MINEAPOLIS, MN — Ian is a Christian who says he is highly spiritual but not at all religious. Unfortunately for churches, there are a lot of Ians out there. A new benchmark survey finds that 55 percent of young people ages 12 to 25 say they are more spiritual now than two years ago. But nearly one-third of the young people said they don’t trust organized religion. The good news for faith communities is that 93 percent of the young people surveyed believe there is a spiritual aspect to life. (more here and the full report, I think, here.)

LONACONING, MD –The last regularly scheduled Saturday evening Mass at St. Mary’s, Lonaconing, will be Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. The parish will become the Mountain Maryland Catholic Youth Center for the Seven Catholic Churches of Western Maryland. (more here.)

OECUSSE, TIMOR LESTRE — Young Catholics in Dili are helping to strengthen the faith of people living in Oecusse, a coastal enclave within Indonesian West Timor that is part of their diocese. Dili diocese’s youth ministry organized this outreach program to the most remote territory in the diocese.  The visitors stayed with the families, they mostly talked about the life and death of Jesus in the Gospels, and encouraged people to pray daily, attend Sunday Mass. They also highlighted the importance of confession. Father Angelo Salsinha, head of Dili diocese’s youth ministry, led the group indicating that the young evangelizers were trained in leadership and pastoral skills, such as relating Bible passages to life events. (more here.)

CAMDEN, NJ — The Diocese of Camden is working in conjunction with the Center for Ministry Development to provide leadership formation for coordinators of youth and young adult ministries. Course topics include: Principles of Youth Ministry, Practices of Youth Ministry, Foundations for Ministry Leadership, Skills for Christian Leadership, Fostering the Faith Growth of Youth through Evangelization and Catechesis, Justice and Service, Prayer and Worship, and Pastoral Care. Currently, more than 1,000 adults are involved in sites sponsored by 50 dioceses and universities across the United States and Canada. (more here.)

SIOUX CITY, IA — It was through a trickle effect that Natalie Scott heard about NET Ministries. Someone told her aunt, who told her mom, who told her. I did some research into it and went on their interview weekend. [I] prayed a lot about it and at t he last moment decided to go for many reasons.” NET stands for National Evangelization Teams and is an international youth ministry organization based out of the Twin Cities. Its mission is to challenge young Catholics to love Christ and embrace the life of the Church. The young adults team up and most of them travel across the country putting on retreats six days a week for Catholic youth. A few of the teams, like the one Scott is on, are stationed at parishes for the entire school year.  (more here.)