oppressed of the world. [church]

Wednesday June 6

BOB PERRON IS
"INSIDE THE YOUTH MINISTERS’ STUDIO"
<<Enter the studio here.>>  At one point, I used to have a recommendation up on Bob’s web-site.  It went something to the effect of "There are many diocesan directors of youth ministry that think that they are comedians.  Here, however, is a comedian who thinks that he a diocesan director."  Bob is so much more… father, camp director, retreat leader, inspiration, and man of faith.  Give a listen as all these versions of Bob pay a visit in the studio.  [studio]
THE TONE IS TURNING II
(As mentioned in today’s Catholic Report, thanks Dave!) Our Sunday’s Visitor editorializes about those who advocate for orthodoxy by not so much engaging culture as demanding its unconditional surrender, and they  (who) take greater satisfaction in elaborating on sin and its punishments than on the beauty of the Savior. They tend to be all Inferno and little Paradiso. From the beginning, however, my encounter with what I have called "dynamic orthodoxy" has been occasionally darkened by the shadow of doctrinaire Catholics who hold all the "right" positions and say all the "right" things, yet exhibit an angry, sour attitude that seems the opposite of Christian joy or an evangelizing spirit.  They are not unlike a "dry drunk" who is "still stuck in their anger, bitterness and resentment at having to make the change in their lives."  Read more here. [church]
GEN 6:14
Went to a preview screening of Evan Almighty last night.  It was a solidly funny and entertaining sequel in a summer of disappointing sequels. Will post up some resources soon. Movie opens June 22nd. Summer Movie Count: 1 [culture]

Tuesday June 5
KNOWERS / LEARNERS
In times of change, the learners will inherit the earth while the knowers will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that  know longer exists – Eric Hoffer    [church]
THE TONE IS TURNING
Read the following and attempt to figure out who, what and where this was said. . .
  There are some in the Church today who do not look forward in hope with the eyes of faith but tend to be preoccupied with looking back in some kind of nostalgia for a Church they never experienced prior to the Second Vatican Council. I encourage you to study the history of the Church as a living and developing tradition and not to look back as Lot’s wife did or you might end up being a pillar of salt rather then the “salt of the earth.”
   Those looking back want to give to the Church new forms of triumphalism, juridicism, and clericalism.
   The triumphalist wants to exercise authority through aggressive condemnation and excommunication and believes that the Church not only has the truth but also all the answers to every modern dilemma. Christ is indeed the Truth but we must seek out with humility and in light of the Gospel how to respond to the many and varied demands of living in today’s world. We are a servant Church which proclaims the truth in love. We do not impose the gospel on the world. We seek to persuade by grace.
   The juridicist searches out laws new or old to justify personal positions or ideologies in the Church. Especially they like to focus on liturgical practices. They incline to creating unnecessary hoops for people to jump through. The Church, of course, needs law to insure good order. But the purpose of all laws in the Church is the same as for all the works of the Church: “propter homines and propter nostram salutem” – for us, for our good and for our salvation.
   The clericalist exaggerates the authority of the priest creating a new authoritarianism. The clericalist operates as if the priest is entitled to special status and privilege in the Church and in society. He gives little merit to collaboration with the laity. The ordained priest, however, represents Christ the Head and Good Shepherd of the Church. As Head of the Church Jesus came not to be served but to serve. As Good Shepherd he gave His life for the flock. The good priest patterns his life on Jesus the servant of God and remembers that the whole Church (Head and members) is the Body of Christ.
    We are here to serve the people and to do it with a touch of class….
Where was this said?  Cathedral of the Assumption in Stockton, California.  By Who? Bishop Stephen E. Blaire What was the occasion? Priestly Ordination. Really ??!?!  Read the whole homily here. [church]

