CINCINNATI, OH: The primary focus of a recent presentation to Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk and Archdiocesan Pastoral Council members was The National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). The study found that Catholic youth, even those who attend church, are often inarticulate about their beliefs. Diocesan Director Sean Reynolds noted several factors suggested by the NSYR that affect young people’s understanding and practice of their faith, including Catholic upward mobility and mainstream inculturation that have undermined the vitality of the church, a lack of institutional commitment at the parish and diocesan levels in the religious formation of young people and the relative religious laxity of their parents. More here.

METHUEN, MA: St. Monica Parish kicked off its annual Life Teen program throwing a concert and serving up plenty of free Chinese food. A similar concert was shut down last year because organizers didn’t have the proper permits and area residents complained about the noise. More than 300 kids and some parents showed up for the event. More here.

SYLMAR, CA: Walking into the chapel, a line of boys in dark grey slacks and light grey shirts dip their fingers into a bowl of water and make the sign of the cross. As they sit on wooden pews, a volunteer passes out paper and pencils. The youth are invited to write down the names of the people they’ve hurt and to pray for them. “That’s where the healing begins,” says volunteer Mike Bowler. Today is a special Sunday morning at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar. About 160 youth — mostly boys and some girls ages 11 to 17 — and more than 20 volunteers are celebrating the naming of their faith community as Jesus the Risen Prisoner Catholic Community. More here.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL: Notre Dame’s University’s Echo program is a master’s in theology program that combines service, apprenticeship and spiritual formation with class-based instruction. It allows participants to develop religious education leadership and skills through mentoring and work experiences. Echo also boosts a parish’s religious education program by providing additional, enthusiastic manpower. “Right now, I’m doing a wide variety of things, just to learn the basic life of the parish and to learn what is going on in all the different ministries,” said Ellen Voegele, a Cincinnati native who received her bachelor’s from Marian College in Indianapolis.  If early assignments are an indication, it appears one key area of need – at least when it comes to a youthful voice – is in middle school youth ministry.  More here.

CANBERRA & GOULBURN, AUS: Daniela Kesina and the Catholic Youth Ministry team is looking for “passionate, energetic and enthusiastic” young people.  The CYM team uses techniques including drama, sharing, interactive activities, games and music to help high school students to look at themselves and the impact they can have on the world around them, and to explore what it means to be a young Catholic today. More here.

Yesterday: Slept in, walked to church, grocery shopping, watched a few episodes of Mythbusters, lost a game of Risk, went to a bookstore, dropped a kid at the airport, watched a little football, napped, ate a nice dinner, in bed by 9pm.

Today: drop another kid off at the airport, gym, banking, cleaning and dusting, nap, pick-up take-out, Monday Night Football is the 2-0 AFC North leading Ravens at the Steelers.

What does any of this have to do with Catholic youth ministry???  Exactly, thanks for making my point.  It’s important to take intentional time off, folks

We wrapped up the youth contact meetings yesterday.  Our theme this year was an in-service on collaborating with families, especially partnering with parents.   At the end of the day, we asked our folks to identify a sound-bite that they would desire that the parents of their parishes might be able to say about their family’s relationship with the parish’s youth ministry.

In concluding, I lifted my own sound-bite from Jack Nicholson in the movie As Good As It Gets.  How phenomenally transformational would it be if a parent could look to their parish and say. . .

You make me want to be a better parent.

Meanwhile, my own incredible family took a few moments for their own close-up yesterday.

Wall Street and Main Street are a little financially stressed right now, and it is hard to tell how much of it is real and how much it is perceived.   A few years back, we were losing diocesan office of youth ministry after diocesan office of youth ministry – -  all in a period that was tied into financial world slow-down combined with child abuse pay-outs (which were impacting the collection basket.)

As I sat listening to Obama-McCain last night, I wondered…. Will gas prices affect your annual ski trip or even the parent making the investment to drive a kid out on a Wednesday night?  Will concerns about foreclosures impact NCCYM or Stubenville conference attendance in the next year?  What role does the church play in times that are "anxious" for parents and young people.

