Recently, the National Initiative on Adolescent Catechesis asserted that some of the ourcomes of effective faith formation with young people would include:

> Sustaining a personal relationship with Jesus Christ supported through regular prayer, faith sharing and scripture reading.
> Sharing the Good News through words and actions, through Christian service and working for peace, justice and human dignity.
> Participating fully, consciously, actively and regularly in the celebrations of the sacramental life of the Catholic Church.
> Articulating the fundamental teachings of the Catholic faith and demonstrating a commitment to learning and growing in this faith.
> Applying Catholic ethics, virtues, principles, values and social teaching to moral decision- making, life situations, and in interactions with the larger culture.
> Discerning and using their gifts to actively belong to and participate in the life and mission of the parish, school, and larger community.
> Celebrating cultural/racial and ethnic diversity as a gift from God, and pursuing the development of Christian community across cultural/racial and ethnic backgrounds in their parishes, schools, and broader communities.
> Exploring God’s call to vocation through prayer, reflection, and discernment.

To see more about this, check here.

ª Oklahoma City offers both the Certification in Youth Faith Formation as well as the CMD’s Certification in Youth Ministry Studies.

ª In Tulsa, their website is still rocking the image of a  Pope bobble-head.

Oklahoma, if you have more blog or websites, comment away.  Not later, but Sooner, OK?

Recently, the National Initiative on Adolescent Catechesis promoted that the following are foundational and interdependently connected elements in this process of adolescent faith formation.

> Empowered Parents and Faith-Filled Families
> Vibrant, Youth-Friendly Parishes
> Fruitful Partnerships
> Comprehensive Ministry to Youth with Intentional and Systematic Faith Formation
> Inclusion, Trust and Acceptance

To see more about this, check here.

ª Cincinnati  has extensive webpage regarding Nurturing Family Faith resources, which must tie into

ª Cleveland  is following own efforts at proving Will Our Kids Have Faith?, which must be related to Cincinatti’s initiative found here.

ª There seems to be no listing regarding youth ministry in Stuebenville

ª You can meet the staff at the Toledo page.

ª Youngstown makes available back issues of their newsletter Compass.

Are there any blogs and websites that we are missing from the buckeye state?

Our friends at Outside da Box put together this excellent reminder for young people to tend for their own souls as intentionally as their might care for their bodies and minds.

And, yet, let’s allow us to consider this to serve as a good reminder for us as well.

Find time for a little prayer, some spiritual reading, whatever…

Make some space in that busy schedule for the Creator of time.

ª For folks traveling to NCYC from Bismarck, the going rate is $850 per person.

ª The Fargo Junior High Youth Rally scheduled in late March was canceled due to flooding and dangerous travel conditions.

Peace Garden Staters, any other websites or blogs we all should be aware of???

ª The Charlotte site offers their mission statement.

ª According to the NFCYM Job Board, the diocese of Raleigh is looking for a new director of youth and young adult ministry.

Tar Heels, Anything more to add from your state?

I have been giving thought to leadership recently, especially attempting to attempt to understand more about what goes into creating a culture.  The definition of a culture is often considered to be “the way we do things around here”.

Cultures are built over time. They’re the result of action, reaction, and truth. They are nuanced, beautiful, and authentic. Real culture is like patina, the film or acquired change of a surface through age and exposure.

Blogger George Ambler suggests here that the way a culture organizes itself can often be a a reflection of the leader. Culture can also be understood as “the shadow of the leader”. 

Consider the following quote from the summer 2009 edition of the Leadership Journal (published by Christianity Today.) “Your staff culture has to represent the culture you’re trying to create in the wider church. That’s one of the biggest misses in contemporary church work. You have a business-run, top-down, bottom-line culture yet you’re trying to bring around a loving, transformative culture in your community. It just doesn’t work.”

Therefore, some of “the way we do things around here”  becomes defined over time by
  > How leaders allocate time and attention
  > How leaders react to critical incidents and organizational crises
  > How leaders supervise from recruitment through support to closure.

What sort of shadow are you casting upon the culture of your family or environment?

 ª As with other some other dioceses, New York City has there offices out of Catholic Charities.  They are working through the CYO model.

ª Albany offers  five links related to NCYC, YM Meetings, Youth Council, and Youth Rally.

ª Giddy Brooklyn conducted an NCYC fundraiser Get Your Game On, a cocktail party featuring Rock Band, Wii, Ms. Pac Man, and Guitar Hero.  Cool idea!

ª Rockville Centre  is offering a Summer Workshop on The New Evangelization of John Paul II.

And that concludes our tour of New York.  Are we missing any local websites or blogs?  Let us know.

In week five of our celebration of the Year for Priests, Erica talks about her uncle, Father Jack Bowen. In this brief video, she celebrates the faithfulness of her “Father Uncle Jack” as he continues to consistently serve both the Church and her family.  When Bishop Newman retired, he offered this reflection: “Let it be known that when a priest or bishop retires from the active priestly ministry, he enters into another phase of his priestly life – highlighted by ‘administrative downsizing.’ He gives up his administrative tasks but retains, as long as he can, his pastoral works.”  In the Archdiocese of Baltimore, we have 52 “retired” priests still continuing to the minister in some way.  What a blessing they are to our Church!Please remember all our priests, no matter what phase of their priestly life they find themselves, in your prayers this week.