Monday June 4

SCHMOOZING
We all have to walk into “rooms” that contain meetings, conferences, trade shows, business mixers, fundraisers, and parties and be able to schmooze, make connections, and walk out with our heads held up high. Here is a top ten list to the art of working a room. [youth ministry]
MISCONCEPTIONS
On the LifeTeen Youth Ministers blog, Darla Hickman has an article on the Top 12 Misconceptions about Life Teen. (Sorry that I could not find a more direct link on it.) It’s a honest effort to address some concerns. 
   What possible misconceptions might you have to respond in print about your ministry? Is this article a hindsight examination of where initial marketing (both corporately as well as the "word of mouth" individually) might have been improved? How can we improve our own marketing efforts to address questions that we might later have to answer?  Finally, did this list answer the internal perception of the misconceptions or did it respond to an external survey of the field?  Depending if you are an advocate of LifeTeen or not, does it read differently?    [youth ministry]
CONCEPTIONS
By the by, this web-site is a "BLOG from my corner of the Catholic Youth Ministry field."  It is an effort that necessitates a personal attentiveness to the internet related to church, youth ministry, and other related news.  But, it is also a web platform that attempts to serve the church and field in a Web 2.0 manner with training resources, articles, opinion, and story.  Please let me know if there are any misconceptions about this site.  Thanks.  [blogging]

Sunday June 3

MORAL DECISION MAKING – - YANKEES STYLE
Last week, A-Rod from the Yankees was involved in a small baseball dust-up.  Read more here. The only certainty is that the play further blurred the line between what is fair or foul in the unwritten code of baseball — and solidified Rodriguez’s reputation as a player willing to test boundaries. Players, coaches and baseball observers interviewed yesterday routinely struggled to articulate what was permissible and what was not, and why.  Why not do it? We all do everything to win games. [culture]

Saturday June 2

IN SOLITARY WITNESS
Rocco tells the story of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian martyr who refused the collaborate with the Nazis.  It is an inspiring story of a simple person’s choice for discipleship. Quote to note:  "I can say from my own experience how painful life often is when one lives as a halfway Christian; it is more like vegetating than living."  [church]

Friday June 1
SMOKE FREE
Howard County, Maryland, legally went smoke-free today. All places that had extensions must begin complying with the law today.  The state of Maryland follows suit as of February 1, 2007.  How’s that for a legislative breath of fresh air?? [culture]

Usually, the claim "I’ve got nothing" is a statement of distress. "I’ve got nothing to wear" is often an over-dramatization of scarcity of the scarcity in one’s closet. "I’ve got nothing to prove" could often be an over-estimation of one’s accomplishments. "I’ve got nothing to apologize for" might just be an under-evaluation of one’s own culpability in doing wrong.

Today, I’ve got nothing to write about.  "Writer’s Block", blogging fatigue, author anxiety, call it whatever – fact is … I’ve got nothing.

Just to let you know, I have taken some immediate steps.  First off, I have admitted that I do have a problem. The next step is reconnect back into your sources. Of course, that should include the source
material of your subject matter.  It should, however, also not fail to remember the source of the gifts and talents given to you by the Creator. 

Owning your own vulnerability is not necessarily a bad thing.  It just might offer hints of authenticity
to your own writing once you are able to hit the re-start button.

Even with an impending deadline, allow yourself patience.  Step away and start again. Re-vision your project from a different angle. Breathe. Dream. Pray. 

When inspiration and completion finally does arrive, follow-up with a concerted effort to restructure
your efforts for the future.  Refuel and commit yourself to not tapping your energy to the extent of running "out of gas" again.

Meanwhile, I’ve got nothing.  Whatever should I write about?

(taped 06/12/07 in Baltimore)

BIO: Kristin is the coordinator for Pastoral Care and justice and service in the Division of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese of Baltimore.  She is actively involved in many committees of the NFCYM, including the task group for the NCCYM and has been and will be a workshop presenter at NCYC.

QUOTE TO NOTE: Young people can’t be in healthy relationship with Christ and in healthy relationship with others and in healthy relationships with themselves unless they understand the basic tools of relationship. . .  We need to intentionally provide models of healthy adults so that they can light the way for healthy teens.

OBSCURE FACTOID: Kristin coordinated two social justice NCCYM pre-conferences (Denver and Pittsburgh.)

