We are developing a Youth Ministry Council in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and we would like to initiate a conversation regarding the future of youth ministry.  This is a little introduction to that process.

Hope that you, too, are thinking about tomorrow!

I pretty much “Yes, ma’am” all women, no matter if they are a generation older than me or a generation (or two) younger than me… Now, the ladies in my office will tell you that I also freely “babe” each and everyone of them which would be seemingly sexist but for that I also will randomly “babe” my Army son, my Paulist priest boss, and my buddy guys in general as well.

John Rinaldo recently posted about Ministry to Girls, encouraging guys to “reach out to young women in a safe and healthy way and to let them know that they are created in God’s image and that they are worthy of love, God’s and ours, not because of the way they look, but because of who they are, a unique and wonderful human being. A women of God.”

How? Here are his couple of recommendations:

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This posting has nothing to do with women, especially young women in ministry. Here is Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, taking a look at why a smaller percentage of women than men reach the top of their professions.

This posting has everything to do with women, especially young women in ministry. Here is Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, offers three powerful pieces of advice to women aiming for leadership in the church and field.

1) We’ve got to get women to sit at the table (and reach for opportunities.)

2) Make your partner a real partner. Equal earning and equal responsibility lead to a better relationship.

3) Don’t leave before you leave. When you start quietly “leaning back,” you stop making your job challenging enough and interesting enough to come back to…

Agree? Disagree?  Comment away… Ladies, pull your chairs up to the keyboard and speak up!

We going to change the format of this Tuesday feature.  Traditionally, we’ve run a news item or two here showing Catholic Youth ministry in the news…  Now, we are going to add a side-by-side feature, offering personal updates (umm, errr, actually blogging) from my own life as well.

News from Around: OPELOUSAS, LA — Hundreds of teenagers fist-pumped the air and jumped in rhythm at one of the concerts held at the FLYfest Youth Rally, a first-time event put on by youth from across the Diocese of Lafayette. FLY stands for Faith, Love and You, and the day-long rally aimed at incorporating Catholic religion into every aspect of life.  Read more in the Daily World.   SUSSEX, ENG – Serving the Independent Catholic News, Jack Regan wrote a great opinion piece on the beautification of Pope John Paul II. Quote to note: The young people chanted “JP2 – we love you” as they often would, and JP2 stepped forward to the microphone and in his gentle, humble, loving, playful accent, responded with “JP2 – he loves you too!” Those five words mattered. The young people knew that he loved them. … It was a statement from the heart of the Church that they were valued.       MILWAUKEE, WS – Many first heard of Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart as she was announced as a National Catholic Youth Ministry award recipient for promoting Gospel values of justice and peace. Calderone-Stewart, however, received her award while in hospice care. The Tidings from Los Angeles and Baltimore’s Catholic Review  recently had articles regarding Lisa.

News from ‘Round Here:     Last week, we spent our first two days launching Equip for Ministry, a process of formation for lay ministry. The rest of the week seemed to revolve around meetings and planning. Monday after Equip, the staff came back to my place for some long-range planning… and later that evening was dinner with the YS guys.    Wednesday started out with a snow delay which threw everyone’s schedule off-kilter. I went in early and took advantage of the quiet provided by late arrivers. Supervision was scheduled with the staff and it occurred… just none of it at times previously determined. I do enjoy the opportunity to be one-on-one with each of the ladies – Margaret, Georgina, Susan, and Ann Marie (who was out snuffily that day)  I snuck in an elevator-pitch meeting with our two auxiliary bishops… eight floors and done! The evening finished with our Next Horizons group planning possibilities with our justice and service programming… there seems to be a great spirit among the group     After a brief e-team meeting at the office Thursday morning which I chaired in Fr. Hurley’s absence and selecting a CaptionThis! winner, I was down to the Region 4 meeting of diocesan directors. The meeting finished with two solid hours of sharing and conversation.      Friday was just about some basic clean up… late in and early out… Then off for a three-day weekend!      Saturday was quiet early in the day and then I was off to my daughters’ house for lasagna and the Ravens game and the annual Pacione/ Tamberino Christmas party. <image source>

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is,
‘What are you doing for others?’

Martin Luther King jr

Things are different now. The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s often vocal sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.

Letters from a Birmingham Jail

A prayer for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time:

Here I am, Lord, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. . . Oh, Lord, help me!

I aspire to be made glorious in Your sight, Lord, to be made a light to the nations, but I need You as my strength. . . Oh, Lord, help me!

Place a new song into my mouth, may my life be a hymn to our God to all within the vast assembly. May I not restrain my lips. Send forth Your Spirit, down from heaven, to remain upon me as promised in the waters of Baptism.

Oh, Lord, help me. . . I come to do Your will.

Readership is up in the New Year.  So this is a good time as any to review how we are operating. There is an actual rhythm here, believe it or not. It actually helps me to organize the posts. Almost all of them are written well in advance of posting.  This was written on Sunday, January 9 at 6 in the morning, but was programmed to post at 2am US east coast time this morning, as are most posts usually appear here.

On Sundays, we offer a prayer based on the weekend readings. Monday and Thursday usually are designed to be directly related to youth ministry with Thursday sometimes leaning

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We’ve told the Story of Eutychus here on the blog before…

but never with a song and a video…

A situation that we have now corrected!

Everybody happy now?

Enjoy!

 Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow.

– Oscar Wilde

I spent part of the Christmas break catching up on some TED videos… I’m a big fan!

I’ve watched this one before, and posted similar comments, but thought it worth reposting.

Are we looking for the perfect youth ministry or looking for the perfect youth ministries.

Do you only offer plain youth ministry when you could be offering extra spicy or extra chunky?  Let alone cheese, light, robusto, rich and hearty, old world traditional, or extra chunky garden?

Do we have a “plutonic notion” of the way youth ministry ought to be? Do we operate out of a perception of what is authentic? out of a concept of universals rather than understanding variability for young people, ourselves, our parishes and communities? Or, are we worms in horseradish where the world is horseradish?