Forty years ago, today, man first walked on the moon.

Neil Armstrong’s first words on the lunar surface were “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

But that step began with John Kennedy. He had just been humiliated in the Bay of Pigs fiasco in Cuba, a communist ally of Moscow. In his speech, he called for many measures to combat communism, requesting billions, for example, to stop red insurgencies in Southeast Asia.

Kennedy set the vision with these words:

“We have examined where we are strong and where we are not, where we may succeed and where we may not. Now it is time to take longer strides-time for a great new American enterprise-time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth.

I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary. But the facts of the matter are that we have never made the national decisions or marshaled the national resources required for such leadership. We have never specified long-range goals on an urgent time schedule, or managed our resources and our time so as to insure their fulfillment. . .

For while we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this

effort will make us last. . . The very risk enhances our stature when we are successful. But this is not merely a race. Space is open to us now; and our eagerness to share its meaning is not governed by the efforts of others. We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share. . .

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. . “

What visions are we declaring and setting forth today?  What steps are we taking?  What resources and talents are we dedicating? What risks are we taking?  In what race are we engaged?  What commitments are we making?

ª Joshua Blakesley is headlining Reno‘s February Youth Rally.

ª Righteous B recently rocked the house along with Bishop Pepe at a Las Vegas Youth Rally.

ª Speaker Tammy Amosson has a website encouraging spiritual fitness.

So, Nevada, I’m going “all in” and betting that there are some more hyperlinks that I might be missing?  Ante up!

Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

Over at the Life Teen blog, they have added a new blogger… Me.

What?  The Catholic Youth Ministry blog is not enough??  Do you really have that much darnn free time on your hands??? 

Ahhh, well… Sleep is for the weak.

Anyway, I hope to be occasionally posting over at Life Teen on topics related to Confirmation and Adolescent Catechesis.

The first posting is on the attitude we communicate when speaking of Confirmation.

In week four of our celebration of the Year for Priests, Father Austin Murphy of the Newman Center at Towson University tells a story of his former pastor, Father Fortenbaugh. In this brief video, he reminds us of the continuity of the priesthood through the ages, from Christ to his apostles to our priests today.

In Acts 28: 20, the Apostle Paul spoke to the presbyters of the church at Ephesus encouraging them to “Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood.”  Father Austin speaks of the gift of a chalice and the many years of service of that cup in containing the Blood of Christ.

Are there others around you who might watch over the Good Shepherd’s flock, a church acquired with His own blood?  Please consider forwarding this e-mail to them and sharing your hopes for the future with them.

On some side notes: Fr. Austin is also a blogger, and you can read about his perspective on the video here. And, this concept is catching on…  Look here at what our neighbors in Arlington have done!  Sweet visual bumpers at the beginning (wish I had those skills) and good stories about our priests!

Earlier this week, we sent out our office newsletter. 

I’m often mindful that we post up a fair amount of stuff. So, it’ often sneaky and fun to slip in an Easter Egg because that is how we roll.

We had sent out pretty standard snail mail reminding about the meeting. But, watch for the surprise link to this video in the newsletter announcement:

“Letters have been sent to youth contacts as well as to Pastors/PLD’s reminding all of the meeting places and times.  They are:
> 9/19 at St. Joseph Church in Hagerstown, 9:30AM – 12:30PM
> 9/26 at St. Agnes Church in Baltimore, 9:30AM – 12:30PM

If you need some additional incentive regarding the meeting, please see this short video offered here from deep within the East Australian Current!

I recently had a little practice at eating some humble pie. (see here.)

It recalled for me a quote from Marshall Goldsmith, author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful. He said, “I regard apologizing as the most magical, healing, restorative gesture human beings can make. It is the centerpiece of my work with executives who want to get better.”

TIME Magazine recently bemoaned the loss of the practice of apology. They concluded: “It’s free, and it’s right, and it’s even empirically smart, whatever their pride and their lawyers may tell them. Most people file lawsuits out of anger, not greed. In states that passed “apology laws” that let doctors express regret when things go badly without having it thrown back at them in court, some hospitals have seen malpractice suits drop by half. Any marriage counselor can tell you that love means always having to say you’re sorry. An apology is that rare instrument that restores strength through an act of surrender. This is not a matter of etiquette. It’s a matter of survival.”

Meanwhile, look how people can work out their frustrations when they don’t feel another has taken responsibility. In the spring of 2008, a band known as Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and the lead singer’s Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. The $3500 guitar was severely damaged. United did not deny the experience occurred but for nine months “the buck was passed” from department to department until they finally indicated that they would do nothing to compensate for the loss.

Failure to apologize can cause a loss in reputation, people speaking poorly of you behind your back, an angry letter to your supervisor, a protest, or even a video.

ª Grand Island has a links page full of fundraising ideas – -  always helpful!

ª Lincoln has sponsored canoe trips down the Niobrara River for fifteen years.

ª Omaha has established Youth Village, a “gathering place of resources for youth.”

Cornhuskers, should we be looking for any other blogs or sites?

Folks are beginning to start new ministries around this time of year…  Ahhhh, to be a rookie again!

One of my favorite blog writers, Mark Batterson, recently discussed the upside of inexperience suggesting that “inexperience is both a liability and an asset. And the upside of inexperience is this: you don’t know what can’t be done. So you’re not afraid of doing old things in new ways. You take risks. You make mistakes. You experiment with new methodologies.”

Batterson suggests that inexperience allows one to change the rules of engagement, like David did with Goliath.  He share about a study done by political scientist Ivan Arreguin-Toft who surveyed every war fought in the past two hundred years between strong and weak combatants. The Goliaths won 71.5% of the time. But when the Davids chose an unconventional strategy, their winning percentage was 63.6%. In other words, when Davids decide that they aren’t going to play on Goliaths terms, they win two-thirds of the time.

Change the rules / your strategy today.  Blame it on inexperience .  After all, God ain’t done with you yet!

ª The Great Falls – Billings offers consultations to advocate for Parish catechetical leaders and youth ministers, on rural parish needs, program planning, as well as curriculum issues and updates

ª Congratulations to Doug Tooke and the folks in Helena for one of the most visually appealing pages on the tour of the states so far!

Big Sky country- anything more to add?

Architects can easily design just another box.  So can we.

Daniel Libeskind shares seventeen words that underlie his vision for architecture.

These are not words that can impact the next design of a building, but the next design of a program. Consider:

Optimism / Pessimism.

Expressive / Neutral.

Radical / Conservative.

Emotional / Cool

Inexplicable / Understood.

Hand / Computer.

Complex / Simple.

Political / Evasive.

Real / Simulated.      Unexpected / Habitual.      Raw / Refined.     Pointed / Blunt.    Memorable / Forgettable.

Commutative / Mute.      Risky / Safe.      Space / Fashion.     Democratic / Authoritarian.