BEHIND THE SCENES: My kids have taken over the studio!!!  This session, oldest daughter Nichole introduces our guest!

BLOG REFLECTION: can be read here for June 27th.

(taped by phone 05/31/07)

BIO: Clay is the director of the Youth Ministry Office for the Archdiocese of Vancouver in a country known as Canada.  Clay’s office often shows up at US events and are ret partners in the North.  Clay’s office models us of technology (his office all blogs and they YouTube their promotions) all from www.youthmin.com as well as from his personal site www.claytonimoo.com.

QUOTE TO NOTE: I think that to live as a disciple, I believe, is to follow Jesus, and to believe in Him as our Lord and Savior.  I also use the term that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and that we need to challenge our young people to imitate Christ in their daily lives by what they say, how they act, how they think, and how they treat one another. We’ll never be Christ and we’ll never be perfect.

OBSCURE FACTOID: Clay once visited Washington, DC for the New Diocesan Directors’ Institute.  We were touring around the city.  I got a flat tire in not the best section of town.  Clay was impressed.

BEHIND THE SCENES: This is the second time I have used localized music as the back end bumper music.  Hope you stick through to the end.  Seemingly, if you are an international guest, you receive extra effort on music!

BLOG REFLECTION: can be read here for June 20st.

(taped by phone 05/31/07)

BIO: Greg “Dobie” Moser is executive director of the Youth and Young Adult Ministry and the CYO office in Cleveland, Ohio, and has been listed in Who’s Who Among American Teachers. He has previously served on the board of directors (and chair of the board) of the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry and has received a National Catholic Youth Ministry award from the same. Dobie presently serves as the executive director of the National Center for Catholic Youth Sports.  

QUOTE TO NOTE: (Our work is about helping young people to discover) their role, their gifts, their place in the world.  It is helping them experience that.  And, then, ideally, helping them to live that in all (their) different arenas, most of which are outside of church. So it is in their friendships, their family, and their work, in their studies, and in their sports- – It is a day-to-day discipleship and the church is a place where they should discover it, embrace it, learn more about it and develop the skills an tools to live it. 
OBSCURE FACTOID: Dobie was a tennis pro- as in a  coaching tennis pro

BEHIND THE SCENES: Dobie is a consistent reader and always has a ready suggestion of a good book. Post-interview, he recommended Living Your Strengths.

BLOG REFLECTION: can be read here for June 13th.

(taped by phone 05/01/07)

BIO: Bob, a.k.a. Stooge for Christ, serves as the diocesan director for the Diocese of Des Moines, IA as well as director for St. Thomas More Center for All Seasons and the Catholic Youth Camp.

QUOTE TO NOTE: Young people today obviously want some relationship with (God.)  I don’t know if they can put their finger on what that looks like and they aren’t looking for the religious answer. Thy want something that touches their hearts, something that makes them know that (God) is present.

OBSCURE FACTOID: I’ve always kept an eye on Bob and Des Moines.  I served on staff for a week at the CYC during the summer of 1982.

BEHIND THE SCENES: Bob was in Baltimore for our annual Pilgrimage at the end of March.  We should have taped face-to-face then.  As Bob was being attentive to the multitude of details of a new building going up at camp, we played some serious phone tag.

BLOG REFLECTION: can be read here for June 6th.

With Memorial Day, we have entered summer. Vacations, picnics, those last hazy days. . .

With last weekend’s celebration of Pentecost, our liturgical calendar has entered into Ordinary Time. The name corresponds to the Latin term Tempus per annum (literally "time through the year"). The term Ordinary does not mean common or plain, but is derived from the term ordinal or "numbered."

The Sundays and weeks of ordinary time are numbered. There are fourteen weeks of summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Pentecost, Memorial Day, the first of June, the end of the school year. each can serve as a day of beginning, a opportunity for resolution, a moment of commencement for renewed and changed life.

Together, let us make the next weeks and month extraordinary.  Seek meaning in your relationships and work, seek the presence of God in your every situation, find family and community as a source of strength and support, and strive to encourage the dignity and worth of others.