I think that I will not watch the fluctuations  of the Dow Jones as much as I will be watching the unemployment rate and keeping my ears open about the fiscal state of my own employers…  But I will be aware that we are living in anxious times, and encourage you to do the same.

This past summer, I donned a Mr. Incredible costume during our High School Leadership Institute.  I’m not a costume / character type presenter, but this summer I was trying some new things… The presentation was about service and what truly constitutes “heroic.”

Fast forward to our second youth contact meeting tomorrow.  We have a presentation about how parents are the super-hero who is still learning how to use their “super-powers.” We distribute an article from Rick Lawrence of Group Publishing who suggests that, as youth ministers, we are to be not unlike Robin to the parent who is like Batman.

Which super-hero did our staff determine could train while in tights???

Clearly, in posting this picture up, I must have missed the point of yesterday’s posting regarding protecting your own reputation.

To disregard what the world thinks of us is not only arrogant, but utterly shameless.

I recently was involved in an intervention regarding on-line reputations. (and that’s about all that I am gonna say about that.)  Both in the real world as well as in the virtual world, we must be cognizant of how others perceive us. 

Do we, who serve in Catholic youth ministry, take care to present ourselves as disciples of Jesus and avoid presenting images of ourselves that might prove to be distracting from the Word or scandalous to others?

In the virtual world, it is easy to “put on” some sort of persona. . .  but it is this very same persona that might be your “first impression” to a future employer doing an on-line reference check on you.  (When’s the last time you “googled” yourself?)

Our office is preparing Technology Procedural Recommendation regarding both this as well as child protection policy to ensure a safe place for young people both in this world as well as in the wired-up world. 

The text that accompanies this slideshare presentation about on-line reputations can be found here.  What it says in true about reputations off-line as well:

The bottom line to this whole presentation is that on the web, you’ll be seen for who you are and for what is said about you.  If you’re not part of that conversation, you’re not in control of your reputation, and that’s a dangerous thing.

A stage manager I worked with once in my theatre days was asked by a director why he was always so calm, when other stage manager spent so much time dealing with crises.  He replied “being able to put out fires is important, but I prefer to keep the candles away from the drapes.”

Take control of your online reputation, and figure out how to keep the candles away from the drapes.  It’s way easier than putting out fires.

This morning, Griff over at More Than Dodgeball identified three ways that youth ministry can support the church. He reminded us that “Youth ministry is not an island unto itself. It is not a separate ministry of the church, doing its own thing. It is a part of a greater whole, and when we think of ourselves as a part of what God is doing throughout the congregation we will only serve the church better.”   His three ways?

1) Clean up after yourself
2) Plan an event that supports the Church
3) Model flexibility

Read the whole post here.  I would add those involved in youth ministry should consciously prayer for their pastor and denominational leadership (read as bishops and the Pope.)  Anybody out there have a fifth idea or a sixth way to support the church?

A greeting to the season of cool mornings, football, and starting anew while the past season slowly departs (as lifted from Katie Couric’s staff deacon.)

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry’s cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I’ll put a trinket on.

– Emily Dickinson

According to a study conducted by the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, students who attend church tend to have a .144 higher grade-point average than students who do not attend services.

Joe Graves, superintendent of the Mitchell School District and a Roman Catholic deacon, said the study makes sense. While Graves said church attendance isn’t a “litmus test” for how a child will do in school, he does see the connection between church attendance and academic performance. “I think when you have that sense of faith, you have a sense that you are here for a purpose. You are here, in some sense, for serving,” Graves said. “In order to maximize what God’s given you, you’ve got to pursue things in your life that will make you better prepared to do so.”

Maybe this should go into your next youth ministry newsletter to parents. Read the whole article here.

Prayer for today and all days:

Jesus, Divine Teacher, lead and inspire me as I journey with those I teach. When I share the Word of God, may it always inspire us to be committed to the life and mission of the Church.  Amen.

May God bless all those who bring the Word of God to others, especially the youngchurch.